3.7 Hebrew Diphthong = Accented Patach-Yod-Hireq
The diphthong is a single vowel unit, which means it is only one syllable
- The first word is not “sh-MAY-im,” but it sounds more like “sh-MIME”
- We do not pronounce the second word as “BUY-it,” but monosyllabic, more like “BITE”51
Remember “Accent+Patach+Yod+Hireq” as the main Hebrew Diphthong: יִ ַ֫
With this said, “buy-it” makes a handy mnemonic for remembering this word means ‘house’ - when you see a nice house you want to “buy it.” There are several look-alike words.↩︎