The word "shaarei" is a transliteration of the Hebrew word שערי, which means "of the gates". The spelling can be explained using the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) as /ʃæˈɑːreɪ/. The first sound, /ʃ/, is a voiceless palato-alveolar sibilant. The second sound, /æ/, is an open front unrounded vowel. The third sound, /ɑː/, is an open back unrounded vowel. The fourth sound, /r/, is an alveolar trill. The final sound, /eɪ/, is a diphthong consisting of the sounds /e/ and /ɪ/.