Let’s read some hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪! Today 𓏇𓇋𓈖𓇳 we are going to look at the Middle Egyptian word for “To Be” and “To Exist.” This simple yet important phrase appears a lot in inscriptions 𓏟𓏛𓏥!
One of the most important phrases you will learn in any language is the verb “to be.” I remember when I first started learning Italian as a small kid, “essere” was one of the first verbs we learned!
The word “To Be,” and “To Exist” is written in Middle Egyptian as “𓃹𓈖𓈖,” which is what is shown in the relief pictured. The word can also be commonly written as just “𓃹𓈖” or “𓃹” if spacing becomes an issue! The word would be transliterated as “wnn 𓃹𓈖𓈖” or “wn 𓃹𓈖/𓃹.” It was most likely pronounced the same no matter how many “𓈖” appeared or didn’t appear at the end of the word (remember, pronunciation is just inferred).
Let’s break down each of the symbols individually!
The “hare 𓃹” is normally used as a biliteral phonogram. The 𓃹 represents the sounds “wn.”
The “ripple of water 𓈖” is a uniliteral phonogram. The “𓈖” is associated with the sound of “n!” In this case, the 𓈖 is acting as the phonetic complement, meaning that the sounds are written twice but pronounced once! This is a very common occurrence in Middle Egyptian and is something that you need to just practice and get used to when you’re learning!
This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost.