Hieroglyphs were developed by the ancient Egyptians as a method of integrating writing into their artwork. Instead of the letters we see in modern Italian, the Egyptians used symbols. Such symbols, or hieroglyphs, can have more than one meaning depending on how they are written. The following steps will help you understand the basics of Egyptian hieroglyphs and can be used as a starting point for further study on the subject.
Steps
Method 1 of 3: Learn the Ancient Egyptian Alphabet
Step 1. Get a table of the Egyptian hieroglyphic alphabet
Since hieroglyphs are images and not letters (as we are used to in Italian), it is quite difficult to describe how to read them if you cannot see them. Start learning by getting an alphabet table from the internet. Print it and always keep an eye on it while you learn the basics of the language.
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At the following addresses you can find tables of Egyptian hieroglyphics transliterated into the modern alphabet:
- https://www.egyptianhieroglyphs.net/egyptian-hieroglyphs/lesson-1/
- https://www.ancientscripts.com/egyptian.html
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Egyptian_hieroglyphs_by_alphabetization
- The glyphs you find in these tables are also known as "one-sided", because almost all of them have only one symbol.
Step 2. Learn how to pronounce hieroglyphs
While some glyphs can be transliterated with letters from the Italian alphabet, they don't necessarily represent the sound you expect. At the address you got the table from you should also find a hieroglyph pronunciation table. Print that too and keep it for reference.
- For example, the bird-shaped hieroglyph transliterates with a three-like symbol, "3", but is pronounced "ah".
- Technically, the pronunciations are just hypotheses on the part of Egyptologists. Since the Egyptian hieroglyphics is a dead language, there is no one who can demonstrate how the sounds are to be pronounced. For this Egyptologists have had to put forward plausible hypotheses based on a more recent form of the Egyptian language, known as Coptic.
Step 3. Learn the difference between an ideogram and a phonogram
Egyptian hieroglyphs are of two main types: ideograms and phonograms. The former are drawings that directly represent the object to which they refer; the latter, on the other hand, are drawings that represent sounds. Since the ancient Egyptians did not write vowels, phonograms almost exclusively represent consonants.
- Phonograms can represent one or more sounds. Refer to the alphabet you downloaded earlier to find specific examples.
- The ideograms, in addition to having a literal translation (for example a pair of legs can mean "movement" or "walking"), can also have a non-literal one (for example the same pair of legs combined with other glyphs can mean "explain the Street").
- Egyptian hieroglyphs were usually created with phonograms at the beginning of a word and ideograms at the end. In this case, the glyph is also referred to as a definite one.
Step 4. Create a sentence with hieroglyphs
These symbols represent sounds, not letters; consequently there are no silent glyphs like our "H". To spell a word using hieroglyphs you need to be sure that all the sounds it contains are represented by a symbol.
- For example, the word "chi" is made up of three letters, but contains only two sounds: "k" and "i". Consequently, to write it with hieroglyphs you have to use the glyphs of the two sounds, in this case a basket with a handle and a cane.
- Not all sounds of the Italian language are represented by an Egyptian hieroglyph.
- In some languages, such as English, many vowels are not pronounced and therefore are not represented when you write a word in Egyptian. This means that it can become difficult to understand which words the symbols represent, as there may be more than one possible transliteration. Determinatives serve to resolve these confusions. Use a definite glyph after writing a word with hieroglyphs to describe it correctly.
Method 2 of 3: Read Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphs
Step 1. Determine which direction you need to read
Hieroglyphs can be read in almost any direction: left to right, right to left and top to bottom. To understand how to read a series of symbols, start by looking for the head glyph. If the head is turned to the left, start reading from the left and go all the way to the head. If it is facing right, do the opposite.
- If the hieroglyphs are written in vertical columns, always start at the top and work your way down. However, you still have to consider whether to continue to the right or to the left.
- Note that some hieroglyphs can be grouped to save space. The higher glyphs are usually written alone, while the lower ones can be overlaid. This means that some lines of hieroglyphics must be read both horizontally and vertically.
Step 2. Decipher the nouns of the Egyptian
Nouns written with hieroglyphics differ in gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular, plural or dual).
- In many - but not all - cases when a noun is followed by the symbol of bread it is feminine. If this symbol is not present, the name is probably masculine.
- Plural nouns can be represented by the symbol of the quail chick or the coiled rope. For example, the symbol of water and a man means "brother" (singular). The same symbol followed by a quail chick means "brothers".
- Dual nouns can be indicated by two backslashes. For example, the symbol depicting, water, a coiled rope, two backslashes and two men means "the two brothers".
- In some cases the dual and plural nouns do not contain these extra symbols, but only vertical lines or other identical symbols that indicate how many elements are being referenced.
Step 3. Learn the suffix pronouns of Egyptian
Pronouns replace nouns and are usually used after the noun they refer to has been used for the first time. For example, in the sentence "That is Marco. He is very tall", "Marco" is the name and "He" is the pronoun. Pronouns also exist in the Egyptian language, but they do not always follow a name.
- Suffix pronouns must be tied to nouns, verbs or prepositions, because they are not individual words. They are the most common pronouns of the Egyptian.
- "Mine", "me" and "I" are represented by the symbol of a person or a rod.
- "You" and "your" are represented by a basket with a handle if they refer to a singular masculine noun. If, on the other hand, they refer to a singular female subject, they are represented by the symbol of bread or of the rope to tie the animals.
- "He", "it" and "her" are represented by the viper symbol, while it is represented by the folded cloth symbol.
- "Our" and "we" are represented by the water symbol above 3 vertical lines.
- "Your" and "you" are represented by the symbol of bread or the rope to tie the animals over the symbol of water and 3 vertical lines.
- "They" and "they" are represented by the folded cloth or door latch symbol, plus water and 3 vertical lines.
Step 4. Try to understand the idea of prepositions in the Egyptian language
Prepositions are words such as below, above, between, near, which add space-time information to the other words in the sentence. For example, in the sentence "The cat was under the table", the word "under" is a preposition.
- The owl glyph is one of the most versatile prepositions of ancient Egyptian. In most cases it is translated as "in", but it can also mean "for", "during", "from", "with" and "through".
- The glyph of the mouth is another versatile preposition that can mean "against", "about" and "so that", depending on the context of the sentence.
- Prepositions can be combined with nouns to make compound prepositions.
Step 5. Learn the Egyptian adjectives
Adjectives are words that describe a noun. For example, in the phrase "the pink umbrella", the word "pink" is the adjective that describes the name "umbrella". In the Egyptian language, adjectives can be used to give information about a noun or as nouns.
- Adjectives that are used as modifiers always follow the noun, pronoun or noun phrase they refer to. Adjectives of this type are conjugated in name and number as the noun that governs them.
- Nouns adjectives follow the same rules as nouns in terms of feminine and masculine, singular, plural or dual.
Method 3 of 3: Get Help to Learn Egyptian Hieroglyphs
Step 1. Buy a book on how to read hieroglyphs
One of the books that are most often recommended to those wishing to learn Egyptian hieroglyphs is How to Read Egyptian Hieroglyphs: A Step-by-Step Guide to Teach Yourself by Mark Collier and Bill Manley. The most recent version was released in 2003 and is available in many online bookstores.
- If you visit the site of an online bookstore (such as Amazon) and search for "Egyptian Hieroglyphs" you will find many different options.
- Read the reviews you find in online bookstores or on Goodreads to figure out which book is best suited to your specific interests.
- Make sure you can return the book, or read a few pages before you buy it, so you can be sure it's what you wanted.
Step 2. Download an iPhone / iPad application
The Apple Store contains many applications dedicated to ancient Egypt that you can download on iOS devices. One app in particular, called Egyptian Hieroglyphs, was designed specifically to help users read hieroglyphs. The same developer has also created an application that can change the classic QWERTY keyboard into one for hieroglyphs.
- Almost all the applications you will find are paid, but they often don't come with a very high price.
- Note that these applications contain a lot of hieroglyphs to learn, but they are never complete.
Step 3. Follow the Royal Ontario Museum activities website
The ROM website (https://www.rom.on.ca/en/learn/activities/classroom/write-your-name-in-egptian-hieroglyphs) contains step-by-step instructions on how to write your name with the Egyptian hieroglyphs. The site contains all the information to complete this simple exercise, but does not go into the details of the more complicated symbols.
The ROM also contains a large gallery on Ancient Egypt with many artifacts on display. It may be worth a visit (if you are in that area) to get an idea of what hieroglyphs look like when written on stone and other materials
Step 4. Install the JSesh editor on your computer
It is an open source Egyptian hieroglyphics editor that you can download for free at
- The website also contains complete documentation and tutorials on how to use the program.
- Technically JSesh is meant for people who already know hieroglyphs, but it can still be a useful tool if you are learning or want to challenge yourself.
Step 5. Study Egyptology
There are many face-to-face and online courses on topics related to Ancient Egypt and Egyptology. For instance:
- If you know English, the University of Cambridge offers a workshop called Learn to read ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs. If you are unable to attend the course in person, you can download the program in PDF format. The program contains many useful resources and sources.
- Coursera offers an online course called Ancient Egypt: A history in six objects, available for free to all people with internet access. While he does not specifically teach hieroglyphs, he speaks of Ancient Egypt showing actual artifacts from that period.
- Several Italian universities offer courses in Egyptology, including those in Turin, Rome and Pavia. In some cases the courses are also available online, but visiting museums and libraries in person is an irreplaceable experience.
Advice
- The names of deities and pharaohs usually appear before nominal phrases, but must be read after the phrase, for a practice known as "honorary transposition".
- In addition to suffix pronouns, there are also dependent pronouns, independent pronouns and demonstrative pronouns in the Egyptian language. The latter types were not illustrated in the article.
- When you read Ancient Egyptian aloud it is conventional to pronounce an "and" between two symbols that represent consonants. For example, the hieroglyph "snfru" is conventionally pronounced "Seneferu" (Seneferu was the pharaoh who built the first real pyramid, the Red pyramid in the Dahshur necropolis).
Warnings
- Learning to read Egyptian is not a quick and easy task. Egyptologists spend years learning how to read hieroglyphs correctly, and entire books have been written on the subject. This article describes the basics, but it is not a complete or exhaustive representation of everything there is to know about Egyptian hieroglyphs.
- Almost all the Egyptian hieroglyphic alphabets that you can find on the internet include only a part of the existing symbols. To find the complete list of symbols (which are thousands) you need to get a book specializing in Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs.
