Egyptian Hieroglyphs: Lesson 3

Nouns

The Basics

Pronouns act as substitutes for nouns. The noun that it replaces is known as the antecedent. Although it is necessary for a pronoun to have an antecedent, in certain Egyptian texts, the antecedent is not always clear (or even written in some cases). The absence of an antecedent allows for variation in the interpretation of a sequence of events in stories. In this lesson, the three different types of pronouns will be covered: suffix pronouns, dependent pronouns, and independent pronouns.

Suffix Pronouns

Suffix pronouns are attached to nouns, verbs, prepositions, and sometimes, the particle 𓇋𓅱 iw, which we will see in later lessons. They cannot stand alone as individual words and their main uses are as possessives (my house, your dog) as subjects, when attached to verbs (He walked to school). The chart below lists the Middle Egyptian suffix pronouns, followed by a few examples.
Suffix Pronouns
Number Common Masculine Feminine Translated
Singular
1st π“€€ or 𓇋 i – – β€œMy,” β€œMe,” β€œI”
2nd – π“Ž‘ k 𓍿 αΉ― 𓏏 t β€œYour” or β€œYou”
3rd – 𓆑 f π“‹΄ s
β€œHe, She, It” or β€œHis, Hers, Its”
Plural
1st π“ˆ–π“₯  n – – β€œOur,” β€œUs,” β€œWe”
2nd   π“π“ˆ–π“₯ tn, π“Ώπ“ˆ–π“₯ αΉ―n – – β€œYour” or β€œYou”
3rd   π“‹΄ π“ˆ–π“₯  or

π“Šƒπ“ˆ–π“₯ sn		 – –
β€œTheir,” β€œThem,” β€œThey”
Suffix pronouns are the most common form of pronouns in Middle Egyptian texts, so familiarity with them is essential. It is important to note that the suffix pronoun does not have to share the same gender or number as the word to which it is attached. Instead, it should match its antecedent, as it serves as its replacement.

𓅐𓏏𓁐𓋴 mwt.s Her mother
π“Œ΄π“Ήπ“„Ώπ“„Ώπ“ˆ–π“₯ m33.n We see.
𓇋𓅓𓆑 im.f Therewith him

Dependent Pronouns

While suffix pronouns are attached to words, dependent pronouns are treated as separate entities, usually as the direct object of a verb. Below is a chart of the dependent pronouns.

Dependent Pronouns

Number

Common

Masculine

Feminine

Translated

Singular

1st

 π“…±π“€€ or

𓏲𓀀 γ€€wi		  β€“  β€“ β€œI,” β€œMe”

2nd

  β€“   𓍿𓅱 or

𓏏𓅱 γ€€αΉ―w		 π“Ώπ“ˆ– or π“π“ˆ– αΉ―n β€œYou”

3rd

 𓇓𓅱 sw 𓋴𓏭 or π“Šƒπ“­ sy  β€œHe/Him,” β€œShe/Her,” It”

Plural

1st

 π“ˆ–π“₯  n  β€“  β€“ β€œWe” or β€œUs”

2nd

   π“Ώπ“ˆ–π“₯   αΉ―n  β€“  β€“  β€œYou”

3rd

   π“‹΄ π“ˆ–π“₯ or

γ€€ π“Šƒπ“ˆ–π“₯ sn		  β€“  β€“  β€œThey/Them” or β€œIt”
In some cases, the dependent pronoun 𓋴𓏏is used for the third person plural.  Here are a few examples of the dependent pronoun in action.

π“‡‹π“…±π“… π“…“π“ˆ–π“€€π“‹΄π“­ iw gm.n.i sy I found her.
π“‡‹π“…±π“… π“…“π“ˆ–π“€€π“‹΄π“­π“žπ“€€ iw gm.n sy sΕ‘
The scribe found her.
In these examples the dependent pronoun serves as the direct object of a subject. In the first example, the dependent pronoun sy is the direct object of the suffix pronoun i. The second example is similar to the first, but the subject is a noun, rather than a pronoun.

Independent Pronouns

Independent pronouns are nearly always placed at the front of a sentence and never function as the subject of a verb. Below is a chart of the independent pronouns and an example of their use.

Independent Pronouns

Number

Common

Masculine

Feminine

Translated

Singular

1st

 π“Œπ“Ž‘π“€€ ink  β€“  β€“  β€œI”

2nd

  β€“ π“ˆ–π“π“Ž‘ ntk π“ˆ–π“π“Ώ ntαΉ―

π“ˆ–π“π“ ntt		  β€œYou”

3rd

  β€“ π“ˆ–π“π“†‘ ntf π“ˆ–π“π“‹΄ or

π“ˆ–π“π“Šƒ nts		  β€œHe,” β€œShe,” β€œIt”

Plural

1st

 π“‡‹π“€π“ˆ–π“ˆ–π“₯ or

π“‡‹π“Œπ“ˆ–π“₯ inn		  β€“  β€“  β€œWe”

2nd

 π“ˆ–π“π“Ώπ“ˆ–π“₯ ntαΉ―n or

π“ˆ–π“π“π“ˆ–π“ͺ nttn		  β€“  β€“ β€œYou”

3rd

 π“ˆ–π“π“‹΄ π“ˆ–π“₯ or

π“ˆ–π“ π“Šƒπ“ˆ– ntsn		  β€“  β€“  β€œThey”
π“Œπ“Ž‘π“π“†‘π“€€π“†‘ ink it.f I am his father.

Demonstrative Pronouns

Demonstratives are found less frequently than the other pronouns we have seen.  Depending on the type of demonstrative pronoun, it can either follow or precede the noun it modifies. This might be difficult to keep track of at first, but there is a simple rule you can follow that will save you time. If the demonstrative ends in 3 or is composed of more than two hieroglyphs, then the construction is demonstrative + noun. The rest of the demonstratives follow the noun + demonstrative construction. The most commonly used demonstratives are pn, tn, p3, and t3, so it would be best to memorize those first.
Demonstrative Pronouns
Translated as β€œThis”
Number Masculine Feminine Common
Singular π“Šͺπ“ˆ– pn π“π“ˆ– tn –
Plural – – π“‡‘π“‡‘π“ˆ– nn n(y)
Translated as β€œThat”
Number Masculine Feminine Common
Singular π“Šͺ𓆑 pf 𓏏𓆑 tf –
Plural – – π“ˆ–π“†‘π“ˆ– nf n(y)
Translated as β€œThe”
Number Masculine Feminine Common
Singular π“Šͺπ“„Ώ p3 𓏏𓄿 t3 –
Plural – – π“ˆ–π“„Ώπ“ˆ– n3 n(y)
Lets look at an example: 𓉐𓏀π“Šͺπ“ˆ– pr pn β€œThis house.” Because the demonstrative does not end with 3 and is composed of two hieroglyphs, it follows the noun + demonstrative construction.

Memorization

Vocabulary

π“‹π“ƒ€π“ˆ‹π“Š– 3bḏw House
π“ˆŒπ“π“€ 3αΈ«t Amun
π“‹π“ƒ€π“π“π“ˆ‰ i3btt
Lord, owner, master
π“‰Ίπ“Œπ“Š– iwnw King
π“‹€π“π“ˆ‰ imnt God
π“‡‹π“ˆ–π“Šͺπ“…±π“€­ inpw Re
𓇋𓏏𓆑𓀀 it Name
π“‹†π“π“Š– w3st Man
𓅐𓏏𓁐 mwt Son
𓂋𓍿𓀀𓁐π“₯ rmαΉ― Brother
𓂓𓏀 k3 Scribe
π“Š¨π“π“‰ st Boat

Biliterals

π“„«
π“…œ
π“„–
3w 3αΈ« pαΈ₯
π“ˆ—
π“Ž”
π“„Ÿ
mw mαΈ₯ ms
π“„“
π“‚“
π“…·
ns k3 αΉ―3

Triliterals

π“Š’
π“†ˆ
𓇢
ΚΏαΈ₯ΚΏ ΚΏΕ‘3 wbn
𓏅
π“„₯
π“„­
αΈ«nt sm3 spr
π“Œž
𓇼
𓋬
őms dw3/sb3 dmḏ

Exercises

Exercise 1.

Transliterate and translate the following phrases.

1. π“Œπ“Ž‘π“€€π“ŽŸπ“‹€π“π“ˆ‰

ink nb imnt

β€œI am the lord of the west.”

2. 𓏏𓄿𓅐𓏏𓁐 π“ˆ–π“ π“…­π“π“Ž‘

t3 mwt nt s3t.k

β€œThe mother of your daughter.”

3. 𓂓𓏀𓍿 π“Šͺπ“ˆ–

k3.αΉ― pn

β€œThis Ka of yours.”

4. 𓂧π“Šͺπ“π“Š›β€“π“π“†‘

dpt tf

β€œThat boat.”

Return to Index – Continue to Lesson 4

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ABOUT
THE AUTHOR

I have a M.A. in Egyptian Art and Archaeology. Although no longer a part of academic Egyptology, I still enjoy translating texts in my spare time. I live on a small farm with his wife, son, and two dogs.

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