Hieroglyphs tutorial; The basics - part one

There are three main types of hieroglyph. The hieroglyphic language is based on the phonetic value(s) of the hieroglyph, with extra information conveyed by hieroglyphs acting as logograms and determinatives. However, one hieroglyphic sign may act as a logogram, a phonogram or a determinative depending on the situation. The convention in translation is to "transliterate" (turn the hieroglyph into their phonetic values) and then confirm the meaning with reference to the non-phonetic elements of the word (determinatives and logograms). This sounds really complicated, but you will quickly get the hang of it if you persevere, and it makes vocabulary much easier to remember.

Books on Hieroglyphs

Phonograms

Logograms

Determinatives

Phonograms

A phonogram indicates one or more sounds (or syllables). Phonograms are uni-consonantal, bi-consonantal or tri-consonantal. The uni-consonontal signs (below) are commonly used in personal names. The Pharaohs names tended to be made up of more complex signs and often featured the name of a god, but during the Old Kingdom and Ptolemaic period the Pharaohs spelt their names phonetically using single consonant signs.

for example;

t h f p

single consonant signs, page one

single consonant signs, page two

Logograms

A logogram (or ideogram) represents an entire word. Many logograms are also determinatives and phonograms. If the sign is intended to act as a logogram, there is usually a vertical line beneath it. For example, sign for the letter "r" becomes the sign for word "mouth" when written with a vertical line (indicating it is a logogram).

Determinatives

The determinative has no phonetic value, and so is not transliterated. It indicates the end of the word and provides you with further information concerning the meaning of the word. The determinative sign can be vital for translation as there are no vowels in hieroglyphics, and so a set of consonants could have more than one meaning. For example, the sound "hD" (hedj) can represent the metal silver or the colour white.

To prevent any confusion the determinatives of a collar necklace (representing gold and used here because silver was called white gold) and three grains of sand (representing a mineral) were added when the scribe was referring to silver. Alternatively, the determinative of a sun could be added to indicate that the correct translation was "white". Likewise, the determinatives "iAw" (iahu) can represent the word "old" or the verb "to praise"(with the determinatives of an old man leaning on a stick or a man raising his arms in praise) make it clear which meaning is intended. In monumental scenes, the determinative is sometimes omitted as the context makes it clear how the word should be translated.

There are many determinatives, and it is useful to be able to recognise some of the most common ones.

Single consonant hieroglyphs; part one

Single consonant signs were often used as phonetic complements (extra glyphs to confirm the phonetic elements of a word which also has double or triple consonant signs within it). The Ancient Egyptians also

used them to write foreign names. Learning these signs is the basis for any study of Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphs.

r n a or ´ d

m d b h (kh or x)

A (glottal stop) m m m

w or u f D (j or dj) j or i

y q or k n S (sh)

S (sh) h s p

Single consonant hieroglyphs; part two

Single consonant signs were often used as phonetic complements (extra glyphs to confirm the phonetic elements of a word which also has double or triple consonant signs within it). The Ancient Egyptians also used them to write foreign names. Learning these signs is the basis for any study of Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphs.

n n (rare) s t or T

T(tj) or t T(tj) or t H (emphatic h) k

g (rare) g (rare) g (rare) s

g g t d (rare)

j or y w h (kh or x) m

m

Hieroglyphs tutorial; The basics - part two

Nouns Prepositions Adjectives

Books on Hieroglyphs

Nouns

All nouns are male or female in gender. Male nouns don´t have any specific suffixes to indicate their gender, while female words almost always end with a "t". When the word is transliterated, this "t" is separated from the rest of the word (the word stem) to indicate that it is not just a phonetic component but a mark of gender. It is also important to note that the "t" is written before the determinative sign.

s st

man woman

There was no specific word for "the" or "a" in Egyptian. So, the word "bAk" could be translated as the "servant" or "a servant".

Plural Nouns

The Egyptians employed a number of methods to indicate that a word was plural. The most common is the plural determinative (three strokes). However, it is also common to find the determinative or logogram repeated three times. The single consonant sounds "w" and "u" also indicate that a noun is plural in hieroglyphs (while in english "boy" becomes "boys", in hieroglyphs "sn" becomes "sn-w"). However, the sign is often omitted to save space. When you transliterate, the letter "w" or "u" should also be separated from the word stem.

Duality

The Ancient Egyptians were fascinated by the concept of duality. In hieroglyphs, this concept is indicated by the use of a double logogram or determinative, and by the addition of the single consonant sign for the sound "y" ("wy" for a male noun and "ty" for a female noun). Again, these sounds are separated from the word stem. This form was common with items which tended to come in pairs (arms, legs etc) but was also used frequently with the words "sn" (brother) and "snt" (sister).

Prepositions

Like English, Egyptian hieroglyphs often employed prepositions (words placed before the noun which link it to a verb or another noun). They were commonly used to indicate location (ie "in" or "under"), time ("during" or "after"), direction (ie "towards") and accompaniement (ie "with"). Some of the most common examples are listed below.

m

in, with, from, as

n

for, to(wards)(people)

r

at, to(wards)(place)

in

by

Hn´

with

Adjectives

The Egyptians also used adjectives to describe nouns. Unlike English, the adjective follows the noun it described, and it agrees with the noun (ie an adjective for a female noun also has the ending "t", and adjectives for plural nouns are plural).

bin - evil

s bin

("a" or "the") evil man

s bint

("a" or "the") evil woman

This

The word this also acts like an adjective and so it follows the noun and agrees with it in gender and number.

pn

this (masc)

tn

this (fem)

nb: "every" or "lord"

The word "nb" can act like an adjective (following and agreeing with the noun). In this case, it is translated as "all", "every" or "any". However, if the word "nb" appears before the noun, it has a completely different meaning, and is translated as "lord" or "master".

nb

all, every, anyor lord, master

ndjs nb

every individual

nb AbDw

Lord of Abydos (AbDw)

Hieroglyphs tutorial; Verb classes and infinitives

Translating verbs can be a little tricky. It is necessary to distinguish the stem of the verb and then check the ending to find out whether the verb is; past, present or future tense; masculine or feminine; and singular or plural.

Verb classes

Infinitives

Verb classes

There are four classes of verb; strong verbs, doubled or doubling verbs, weak verbs and extra weak verbs.

Strong verbs are named as such because the stem of the verb often remains unchanged for different tenses. This can make them rather hard to translate correctly. Although doubled verbs classically end with two idential consonants. In some tenses only one of these consonants is used, which can help with translation.

Weak verbs end in a "weak consonant" ("i" or "w") vary more noticably in each form, making translation easier. However, the last sign (the weak consonant) of the stem was not always written and so is generally not transliterated or is written in brackets. Extra weak verbs also end in a weak consonant and vary noticbly in different forms. Again, the last sign (the weak consonant) of the stem was not always written

and so is generally not transliterated or is written in brackets. Extra weak verbs can also be depicted with the first consonant missing. For example, the stem of the verb "to give" can be written as "rd(i)" or "d(i)".

Strong verbs sDmhear

Doubled verbs mAAsee

Weak verbs mr(i)love

Extra weak verbs rd(i)give, place

Infinitives

The infinitive is usually translated as "to ..." or "...ing" (ie "to walk", "singing"). The strong verb stem is unchanged, doubling verbs include the both final consonants and both types of weak verb stem have the added ending "t". Extra weak verbs are sometimes depicted without the first consonant.

Strong verbssDmto hear, hearing

Doubled verbsmAAto see, seeing

Weak verbsmrtto love, loving

Extra weak verbsrditto give, giving, to place, placing

Alternate writingditto give, giving, to place, placing

Infinitives often appear in captions beside pictures which depict the action being described in the text. As a result, infinitives sometime appear without the determinative of the verb because the context makes the meaning clear. In the highlighted section of text below, the determinative (the two joined legs) has been retained.

shp r pr Hdconveying to the white storehouse

Hieroglyphs tutorial; Past and Present tense

The endings of verbs are always;

"y" for the singular personal verbs ("I")

"k" for second person singular male verbs (you)

"T" (tj) for second person singular female verbs (you)

"f" for third person singular masculine verbs (he)

"s" for third person singular verbs

"n" for first person plural verbs (we)

"Tn" (tjn) for second person plural verbs

"sn" for third person plural verbs

Present Tense

Past Tense

Present tense

The present tense uses the standard stem of each class of verb (see verbs; part one) with the endings listed above. For example, the present tense of the verb sDm (to hear) is as follows;

sDm.yI hear

sDm.kYou (masc) hear

sDm.TYou (fem) hear

sDm.fHe (it) hears

sDm.sShe (it) hears

sDm.nWe hear

sDm.TnYou hear

sDm.snThey hear

Past Tense

The past tense is often known as the "sDm.n(=f)" (or "sedjemenef") tense as this is the form used to write the first person singular (ie "he") of the standard strong verb ("sDm" - "to hear"). The "n" is separated from the verb stem by a dot to show that it is the verbal ending and not part of the stem.

The stem of strong, weak and extra weak verbs remains unchanged, but the last consonant of doubling verbs is sometimes omitted.

Strong verbs sDm.n=(f)he heard

Doubled verbs mA.n=(f)he saw

Weak verbs mr.n=(f)he loved

Extra weak verbs rdi.n=(f)he gave, he placed

The "sDm.n=f" form is often preceded by an auxilliary word such as "iw". This term is not translated as there is no equivalent in English. The term is most often found in recorded speech as it implies an involvement in the events being described.

iwauxiliary term

iw Hbs.n=i HAyI clothed the naked

Hieroglyphs tutorial; Relative forms

In Ancient Egypt, relative forms are used to describe an action that someone or something else performs. Relative forms are similar to participles in that they have common traits to verbs and adjectives. They are based on the stem of the verb and like an adjective they agree in number and gender with the noun or noun phrase that preceeds them. Unlike participles they are more closely connected to verbs and have a subject of their own. Because the tense already tells us that the action is linked to the person, the Egyptians did not need to insert a word to represent "that", "what" or "which". This is a fairly tricky concept as this particular construction is not found in English.

Present Relative Tense

The present relative tense decribes an action as "(one) which a person does". For example "(the cat) that she loves" or "(the coat) that he wears". A common example of this form can be found in the offering formula in the phrase "ht nbt nfrt 'nHt nTr im" - "all good things which a god lives on". "'nHt" ends with a "t" because it reflects the feminine gender of the noun "ht" ("things")

Strong verbs sDm=(f)(someone or something) which he hears

Doubled verbs mAA=(f)(someone or something) which he sees

Weak verbs mrr=(f)(someone or something) which he loves

Extra weak verbs dd=(f)(someone or something) which he gives

Past Relative Tense

The past relative tense decribes an action as "(one) which a person did". For example "(the cake) that he ate" or "(the sound) that she heard".

Strong verbs sDm.n=(f)(someone or something) which he heard

Doubled verbs mA.n=(f)(someone or something) which he saw

Weak verbs mr.n=(f)(someone or something) which he loved

Extra weak verbs rdi.n=(f)(someone or something) which he gave

If the relative form stands on its own rather than relating back to a previous noun or phrase it usually has the ending "t" inserted between the stem and the verb ending to show that it has an abstract subject. The table below depicts the past relative tense with an abstract subject but this can equally apply to the present relative tense.

Strong verbs sDmt.n=(f)that which he heard

Doubled verbs mAt.n=(f)that which he saw

Weak verbs mrt.n=(f)that which he loved

Extra weak verbs rdit.n=(f)that which he gave

As with verbs, (refer to Verbs; part two) if there is no noun with the relative form it takes the suffix pronoun endings as follows;

"y" for the singular personal verbs ("I")

"k" for second person singular male verbs (you)

"T" (tj) for second person singular female verbs (you)

"f" for third person singular masculine verbs (he)

"s" for third person singular verbs

"n" for first person plural verbs (we)

"Tn" (tjn) for second person plural verbs

"sn" for third person plural verbs

For example...

miu mrr stthe cat the woman loves

miu mrr=sthe cat she loves

Hieroglyphs tutorial; Adjectives

An adjectives is a word which describes a noun. In the hieroglyphic language of Ancient Egypt the adjective "agrees" with the noun (i.e. an adjective for a female noun also has the ending "t", and adjectives for plural nouns are plural).

bin - evil s bin

("a" or "the") evil man

st bint

("a" or "the") evil woman

Word Order

Unlike English, the adjective generally follows the noun it describes (as above, "s bin" translates as "evil man" not "man evil"). However, an adjective can also be used as a "predicate adjective" (e.g. "The cat is graceful") in which case the noun follows the adjective.

An adjective can also be used as a noun in which case it will have a determinative sign to shows that it is a noun.

Common Adjectives

a'a great, big

wer great, mighty

nefer good, beautiful, perfect

nub, neb all, every

bin evil, bad

wab pure

This

The word this also acts like an adjective and so it follows the noun and agrees with it in gender and number.

pn

this (masc)

tn

this (fem)

Hieroglyphs Tutorial: Pronouns

A pronoun can be defined as a substitute for a noun. There are three types of pronoun in ancient Egyptian; suffix pronouns, dependent pronouns and independent pronouns.

Suffix Pronouns

The Suffix Pronoun is always attached to a preceding word and is connected to it in transliteration by the symbol "=". It will always be placed immediately after the word it is attached to (see below on word order). The suffix pronouns are as follows:

The first person suffix pronoun ("I") is usually masculine (i.e. it is the glyph of a kneeling man) but this glyoh can be replaced with that of a woman, a god or a dignitary if the situation warrants this.

There are six main uses for suffix pronouns:

1: As the subject of a verb (but not an infinitive)

2: As the object after a preposition

3: As an indirect object of a verb

4: As the possessor or genitive of a noun

5: As the subject of a non-verbal statement beginning with the particle "iw"

6: As the subject following the word "djs" ("self")

Dependent Pronouns

Dependent pronouns are not as closely connected to the word so they are written with "-". The dependent pronou will always preceed the subject if it is a noun, but if the subject is a suffix pronoun the dependent pronoun will follow it.

There are three main uses for dependent pronouns:

1: As the object of a verb (but not an infinitive)

2: As the subject of a non-verbal statment beginning with a particle

3: as an object reflexively relating back to the subject of the verb

Hieroglyphs Tutorial: Word Order

Hieroglyphic script conforms to certain artistic and linguistic standards and rules which seem to have been established very early in Egyptian history. A hieroglyphic inscription is arranged either in columns or in horizontal lines. When the script is arranged in a column, it is always read from the top down. However, if script is written horizontally, the signs can be written right to left, or left to right. The key is to check which way the animals and/or Gods are facing. If the figures face right, the script reads right to

left. To further complicate translation, no punctuation marks or spaces to indicate the divisions between words, which are sometimes arranged unconventionally for artistic effect or to adapt to restricted space.

Phonetic complements and Honorific transposition

The bi-consonant and tri-consonant signs are often complemented by single consonant signs that repeat elements of previous signs phonetic value. The extra signs are known as phonetic complements. Usually it is only the last consonant of the multi-letter sign which is repeated. Another idiosyncrasy of the Egyptian language is honorific transposition in which the sign for a god or King is placed first out of respect.

The word incense displays both these features. Although the word is "senetjer" (s-nTr), the hieroglyph for god (a flag representing the sound nTr) is written first. The single consonant letters spell out "s-nT-r", and the flag hieroglyph duplicates the sounds "nTr". It is also likely that the flag acts as a determinative, but is not placed at the end of the word purely because of the system of honorific transposition. There is also the further determinative of three grains of sand indicating that the word is in some way related to minerals and is plural.

Verbs, subjects and objects

The word order in a basic sentence is Verb-Subject-Object. This does not change if the subject is a suffix pronounrather than a noun as suffix pronouns are always attached to the word they relate to. However, if the subject is a noun and the object is a dependent pronoun, the dependent pronoun is placed before the noun. If the subject is a suffix pronoun and the object is a dependent pronoun the suffix pronoun will come first followed by the dependent pronoun. Finally, if there is a phrase which incorporates a preposition and a suffix pronoun it will also be placed before the dependent pronoun. This sounds very complicated, but hopefully the following examples will make it clearer! (The word "iw" is an auxiliary which is not translated - more on this later!)