Category: Reading Hieroglyphs

Let’s read some Hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪!

Today 𓏇𓇋𓈖𓇳 we are going to look at a word that appears in most funerary inscriptions! This word/phrase is “Revered One 𓇋𓌴𓄪𓐍” and it has many different variations! 

“The Revered One 𓇋𓌴𓄪𓐍” appears on funerary equipment 𓈎𓂋𓋴𓏏𓏏𓊭 (coffins 𓋴𓅱𓎛𓏏𓆱𓏦, False Doors, Canopic Jar Cases, etc.)! This word can be tricky though because there are a lot of different variants of it – meaning that it can be spelled differently depending on how the word is used or the amount of space available on the object. 

Here are some of the variants for “The Revered One”/“Revered” that can appear in hieroglyphic inscriptions: 

𓇋𓌴𓄪𓐍 (this is the one pictured)

𓇋𓌴𓄪

𓇋𓌴𓄪𓅱

𓇋𓌴𓄪𓐍𓅱

𓐍𓄪𓅱

𓇋𓌴𓄪𓐍𓇌

𓇋𓄪𓐍𓅱

𓇋𓌴𓄪𓐍𓅱 (Revered Man – Dead)

𓄪𓐍𓇌𓏏 (Revered Woman – Dead)

I’m sure I did not list all of the variants either! Word variants can be confusing for people who are just starting to read hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪 and that’s okay! It will just take some practice, and the best way to practice is to just keep reading real Egyptian inscriptions 𓏟𓏛𓏥! 

Next time you go to a museum, see if you can find a variant for “Revered” or “Revered One” in hieroglyphs! I’m sure you will!! 

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost. 

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Let’s read some Hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪! This False Door belonged to the Royal Sealer 𓅓𓂋𓋩𓏏 Neferiu 𓄤𓂻𓅱 (8th-11th Dynasty).

These two pieces of text basically say what a great person Neferiu 𓄤𓂻𓅱 was and it also lists all of the wonderful things he did in his life! 

I did not write out all of the hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪 this time because it was too long! Please enjoy the translation though! 

This is the top line of text: 

𓇓𓏏𓊵𓏙𓁹𓊨𓀭𓎟𓊽𓂧𓅱𓊖𓉓𓂋𓈖𓐍𓄪𓅱𓄤𓂻𓅱 – “An offering the King gives Osiris, Lord of Djedu, a voice offering before and to the revered Neferiu.”

This is the second line of text: 

𓇓𓏏𓊵𓏙𓃣𓁶𓏺𓈋𓆑𓏶𓅱𓏏𓐏𓉓𓂋𓈖𓄤𓂻𓅱 – “An offering the king gives Anubis, Upon His Mountain, in the mummy wrappings, a voice offering before and to Neferiu.” 

Inscription on the left side: “I gave bread 𓏏𓏐 to the hungry 𓎛𓈎𓂋𓅩𓀁 and clothes 𓎛𓃀𓋴𓅱𓋳𓏦 to the 𓈖 naked 𓄿𓎛𓇌𓋳𓀁. I drove the boatless in my boat. I gave property to someone I knew as well as to the one I did not. The seal-bearer 𓋨𓅱 of the King of Lower Egypt 𓆤, the sole companion, the revered 𓄪𓐍 Neferiu 𓄤𓂻𓅱.” 

Inscription on the right side: “O the living 𓇋𓀞𓋹, those who are upon the Earth 𓇾, who love life 𓋹𓈖𓐍, I gave assistance to those in the year 𓂋𓈖𓆳𓏏𓏤 of hardship. I acted mightily with my strong arm in order to endure among my children. It is Iqer who did it that I might become greater than the great 𓅩𓂋 ones and the noblemen…of my entire town, who bore witness to me.”  

On the bottom, next to Neferiu 𓄤𓂻𓅱 and his wife 𓈟𓏏 on both sides the hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪 say: 

𓈟𓏏𓌸𓂋𓏏𓆑𓌉𓃀𓆓𓏏 or “His 𓆑 beloved 𓌸𓂋 wife 𓈟𓏏 Wedjbet 𓈟𓏏.”

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost. 

@ancientegyptblog on Instagram and TikTok

Life, Vita, 𓋹𓈖𓐍.

Let’s read some hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪! 

This is a piece of papyrus 𓅓𓍑𓏏𓏛 with the word “Life 𓋹𓈖𓐍” written on it. To the ancient Egyptians 𓆎𓏏𓀀𓁐𓏪, words were powerful because if something was written down, it was put into existence for all eternity 𓆖. This is why they put such importance on preserving the image 𓏏𓅱𓏏 and name 𓂋𓈖 of the deceased 𓅓𓏏𓏱 person. This is also probably why Rameses II usurped as many statues 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾𓏪 of previous pharaohs 𓉐𓉻𓏥 as he could and put his name 𓂋𓈖 on them!

Many Egyptian phrases mention life 𓋹𓈖𓐍, such as the most popular ones like “Given Life 𓏙𓋹,“ “Given Life for Eternity 𓏙𓋹𓆖,” and “Given Life, Stability and Strength 𓏙𓋹𓊽𓌀.” 

In Middle Egyptian, “Life” can be either written as: 

𓋹 – just the single “ankh” symbol 

𓋹𓈖𓐍 – the full word written out (which is what is pictured) 

The lone 𓋹 symbol is a triliteral phonogram with the sound “ˁnḫ” which is commonly pronounced as “ankh.” The word “ˁnḫ” means life on its own! 

The two phonograms that follow after the 𓋹 are phonetic complements, meaning that the sounds they represent aren’t pronounced a second time, but they are used to show the reader how the triliteral symbol is pronounced! In hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪, some symbols can have multiple pronunciations depending on how the symbol is used, so the phonetic complements help to clear up any confusion!  

The “𓈖” is associated with the sound of “n!” The “𓐍” is associated with the sound “ḫ.” So these to uniliteral phonograms complement the sound of the 𓋹 symbol! 

Both ways to write “life” are common, though the lone “ 𓋹” is what most people are familiar with. “𓋹𓈖𓐍” is used more in full inscriptions 𓏟𓏛𓏥, while “𓋹” is used in phrases like the ones mentioned above since it is shorter to write. You can think of it as an official abbreviation!

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost. 

@ancientegyptblog