The last group of one-consonant signs: two t sounds and two d sounds. After this you know the whole alphabet (The Alphabet I: ꜣ j y ꜥ w to here).
Key idea
The bread loaf 𓏏 t, the tethering rope 𓍿 ṯ, the hand 𓂧 d and the cobra 𓆓 ḏ. The line under ṯ and ḏ makes them different letters.
| Sign | Code | What it shows | Letter | How to think of it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 𓏏 | X1 | loaf of bread | t | t; also the feminine ending -t |
| 𓍿 | V13 | tethering rope | ṯ | tj, like the ch in “church” |
| 𓂧 | D46 | hand | d | d |
| 𓆓 | I10 | cobra at rest | ḏ | dj, like the j in “judge” |
The bread loaf is one of the most frequent signs of all, because it writes the feminine ending: zꜣ “son”, zꜣt “daughter”. The rope and the cobra write the sounds Egyptologists say “tj” and “dj”. nṯr “god” is said “netjer”; ḏd “say” is said “djed”.
The whole alphabet
Here are all the one-consonant signs, in dictionary order: 𓄿𓇋𓇌𓂝𓅱𓃀𓊪𓆑𓅓𓈖𓂋𓉔𓎛𓐍𓄡𓊃𓋴𓈙𓈎𓎡𓎼𓏏𓍿𓂧𓆓 = ꜣ j y ꜥ w b p f m n r h ḥ ḫ ẖ z s š q k g t ṯ d ḏ. That is the order of every Egyptian dictionary, as the next lesson shows.
Why it works
Why does the line matter so much? Because Egyptian has words that differ only by it. Dropping the line turns one consonant into another, just as changing “t” to “d” turns “ten” into “den”. A transliteration without the marks is a different (often meaningless) string.
Common mistake
Dropping the line under ṯ and ḏ. Without it, nṯr “god” would be read with a plain t, which is not the word. When you type, use T for ṯ and D for ḏ. Check the sign: the rope 𓍿 and the cobra 𓆓 always have the line; the loaf and the hand never do.
Worked example: Line or no line?
Which letter does the cobra 𓆓 write?
- I10, cobra at rest.
- It writes ḏ (MdC D), said "dj".
Answer: ḏ
With all five groups learned, you can already read every word spelled only with one-consonant signs. Most words also use two- and three-consonant signs, which come in the next unit.
Worked example: Read a word
Read 𓊪𓏏𓎛 (the name of a god, without its determinative).
- The stool: p.
- The loaf: t.
- The wick: ḥ.
Answer: ptḥ, Ptah