Language of Civilization
Ancient Egyptian writing was a full script combining sound-signs, word-signs and silent determinatives. It is not a letter-for-letter cipher for Arabic or English.
How hieroglyphs work
- 1Sound signs: some signs write one, two or three consonants. Vowels were not written.
- 2Word signs (logograms) stand for a whole word, often with a stroke beneath.
- 3Determinatives are unspoken signs at the end of a word that show its category — a person, a place, movement.
Reading direction
Hieroglyphs could run right-to-left, left-to-right, or in columns. Read toward the faces: people and animals look toward the start of the line.
The 24 single-consonant signs
Transliteration follows Egyptological convention. The “conventional sound” is how scholars pronounce it today — an agreed convention, not a recording of ancient speech.
- Transliteration
- ꜣ
- Conventional sound
- glottal stop (spoken "a" by convention)
- Depicts
- Egyptian vulture
- Gardiner
- Gardiner G1
- Transliteration
- i
- Conventional sound
- y or glottal stop (spoken "i")
- Depicts
- reed leaf
- Gardiner
- Gardiner M17
- Transliteration
- ꜥ
- Conventional sound
- ʿayin, a throat sound (spoken "a")
- Depicts
- forearm
- Gardiner
- Gardiner D36
- Transliteration
- w
- Conventional sound
- w / u
- Depicts
- quail chick
- Gardiner
- Gardiner G43
- Transliteration
- b
- Conventional sound
- b
- Depicts
- foot and lower leg
- Gardiner
- Gardiner D58
- Transliteration
- p
- Conventional sound
- p
- Depicts
- stool
- Gardiner
- Gardiner Q3
- Transliteration
- f
- Conventional sound
- f
- Depicts
- horned viper
- Gardiner
- Gardiner I9
- Transliteration
- m
- Conventional sound
- m
- Depicts
- owl
- Gardiner
- Gardiner G17
- Transliteration
- n
- Conventional sound
- n
- Depicts
- ripple of water
- Gardiner
- Gardiner N35
- Transliteration
- r
- Conventional sound
- r
- Depicts
- mouth
- Gardiner
- Gardiner D21
- Transliteration
- h
- Conventional sound
- h
- Depicts
- reed shelter
- Gardiner
- Gardiner O4
- Transliteration
- ḥ
- Conventional sound
- emphatic h (Arabic ح)
- Depicts
- twisted flax wick
- Gardiner
- Gardiner V28
- Transliteration
- ḫ
- Conventional sound
- kh (Arabic خ)
- Depicts
- uncertain: placenta or sieve
- Gardiner
- Gardiner Aa1
- Transliteration
- ẖ
- Conventional sound
- soft kh, as in German "ich" (approximation)
- Depicts
- animal belly
- Gardiner
- Gardiner F32
- Transliteration
- s (z)
- Conventional sound
- z, later s
- Depicts
- door bolt
- Gardiner
- Gardiner O34
- Transliteration
- s
- Conventional sound
- s
- Depicts
- folded cloth
- Gardiner
- Gardiner S29
- Transliteration
- š
- Conventional sound
- sh
- Depicts
- pool
- Gardiner
- Gardiner N37
- Transliteration
- q
- Conventional sound
- q (Arabic ق)
- Depicts
- hill slope
- Gardiner
- Gardiner N29
- Transliteration
- k
- Conventional sound
- k
- Depicts
- basket with handle
- Gardiner
- Gardiner V31
- Transliteration
- g
- Conventional sound
- hard g
- Depicts
- jar stand
- Gardiner
- Gardiner W11
- Transliteration
- t
- Conventional sound
- t
- Depicts
- bread loaf
- Gardiner
- Gardiner X1
- Transliteration
- ṯ
- Conventional sound
- tj / ch (approximation)
- Depicts
- tethering rope
- Gardiner
- Gardiner V13
- Transliteration
- d
- Conventional sound
- d
- Depicts
- hand
- Gardiner
- Gardiner D46
- Transliteration
- ḏ
- Conventional sound
- dj (approximation)
- Depicts
- cobra
- Gardiner
- Gardiner I10
- Alan Gardiner (1957) “Egyptian Grammar: Being an Introduction to the Study of Hieroglyphs (3rd edition)” Griffith Institute, Oxford
- James P. Allen (2014) “Middle Egyptian: An Introduction to the Language and Culture of Hieroglyphs (3rd edition)” Cambridge University Press
- Unicode Consortium “The Unicode Standard — Egyptian Hieroglyphs (U+13000–U+1342F) code chart” unicode.org
Real words
Each word is attested in Egyptian texts. We do not offer automatic “name in hieroglyphs” conversion, because it cannot be presented as authentic.
km.t
kmt: Egypt — "the black (land)"
The first sign (crocodile skin) writes km, the owl confirms m, the bread loaf is the feminine t, and the crossed circle is a determinative for a settled place.
- James P. Allen (2014) “Middle Egyptian: An Introduction to the Language and Culture of Hieroglyphs (3rd edition)” Cambridge University Press
ꜥnḫ
ꜥnḫ: life, to live
The ankh is a triliteral sign; the n and ḫ signs that follow confirm the reading.
- James P. Allen (2014) “Middle Egyptian: An Introduction to the Language and Culture of Hieroglyphs (3rd edition)” Cambridge University Press
- Alan Gardiner (1957) “Egyptian Grammar: Being an Introduction to the Study of Hieroglyphs (3rd edition)” Griffith Institute, Oxford
nfr
nfr: good, beautiful, perfect
The first sign (heart and windpipe) writes nfr; f and r follow as phonetic complements.
- James P. Allen (2014) “Middle Egyptian: An Introduction to the Language and Culture of Hieroglyphs (3rd edition)” Cambridge University Press
ḥtp
ḥtp: offering; to be content, at peace
The first sign shows a loaf on an offering mat; t and p follow.
- James P. Allen (2014) “Middle Egyptian: An Introduction to the Language and Culture of Hieroglyphs (3rd edition)” Cambridge University Press
Sources: Allen 2014 · Gardiner 1957 · Unicode