“Life” in Hieroglyphs

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