Alphabetic signs: There are several different
kinds of signs in Egyptian. First we have alphabetic signs. See
Egyptian Hieroglyphic Alphabet. Some of the
most common words (on the left) use only alphabetic signs.Return to my Egyptology pages
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© Copyright 2002, Jim Loy
Alphabetic signs: There are several different
kinds of signs in Egyptian. First we have alphabetic signs. See
Egyptian Hieroglyphic Alphabet. Some of the
most common words (on the left) use only alphabetic signs.
Determinatives: Most words end in determinative signs. See Determinative Signs in Egyptian. These are signs which have no sound, but give a clue about the meaning of the word.
Other phonetic signs: Many words begin with a phonetic sign which is not alphabetic, but is phonetic. See Phonetic Signs in Egyptian. These signs may also appear later in a word. Most of them represent two or three alphabetic signs, and are called biliterals and triliterals. They are usually followed by redundant alphabetic signs which help you tell what the sound of the sign is.
Abbreviations: Abbreviations are very common. One or two signs often stand for an entire word. My Egyptian Hieroglyphic Dictionary, usually lists the abbreviations of a word last. But these abbreviations are often more popular than the longer word.
Ideograms: A special kind of abbreviation is an ideogram.
This is a sign (occasionally accompanied by a phonetic sign) followed by a
vertical line (or a feminine -t sign, then a vertical line if the
word is feminine, see Gender in Egyptian).
This shows that the sign stands for the actual object that it looks like, more
or less. A circle (sun) with a vertical line under it represents the sun. On
the right are some common ideograms.
Cartouche: A cartouche represents a rope loop drawn around a king's name. See Some Famous Kings of Egypt.