Telisha Ketana
Telisha Ketana (תְּלִישָׁא קְטַנָּה, "small detached one") is a conjunctive Torah cantillation mark (te'amim) that links a word to the one that follows it rather than signaling a pause. It is the connecting counterpart to the disjunctive Telisha Gedola, and the two are told apart by where the symbol sits on the word.
תְּלִישָׁא קְטַנָּה
Conjunctive (connecting) accentWhat it does in the verse
As a conjunctive accent (a mesharet, or "servant"), Telisha Ketana does not break the verse — it joins its word to the words around it within a larger phrase. It carries no rank in the disjunctive emperor/king/duke/count hierarchy; instead it acts as a connector inside phrases led by fourth-level (Count-tier) disjunctives such as Pazer, and it is regularly followed by a Kadma. In short, when you reach a Telisha Ketana you keep the phrase moving forward instead of stopping.
What the symbol looks like
Telisha Ketana is postpositive: the mark is written above the last (left-most) letter of its word, no matter where the word's stressed syllable falls. The glyph is a small curl or loop set above the end of the word (Unicode U+05A9, HEBREW ACCENT TELISHA QETANA). That end-of-word placement is the practical way to distinguish it from Telisha Gedola, which is prepositive — placed above the first (right-most) letter of its word.
Good to know
Telisha Ketana is relatively common: it appears 451 times in the Torah, broken down as Genesis 92, Exodus 87, Leviticus 71, Numbers 88, and Deuteronomy 113. For comparison, its disjunctive look-alike Telisha Gedola occurs 266 times, and the famously rare Shalshelet shows up only four times in the entire Torah — so although teaching materials often group Telisha Ketana with Pazer and Telisha Gedola and label the cluster "rare," it is far more frequent than the truly scarce te'amim. One point of confusion worth flagging: some popular references (including the standalone Wikipedia "Telisha" article) describe Telisha Ketana as disjunctive, but that conflates it with Telisha Gedola. The authoritative Hebrew-cantillation hierarchy lists Telisha Qetannah among the conjunctive accents, which is the classification followed here. With TropeTrainer you can hear Telisha Ketana chanted aloud and practice the readings where it appears, so the connecting motion becomes second nature.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Telisha Ketana trope?
Telisha Ketana (תְּלִישָׁא קְטַנָּה) is a conjunctive Torah cantillation mark that connects its word to the following word rather than marking a pause. Its name means "small detached one," and it is the connecting counterpart of the disjunctive Telisha Gedola. TropeTrainer lets you hear it chanted and practice the passages where it occurs.
What does Telisha Ketana mean?
The Hebrew תְּלִישָׁא means "detached" or "plucked off," and קְטַנָּה means "small" or "little," so Telisha Ketana translates as the "small detached one." It is paired with Telisha Gedola, the "great detached one," which looks similar but functions differently.
Is Telisha Ketana a pause?
No. Telisha Ketana is a conjunctive (connecting) accent, so it links its word to the next one and keeps the phrase moving instead of pausing. The pausing, disjunctive member of the pair is Telisha Gedola. You can practice the difference by ear in TropeTrainer.
How do you tell Telisha Ketana from Telisha Gedola?
By placement. Telisha Ketana is postpositive — its small curl sits above the last (left-most) letter of the word. Telisha Gedola is prepositive — its mark sits above the first (right-most) letter. Telisha Ketana is also conjunctive, while Telisha Gedola is disjunctive. TropeTrainer shows the glyph in context and chants each one so you can hear and see the contrast.
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