ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Hebrew punctuation

Okay kiddo, today we will be talking about Hebrew punctuation. Just like in English, punctuation marks are used in Hebrew writing to make sentences easier to read and understand.

Let's start with the most common punctuation mark, which is the period. In Hebrew, the period looks like a little dot and it is used at the end of a sentence, just like in English. The period tells us that the sentence is complete and it's time to take a breath!

Next, we have the comma. A comma in Hebrew looks like an upside-down smiley face. We use a comma to separate words or phrases in a sentence. For example, if we want to say "I like apples, bananas, and grapes," we would use a comma between each fruit to make it easier to read.

There are also two other punctuation marks that are used in Hebrew that are not used in English. The first is the "מרכאות" (mirkavot), which looks like two dots above each other. This is used to separate verses in the Hebrew Bible or other religious texts.

The second is the "סתומה" (setuma), which looks like an upside-down "v" and is used at the end of a paragraph or section. This lets the reader know that they have finished reading that part and are ready to move on to the next.

Finally, we have the "פיסוק" (pisuk), which looks like a little slanted line. This punctuation mark is used to separate phrases or clauses within a sentence, just like a comma.

Overall, Hebrew punctuation is very similar to English punctuation in terms of the types of marks that are used. These punctuation marks help us read and understand Hebrew more easily, just like they do in English.
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