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{{Short description|Third letter of many Semitic alphabets}}
{{Redirect|Gimmel|the music group|Gimmel (music group)|other uses|Gimel (disambiguation)}}
{{for|the municipality in Switzerland|Gimel, Switzerland}}
{{use dmy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox Semitic letter|letname=Gimel|previouslink=Bet (letter)|previousletter=Bet|nextlink=Dalet|nextletter=Dalet|archar=ج|sychar=ܓ|hechar=ג|amchar=𐡂|gechar=ገ|phchar=𐤂|grchar=[[Γ]]|lachar=[[C]], [[G]], [[Ȝ]], [[Ɣ]]|cychar=[[Г]], [[Ґ]], [[Ғ]]|ipa={{IPA link|d͡ʒ}}, {{IPA link|ʒ}}, {{IPA link|ɡ}}, {{IPA link|ɟ}}, {{IPA link|ɣ}}|num=3|gem=3}}

'''Gimel''' is the third (in alphabetical order; fifth in spelling order) [[Letter (alphabet)|letter]] of the [[Semitic abjads]], including [[Phoenician language|Phoenician]] ''gīml'' 𐤂, [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] ''gīmel'' {{Script|Hebr|ג}}, [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]] ''gāmal'' 𐡂, [[Syriac alphabet|Syriac]] ''gāmal'' ܓ and [[Arabic Alphabet|Arabic]] ''ǧīm'' {{Script|Arabic|ج}}. It is also related to the [[Ancient North Arabian]] 𐪔‎, [[Ancient South Arabian script|South Arabian]] {{lang|sem-x-oldsoara|𐩴}}, and [[Geʽez script|Ge'ez]] {{lang|gez|ገ}}.

Its sound value in the original Phoenician and in all derived alphabets, except Arabic ([[#Arabic ǧīm|see below]]), is a [[voiced velar plosive]] {{IPAblink|ɡ}}; in [[Modern Standard Arabic]], it represents either a {{IPA|/d͡ʒ/}} or {{IPA|/ʒ/}} for most Arabic speakers except in [[Northern Egypt]], the southern parts of [[Yemen]] and some parts of [[Oman]] where it is pronounced as the [[voiced velar plosive]] {{IPAblink|ɡ}}.

In its [[Proto-Canaanite]] form, the letter may have been named after a weapon that was either a [[sling (weapon)#Staff sling|staff sling]] or a [[throwing stick]] (spear thrower), ultimately deriving from a [[Proto-Sinaitic]] glyph based on the [[throw stick (hieroglyph)|hieroglyph]] below:
<div><hiero>T14</hiero></div>

The [[Phoenician alphabet|Phoenician]] letter gave rise to the [[Greek alphabet|Greek]] [[gamma]] (Γ), the [[Latin alphabet|Latin]] [[C]], [[G]], [[Latin gamma|Ɣ]] and [[yogh|Ȝ]], and the [[Cyrillic script|Cyrillic]] [[Г]], [[Ґ]], and [[Ғ]].

== Arabic ǧīm ==
{{Infobox grapheme
| name = Ǧīm جيم
| letter = {{lang|ar|ج}}
| variations = 
| image = 
| imagesize = 200
| imagealt = 
| script = [[Arabic script]]
| type = [[Abjad]]
| typedesc = 
| language = [[Arabic language]]
| phonemes = {{IPAslink|d͡ʒ}}, {{IPAslink|ʒ}}, {{IPAslink|g}}, {{IPAslink|ɟ}}, {{IPAslink|j}}
| unicode = 
| alphanumber = 5
| number = 
| equivalents = ǧ, j
| associates = 
| direction = Right-to-left
| fam1 = [[wikt:𓌙|𓌙]]|
| fam2 = [[𐤂]]
| fam3 = 𐡂
| fam4 = 𐢄
| fam5 = [[ح]]
}}

The Arabic letter {{lang|ar|ج}} is named {{lang|ar|جيم}} ''{{Transliteration|ar|DIN|ǧīm}}'' / ''{{Transliteration|ar|DIN|jīm}}''
{{IPA|ar|d͡ʒiːm, ʒiːm, ɡiːm, ɟiːm|}}. It has four forms, and is written in several ways depending on its position in the word:
{{Arabic alphabet shapes|ج}}
The similarity to ''{{Transliteration|ar|ALA|ḥāʼ}}'' <big>{{lang|ar|[[Heth#Arabic ḥāʾ|ح]]}}</big>&nbsp; is likely a function of the original Syriac forms converging to a single symbol, requiring that one of them be distinguished as a dot; a similar process occurred to [[Zayin (letter)|{{Transliteration|ar|ALA|zāy}}]] and [[Resh (letter)|{{Transliteration|ar|ALA|rāʾ}}]].

===Pronunciation===
In all [[varieties of Arabic]], cognate words will have consistent differences in pronunciation of the letter. The standard pronunciation taught outside the Arabic speaking world is an affricate {{IPAblink|d͡ʒ}}, which was the agreed-upon pronunciation by the end of the nineteenth century to recite the [[Qur'an]]. It is pronounced as a fricative {{IPAblink|ʒ}} in most of [[Northern Africa]] and the [[Levant]], and {{IPAblink|ɡ}} is the [[prestige (sociolinguistics)|prestigious]] and most common pronunciation in [[Egypt]], which is also found in Southern [[Arabian Peninsula]]. Differences in pronunciation occur because readers of Modern Standard Arabic pronounce words following their native dialects.

Egyptians always use the letter to represent {{IPAblink|ɡ}} as well as in names and loanwords,<ref>{{Cite book |last=al Nassir |first=Abdulmunʿim Abdulamir |url=https://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/10917/1/354409.pdf |title=Sibawayh the Phonologist |publisher=University of New York |year=1985 |pages=80 |language=ar |access-date=23 April 2024 |archive-date=23 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240423104616/https://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/10917/1/354409.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>  such as {{lang|ar|جولف}} "golf". However, <big>{{lang|ar|ج}}</big> may be used in Egypt to transcribe {{IPA|/}}{{IPA link|ʒ}}~{{IPA link|d͡ʒ}}{{IPA|/}} (normally pronounced {{IPAblink|ʒ}}) or if there is a need to distinguish them completely, then <big>{{lang|ar|[[چ]]}}</big> is used to represent {{IPAslink|ʒ}}, which is also a proposal for [[Mehri language#Writing system|Mehri]] and [[Soqotri language#Writing system|Soqotri]] languages.

;The literary standard pronunciations:
*{{IPAblink|d͡ʒ}}: In most of the [[Peninsular Arabic|Arabian Peninsula]], parts of [[Algerian Arabic|Algeria]] ([[Algiers]] dialect), [[Iraqi Arabic|Iraq]], parts of [[Egypt]], parts of the [[Levantine Arabic|Levant]]. This is also the commonly taught pronunciation outside the Arabic speaking countries when Literary Arabic is taught as a foreign language. It is the agreed-upon pronunciation to recite the [[Qur'an]] and it also corresponds to {{lang|mt|[[ġ]]}} {{IPAslink|d͡ʒ}} in [[Maltese language|Maltese]] (a [[Semitic languages|Semitic]] language derived from [[Siculo-Arabic|Sicilian Arabic]]) as in ''ġar'' ''(neighbor)'' and Arabic {{lang|ar|جار}} ''(neighbor)'' both pronounced {{IPA|ar|d͡ʒaːr|}}.
*{{IPAblink|ʒ}}: In the [[Levantine Arabic|Levant]] (especially in the urban centers), [[Al Muthanna Governorate|Southern Iraqi Arabic]], most of the [[Maghreb]], and parts of Algeria ([[Oran]] dialect),<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Mezzoudj |first1=Fréha |last2=Loukam |first2=Mourad |last3=Belkredim |first3=Fatma |title=Arabic Algerian Oranee Dialectal Language Modelling Oriented Topic |url=https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/964255 |journal=International Journal of Informatics and Applied Mathematics |access-date=2024-04-21 |archive-date=2024-04-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240421131108/https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/964255 |url-status=live }}</ref> and by some speakers in western Saudi Arabia (Hejaz).
*{{IPAblink|g}}: In Egypt, coastal [[Yemeni Arabic|Yemen]] ([[Tihamiyya Arabic|West]] and [[Ta'izzi-Adeni Arabic|South]]), southwestern and eastern [[Oman]].
*{{IPAblink|ɟ}}: In [[Sudanese Arabic|Sudan]], parts of [[Saudi Arabia]], and hinterland [[Yemeni Arabic|Yemen]].

;Non-literary pronunciation
*{{IPAblink|j}}: In eastern Arabian Peninsula in the most colloquial speech, though sometimes {{IPAblink|d͡ʒ}} or {{IPAblink|ʒ}} in Literary Arabic loan words.
*{{IPAblink|j}}: In eastern Arabian Peninsula and Iraq but only colloquial speech, for example [[Kuwaiti Arabic|Kuwaiti]] Arabic {{lang|ar|وايد}} {{IPAblink|waːjɪd}} “a lot” vs. [[Najdi Arabic|Najdi]] Arabic {{lang|ar|واجد}} {{IPAblink|waːd͡ʒɪd}}.
*{{IPAblink|ɟʝ}}: attested among some bedouin dialects in Saudi Arabia.<ref>{{cite book| last=Il-Hazmy| first=Alayan| year=1975| title=A critical and comparative study of the spoken dialect of the Harb tribe in Saudi Arabia| url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/43362.pdf| page=234| access-date=2024-04-21| archive-date=2024-03-18| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240318053906/https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/43362.pdf| url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Historical pronunciation ===
While in most Semitic languages, e.g. [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]], [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]], [[Geʽez|Ge'ez]], [[Old South Arabian]] the equivalent letter represents a {{IPAblink|ɡ}}, Arabic is considered unique among them where the ''Jīm'' {{angbr|{{lang|ar|[[ج]]}}}} was [[Palatalization (sound change)|palatalized]] to an affricate {{IPAblink|d͡ʒ}} or a fricative {{IPAblink|ʒ}} in most dialects from classical times. While there is variation in Modern Arabic varieties, most of them reflect this palatalized pronunciation except in coastal [[Yemeni Arabic|Yemeni]] and [[Omani Arabic|Omani]] dialects as well as in Egypt, where it is pronounced {{IPAblink|g}}.

It is not well known when palatalization occurred or the probability of it being connected to the pronunciation of ''Qāf'' {{angbr|{{lang|ar|[[ق]]}}}} as a {{IPAblink|ɡ}}, but in most of the [[Arabian Peninsula|Arabian peninsula]] (Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, UAE and parts of Yemen and Oman), the {{angbr|{{lang|ar|[[ج]]}}}} represents a {{IPAblink|d͡ʒ}} and {{angbr|{{lang|ar|[[ق]]}}}} represents a {{IPAblink|ɡ}}, except in coastal [[Yemeni Arabic|Yemen]] and southern [[Omani Arabic|Oman]] where {{angbr|{{lang|ar|[[ج]]}}}} represents a {{IPAblink|ɡ}} and {{angbr|{{lang|ar|[[ق]]}}}} represents a {{IPAblink|q}}, which shows a strong correlation between the palatalization of {{angbr|{{lang|ar|[[ج]]}}}} to {{IPAblink|d͡ʒ}} and the pronunciation of the {{angbr|{{lang|ar|[[ق]]}}}} as a {{IPAblink|ɡ}} as shown in the table below:
{{Gim and qaf pronunciation}}

=== Pronunciation across other languages ===
{| class="wikitable"
|+Pronunciation of {{angbr|{{lang|ar|[[ج]]}}}} in other languages
!Language
!Alphabet name
!Pronunciation ([[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]])
|-
![[South Azerbaijani|Azeri]]
![[Azerbaijani alphabet#Azerbaijani Arabic alphabet|Arabic script]]
| rowspan="17" style="text-align:center" |{{IPAslink|d͡ʒ}}
|-
! colspan="2" |[[Balochi Standard Alphabet|Balochi]]
|-
! colspan="2" |[[Brahui language#Perso-Arabic script|Brahui]]
|-
! colspan="2" |[[Hindko#Alphabet|Hindko]]
|-
![[Javanese language|Javanese]]
![[Pegon script|Pegon]]
|-
! colspan="2" |[[Kashmiri language#Writing system|Kashmiri]]
|-
![[Sorani|Kurdish]]
![[Sorani alphabet|Sorani]]
|-
![[Malay language|Malay]]
![[Jawi script|Jawi]]
|-
! colspan="2" |[[Pashto alphabet|Pashto]]
|-
! colspan="2" |[[Persian alphabet|Persian]]
|-
![[Punjabi language|Punjabi]]
![[Shahmukhi]]
|-
! colspan="2" |[[Saraiki alphabet|Saraiki]]
|-
![[Sindhi language|Sindhi]]
![[Sindhi language#Perso-Arabic script|Arabic script]]
|-
![[Swahili language|Swahili]]
![[Swahili Ajami|Ajami]]
|-
! colspan="2" |[[Urdu Alphabet|Urdu]]
|-
! colspan="2" |[[Uyghur alphabets|Uyghur]]
|-
![[Uzbek language|Uzbek]]
![[Uzbek alphabet#Arabic script|Arabic script]]
|-
![[Hausa language|Hausa]]
![[Hausa Ajami|Ajami]]
| rowspan="2" style="text-align:center" | {{IPAslink|d͡ʒ}} or {{IPAslink|ʒ}}
|-
![[Kazakh language|Kazakh]]
![[Kazakh alphabets#Arabic script|Tote Jazu]]
|}
Note: In Kazakh {{angbr|{{lang|ar|[[ج]]}}}} is pronounced {{IPAslink|d͡ʒ}} in some dialects, such as in the south and east.<ref>Jankowski, H., Tazhibaeva, S., Özçelik, Ö., Abish, A., Aqtay, G., & Smagulova, J. (2023). "Kazakh". In L. Johanson (ed.), ''Encyclopedia of Turkic Languages and Linguistics Online''. Brill. https://doi.org/10.1163/2667-3029_ETLO_COM_032116.</ref> Hausa {{angbr|{{lang|ar|[[ج]]}}}} is pronounced {{IPAslink|d͡ʒ}}, in the Hausa of Niger, {{IPAslink|d͡ʒ}} is usually pronounced {{IPAblink|ʒ}}.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Daniels |first=Peter |title=Phonologies of Asia and Africa - Hausa Phonology |last2=Kaye |first2=Alan |last3=Newman |first3=Paul |date=1996}}</ref>

===Variant===
{{Main|Che (Persian letter)}}
A variant letter named ''[[Che (Persian letter)|che]]'' is used in Persian, with three dots below instead having just one dot below. However, it is not included on one of the 28 letters on the Arabic alphabet. It is thus written as:
{{Arabic alphabet shapes|چ}}

==Hebrew gimel==

===Variations===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
! colspan="5" |<small>[[Orthography|Orthographic]] variants</small>
|-
! colspan="3" |<small>Various print fonts</small>
! rowspan="2" |<small>[[Cursive Hebrew|Cursive<br>Hebrew]]</small>
! rowspan="2" |<small>[[Rashi script|Rashi<br>script]]</small>
|-
!|<small>Serif</small> !! <small>[[Sans-serif]]</small> !! <small>[[Monospaced]]</small>
|-
| width="20%" |<span style="font:30pt 'Times New Roman', 'SBL Hebrew', David, Narkisim, 'New Peninim MT', 'Taamey Frank CLM', serif;">ג</span>
| width="20%" |<span style="font:29pt Arial, 'DejaVu Sans Condensed', 'DejaVu Sans', Tahoma, 'Noto Sans Hebrew', Alef, sans-serif;">ג</span>
| width="20%" |<span style="font:30pt 'Courier New', 'Miriam Fixed', 'Miriam Mono CLM', FreeMono, monospace;">ג</span>
| width="20%" |[[File:Hebrew letter Gimel handwriting.svg|class=skin-invert-image|25px]]
| width="20%" |[[File:Gimel (Rashi-script - Hebrew letter).svg|class=skin-invert-image|46px]]
|}

Hebrew spelling: <big>{{lang|he|גִּימֶל}}</big>

[[Bertrand Russell]] posits that the letter's form is a conventionalized image of a camel.<ref>{{cite book|last=Russell|first=Bertrand|title=A history of western philosophy|year=1972|publisher=Touchstone book|location=New York|isbn=0-671-31400-9|edition=60th print.|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/historyofwestern00russ}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Tenen|first=Stan|url=http://www.meru.org/letteressays/gimel.html|title=Letter Portrait: Gimel|series=A Matrix of Meaning: Portraits of the Hebrew Letters, in Pictures and Words|website=Meru Foundation|access-date=2011-09-29|archive-date=2022-12-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221222153109/https://www.meru.org/letteressays/gimel.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The letter may be the shape of the walking animal's head, neck, and forelegs. [[Barry B. Powell]], a specialist in the history of writing, states “It is hard to imagine how gimel = ‘camel’ can be derived from the picture of a camel (it may show his hump, or his head and neck!)”.<ref>{{cite book|last=Powell|first=Barry B.|title=Writing: Theory and History of the Technology of Civilization|date=27 March 2009|publisher=Wiley Blackwell|isbn=978-1-4051-6256-2|page=182|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PZ2Gr3d9X2UC&q=Gimel+shaped+like+a+camel%27s+neck&pg=PA182}}</ref>

Gimel is one of the six letters which can receive a [[dagesh]] qal. The two functions of dagesh are distinguished as either qal (light) or hazaq (strong). The six letters that can receive a dagesh qal are [[Beth (letter)|bet]], gimel, [[Daleth (letter)|daled]], [[kaph]], [[Pe (Semitic letter)|pe]], and [[Taw (letter)|taf]]. Three of them (bet, kaph,  and pe) have their sound value changed in modern Hebrew from the fricative to the plosive by adding a dagesh. The other three represent the same pronunciation in modern Hebrew, but have had alternate pronunciations at other times and places. They are essentially pronounced in the fricative as ג gh غ, dh ذ and th ث. In the [[Yemenite Hebrew|Temani]] pronunciation, gimel represents {{IPA|/ɡ/}}, {{IPA|/ʒ/}}, or {{IPA|/d͡ʒ/}} when with a dagesh, and {{IPA|/ɣ/}} without a dagesh. In modern Hebrew, the combination '''{{Script/Hebrew|ג׳}}''' (gimel followed by a [[geresh]]) is used in loanwords and foreign names to denote {{IPAblink|d͡ʒ}}.

===Significance===
In [[gematria]], gimel represents the number three.

It is written like a ''[[Waw (letter)|vav]]'' with a ''[[Yodh|yud]]'' as a "foot", and is traditionally believed to resemble a person in motion; symbolically, a rich man running after a poor man to give him charity. In the [[Hebrew alphabet]] ''gimel'' directly precedes ''[[dalet]]'', which signifies a poor or lowly man, given its similarity to the Hebrew word ''dal'' (b. ''[[Shabbat (Talmud)|Shabbat]]'', 104a).<ref>{{cite book|last1=Ginzburgh|first1=Yitzchak|first2=Avraham Arieh|last2=Trugman|first3=Moshe Yaakov|last3=Wisnefsky|title=The Alef-beit: Jewish Thought Revealed Through the Hebrew Letters|location=Lanham|publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]]|pages=42,389|date=1991|isbn=0-87668-518-1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5YVLC35h3B8C}}</ref>

Gimel is also one of the seven letters which receive special crowns (called ''[[Tag (Hebrew writing)|tagin]]'') when written in a [[Sefer Torah]]. See ''[[Shin (letter)|shin]]'', ''[[ayin]]'', ''[[teth]]'', ''[[Nun (letter)|nun]]'', ''[[zayin]]'', and ''[[Tsade|tsadi]]''.

The letter gimel is the [[electoral symbol]] for the [[United Torah Judaism]] party, and the party is often nicknamed ''Gimmel''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://hamodia.com/2015/03/11/mass-rally-for-united-torah-judaism/|title=Mass Rally for United Torah Judaism - Hamodia.com|date=11 March 2015|website=Hamodia|access-date=5 May 2019|archive-date=5 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190505194044/https://hamodia.com/2015/03/11/mass-rally-for-united-torah-judaism/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://hamodia.com/2019/04/01/gedolim-special-conference-call-strengthen-utj-uphold-torah-shabbos-religious-character/|title=Gedolim at Special Conference Call to Strengthen UTJ to Uphold Torah, Shabbos and Religious Character - Hamodia.com|date=1 April 2019|website=Hamodia|access-date=5 May 2019|archive-date=5 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190505194045/https://hamodia.com/2019/04/01/gedolim-special-conference-call-strengthen-utj-uphold-torah-shabbos-religious-character/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In Modern Hebrew, the frequency of usage of gimel, out of all the letters, is 1.26%.

==Syriac gamal/gomal==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Gamal/Gomal
|-
| [[File:Syriac Eastern gamal.svg|class=skin-invert-image|50px]] ''Madnḫaya'' Gamal
|-
| [[File:Syriac Serta gamal.svg|class=skin-invert-image|50px]] ''Serṭo'' Gomal
|-
| [[File:Syriac Estrangela gamal.svg|class=skin-invert-image|50px]] ''Esṭrangela'' Gamal
|}

[[File:Syriac letter shapes Gamal.PNG|class=skin-invert-image|600px]]

In the [[Syriac alphabet]], the third letter is {{lang|syr|ܓ}} — Gamal in eastern pronunciation, Gomal in western pronunciation ({{lang|syr|ܓܵܡܵܠ}}). It is one of six letters that represent two associated sounds (the others are [[Bet (letter)|Bet]], [[Dalet]], [[Kaph]], [[Pe (Semitic letter)|Pe]] and [[Taw (letter)|Taw]]). When Gamal/Gomal has a hard pronunciation (''qûššāyâ&nbsp;'') it represents {{IPAblink|ɡ}}, like "'''g'''oat". When Gamal/Gomal has a soft pronunciation (''rûkkāḵâ&nbsp;'') it traditionally represents {{IPAblink|ɣ}} ({{lang|syr|ܓ݂ܵܡܵܠ}}), or ''Ghamal/Ghomal''. The letter, renamed ''Jamal/Jomal'', is written with a [[tilde]]/tie either below or within it to represent the borrowed [[phoneme]] {{IPAblink|d͡ʒ}} ({{lang|syr|ܓ̰ܡܵܠ}}), which is used in [[Garshuni]] and some [[Neo-Aramaic languages]] to write loan and foreign words from Arabic or Persian.

==Other uses==

===Mathematics===

The serif form <math>\gimel</math> of the Hebrew letter gimel is occasionally used for the [[gimel function]] in mathematics.

==Character encodings==
{{charmap
|05D2|name1=Hebrew Letter Gimel
|062C|name2=Arabic Letter Jeem
|06AF|name3=Arabic Letter Gaf
|0713|name4=Syriac Letter Gamal
|0802|name5=Samaritan Letter Gaman
|2137|name6=Gimel Symbol
}}

{{charmap
|10382|name1=Ugaritic Letter Gamla
|10842|name2=Imperial Aramaic Letter Gimel
|10902|name3=Phoenician Letter Gaml
}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Gimel (letter)}}
*[http://www.inner.org/hebleter/gimmel.htm The Mystical Significance of the Hebrew Letters: Gimel]

{{Arabic language}}
{{Hebrew language}}
{{Northwest Semitic abjad}}

[[Category:Phoenician alphabet]]
[[Category:Arabic letters]]
[[Category:Hebrew letters]]
[[Category:Urdu letters]]