Reading the Cartouche of the Pharaoh Unas

Let’s read some hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪!!

One of the best ways to practice reading hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪 (especially phonogram symbols) is to read the cartouches of some of the pharaohs 𓉐𓉻𓏦 from the Old Kingdom! The reason why they are great to practice phonogram symbols is because the names 𓂋𓈖𓏦 are very phonetic!

Let’s take a look at the cartouche of the pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 Unas:

(𓃹𓈖𓇋𓋴) – Unas

Here is a breakdown of the symbols:

The “hare 𓃹” is normally used as a phonogram, which means that it is a symbol that represents sounds, and is usually part of a larger word! The hare 𓃹 is a biliteral sign which means it represents two consonants. The 𓃹 represents the sounds “wn.”

The “ripple of water 𓈖” is also a phonogram sign, except it is uniliteral sign, which means that it just represents one consonant. The “𓈖” is associated with the sound of “n!”

The “reed 𓇋” is a uniliteral phonogram for “ı͗,” however it can also function as an ideogram for the word “reed 𓇋𓏺.”

The “folded cloth 𓋴” is a uniliteral phonogram for “s.”

So the transliteration of the cartouche would be: “wnnı͗s.” This would be pronounced/written as “Unas.”