Vau

Vau, also known as waw or vav, is the name of a letter in several Semitic alphabets, including Phoenician, Hebrew, and Arabic. In Phoenician and its descendants, it was the fifth letter and originally represented the /w/ sound. In Hebrew it is called vav (or just “the vav” in common usage); in Arabic it is called wāw (often transliterated as waw). The letter has a long history of use as both a consonant and a sign indicating vowels.

Origins and history

The Phoenician form waw is believed to derive from a pictographic sign meaning “hook” or “peg.” The character was carried into Aramaic, Hebrew, and later Arabic scripts, evolving in shape across regions and time. In each tradition, the basic sound value is central, though the consonant’s role and its interaction with vowels differ.

Phonology and function

As a consonant, vav/waw represents /w/ in Arabic and many Semitic varieties and /v/ in modern Hebrew phonology. It also serves as a mater lectionis, a consonant-like letter used to indicate vowels, most commonly representing /u/ or /o/ when combined with vowels and diacritics in Hebrew. In practice, its pronunciation may shift with neighboring vowels and the script’s vocalization marks.

Orthography and typography

In Hebrew, the letter is written as ו; in Arabic, it is written as و. The glyphs vary across scripts and fonts, but the fundamental identity as a Semitic letter remains. In encoding systems, Hebrew vav is U+05D5 and Arabic wāw is U+0648.

Cultural and numerical notes

In Hebrew gematria, vav has the numeric value 6. Beyond phonology, the letter appears in various word forms, as well as in scholarly and liturgical contexts across Semitic languages.