Mater lectionis

Sometimes when we write words, we need special letters. These special letters are called "mater lectionis." They look like the regular letters we use, but they tell us how to say the word.

For example, in Hebrew, there are two letters called "alef" and "ayin" that sometimes sound the same. The "mater lectionis" helps us know which sound to make.

It's like when you're playing a game and you need to follow a certain rule to play correctly. Just like we need the "mater lectionis" to follow the rules of reading and writing words.