With the vowels from The Five Vowel Signs in hand, you can learn the consonant rows. Each row is one consonant followed by each of the five vowels. This lesson covers five full rows: d, k, m, n and p.
Key idea
Each row is one consonant with the five vowels: da de di do du, ka ke ki ko ku, ma me mi mo mu, na ne ni no nu, pa pe pi po pu. Every cell has its own shape to learn.
| Row | a | e | i | o | u |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| d- | 𐀅 da | 𐀆 de | 𐀇 di | 𐀈 do | 𐀉 du |
| k- | 𐀏 ka | 𐀐 ke | 𐀑 ki | 𐀒 ko | 𐀓 ku |
| m- | 𐀔 ma | 𐀕 me | 𐀖 mi | 𐀗 mo | 𐀘 mu |
| n- | 𐀙 na | 𐀚 ne | 𐀛 ni | 𐀜 no | 𐀝 nu |
| p- | 𐀞 pa | 𐀟 pe | 𐀠 pi | 𐀡 po | 𐀢 pu |
What the letters mean
The row letters are the transliteration, not exact sounds. The d row is d. The m and n rows are m and n. But the k row also writes g and kh, and the p row also writes b and ph, because Linear B did not keep those sounds apart. 𐀏𐀒 is khalkos (bronze) and 𐀞𐀏𐀙 is phasgana (swords). You will see why in One Sign, Several Sounds.
| Signs | Read | Greek | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 𐀏𐀒 | ka-ko | χαλκός khalkos | bronze |
| 𐀞𐀳 | pa-te | πατήρ pater | father |
| 𐀔𐀳 | ma-te | μήτηρ meter | mother |
| 𐀒𐀜𐀰 | ko-no-so | Κνωσός Knosos | Knossos |
| 𐀇𐀞 | di-pa | δέπας depas | cup, goblet |
Why it works
Why learn sign by sign instead of by row? Because the shapes do not follow the grid. The grid groups signs by sound, but the signs were inherited from Linear A, where their shapes had their own history. 𐀏 (a circle with a cross) and 𐀐 share nothing in their drawing. So the grid tells you what a sign means once you know it; it cannot tell you how to recognize it.
Common mistake
Expecting signs in one row to look alike. 𐀏 𐀐 𐀑 𐀒 𐀓 all begin with k, yet they look nothing like each other. Check: learn each sign with an anchor word: ka from ka-ko, ko from ko-no-so, pa from pa-te, ma from ma-te, di from di-pa.
Worked example: Read a word
Read 𐀔𐀳.
- The first sign is ma (the m row, a column).
- The second is te (the t row, e column).
Answer: ma-te, mater, mother
Worked example: Spell from the grid
Write the value in the n row and the o column, then the d row and the a column.
- n + o = no.
- d + a = da.
Answer: no, da
You do not have to learn every sign at once. Learn the vowels and two or three rows well, then add rows. The flashcards have a deck for each row.