Resh (IPA: /ɹɛʃ/) is the twentiethletter of theSemitic abjads, includingPhoenicianrēš 𐤓,Hebrewrēšר‎,Aramaicrēš 𐡓‎,Syriacrēš ܪ, andArabicrāʾر‎. Its sound value is one of a number ofrhotic consonants: usually[r] or[ɾ], but also[ʁ] or[ʀ] in Hebrew andNorth Mesopotamian Arabic.

In most Semitic alphabets, the letter resh (and its equivalents) is quite similar to the letterdalet (and its equivalents). In theSyriac alphabet, the letters became so similar that now they are only distinguished by a dot: resh has a dot above the letter, and the otherwise identical dalet has a dot below the letter. In the Arabic alphabet,rāʼ has a longer tail thandāl. In the Aramaic and Hebrew square alphabet, resh is a rounded single stroke while dalet is a right-angle of two strokes.

The Phoenician letter gave rise to theGreekrho (Ρ/ρ),Etruscan,LatinR,GlagoliticⰓ,^[1] andCyrillicР.

Resh is usually assumed to mean head, as inProto-Semitic*raʾ(i)š- and descendants.

The letter is namedrāʾراء in Arabic. It is written in several ways depending on its position in the word:

It ranges between analveolar trill[r], analveolar flap[ɾ], and auvular trill[ʀ] (the last of which is only found in a fewmodern varieties). It is pronounced as apostalveolar approximant [ɹ̠] in the traditionaldialect of Fes.^[2]

TheUnicode standard for Arabic scripts also lists a variant with a full stroke (Unicode character U+075b:ݛ), suggesting that this form is used in certain Northern and Western African languages and some dialects inPakistan.^[3]

In thePashto alphabet, a variant of the letterrāʾ uses a ring below for theretroflex consonant[ɭ̆~ɽ] and another uses dots above and below the tail for the voiced fricative[ʐ] or[ʝ]:

Orthographic variants
Various print fonts			Cursive Hebrew	Rashi script
Serif	Sans-serif	Monospaced
ר	ר	ר

Hebrew spelling:רֵישׁ

InHebrew, Resh (רֵישׁ‎) represents a rhotic consonant that has different realizations for different dialects:

• In Modern Hebrew, the most common pronunciation is thevoiced uvular fricative[ʁ].
• Ashkenazi use sometimes auvular trill[ʀ] or analveolar trill[r]. Native English-speakers replace it sometimes with analveolar approximant[ɹ], as in English.
• Sephardic andMizrahi use analveolar trill[r], analveolar flap[ɾ] oruvular trill[ʀ].

As a general rule, Resh, along withAyin,Aleph,He, andHet, do not receive adagesh. There are a handful of exceptions to this rule.^[4] In theYemenite tradition, Resh is treated as most other consonants in that it can receive adagesh hazak under certain circumstances. In the most widely accepted version of theHebrew Bible, there are 17 instances of Resh being marked with a dagesh.^[5] The list is: 1 Samuel 1:6, 1 Samuel 10:24, 1 Samuel 17:25, 2 Kings 6:32, Jeremiah 39:12, Ezekiel 16:4 [×2], Habakkuk 3:13, Psalms 52:5, Proverbs 3:8, Proverbs 11:21, Proverbs 14:10, Proverbs 15:1, Job 39:9 (?^[6]), Song of Songs 5:2, Ezra 9:6, 2 Chronicles 26:10 (?^[7])

Ingematria, Resh represents the number 200.

Resh as an abbreviation can stand forRabbi (orRav,Rebbe, Rabban, Rabbenu, and other similar constructions).

Resh may be found after a person's name on agravestone to indicate that the person had been a Rabbi or to indicate the other use ofRav, as a generic term for a teacher or a personal spiritual guide.

Wikimedia Commons has media related toResh (letter).

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