dagesh

Dagesh is a diacritic dot used in Hebrew script, placed inside a consonant letter. The term comes from the Hebrew word for “dot” or “point.” It serves several functions in Hebrew orthography and phonology, and there are two main varieties commonly described: dagesh gadol (strong or hard) and dagesh qatan (light or lene).

Dagesh gadol appears in certain letters of the begad-kephat group—bet, gimel, dalet, kaf, pe, and tav—to indicate a stronger or plosive pronunciation in specific phonological contexts. In many discussions of Modern Hebrew, the presence of a dagesh in beit, kaf, pe, and tav is associated with the corresponding plosive sounds (b, k, p, t), while its absence is associated with softer or fricative values in historical or other dialectal forms. The exact effect can depend on the word and its vowel patterns.

Dagesh qatan, or the light dagesh, is a separate, less pronounced dot used in other contexts to mark standard value of a consonant without implying the stronger pronunciation. The distinction between the two forms is a traditional part of Hebrew grammar and orthography, and the presence or absence of the dagesh can help distinguish spelling between homographs in certain words.

In biblical and rabbinic texts, the dagesh has also been described as indicating gemination, or doubling, of a consonant in certain roots or stems, though this gemination is not always reflected in modern pronunciation. The dagesh is one of several diacritics used with niqquim (vowel marks) to aid reading and pronunciation in pointed Hebrew texts.