Middle Egyptian IThe Alphabet and Transliteration

The Alphabet IV: z s š q k g

The door bolt z, the folded cloth s, the pool š, the hill slope q, the basket k and the jar stand g.

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Group four has six signs: two s signs, sh, and three k-like sounds. Keep the earlier groups in view (The Alphabet III: r h ḥ ḫ ẖ).

Key idea

The door bolt 𓊃 z, the folded cloth 𓋴 s, the pool 𓈙 š, the hill slope 𓈎 q, the basket 𓎡 k and the jar stand 𓎼 g.
The fourth group.
SignCodeWhat it showsLetterHow to think of it
𓊃O34door boltzonce z; by the Middle Kingdom the same sound as s
𓋴S29folded clothss
𓈙N37pool of wateršsh
𓈎N29sandy hill slopeqa k made farther back (Arabic q); older books ḳ
𓎡V31basket with a handlekk; also the pronoun =k “you, your”
𓎼W11ring stand for jarsgg, as in “go”

Two signs, one sound

In Old Egyptian the door bolt and the folded cloth were two sounds, z and s. By the Middle Kingdom they had merged, and scribes used both signs for the same sound, following the traditional spelling of each word. Allen and this course write them z and s to show which sign a word uses; Gardiner and many older books write s for both (sometimes ś for the bolt). In answers, this course accepts either unless a problem says otherwise.

z “man”, written with the door bolt and the seated man.

The three k-like sounds are different consonants: q (the hill slope), k (the basket) and g (the jar stand). The basket alone after a noun is often the pronoun =k “your”, said to a man.

Why it works

Why keep z at all if it sounded like s? For the same reason English keeps “c” in “city”: spelling remembers history. Writing z for the bolt tells you exactly which sign stands in the word, which helps when you look a word up or copy it into hieroglyphs.

Common mistake

Reading the hill slope 𓈎 as k, or treating z and s as two sounds in Middle Egyptian. The hill slope is q, a separate letter; z and s were one sound by then, written two ways. Check: the hill slope has a smooth hump; the basket 𓎡 has a handle.

Worked example: A back k

Which letter does the hill slope 𓈎 write?
  1. N29, the sandy hill slope.
  2. It writes q (older books ḳ), a k made farther back in the mouth.

Answer: q

Worked example: Same sound?

Do 𓊃 and 𓋴 sound different in Middle Egyptian?
  1. In Old Egyptian they were z and s.
  2. By the Middle Kingdom they had merged into one s sound.

Answer: No: one sound, two spellings

Practice

Pass with 3 right answers, the last 2 in a row. Each right answer earns 2 XP.

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Sources and further reading

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