Scribes showed respect in their writing. When a phrase contained a word for a god or the king, that word was moved to the front, even if it belonged later in the phrase. Egyptologists call this honorific transposition. You need Logograms and the Stroke to follow the examples.
Key idea
| Written order | Read | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| nsw ḥtp dj | ḥtp-dj-nsw | an offering that the king gives |
| nṯr ḥm | ḥm-nṯr | servant of the god (a priest) |
| jmn twt ꜥnḫ | twt-ꜥnḫ-jmn | Tutankhamun, “living image of Amun” |
| rꜥ ḫꜥ=f | ḫꜥ=f-rꜥ | Khafre |
| rꜥ mn kꜣw | mn-kꜣw-rꜥ | Menkaure |
Not every god’s name moves
Sometimes the god’s name comes first because it really belongs first. jmn-ḥtp Amenhotep means “Amun is content”: Amun is the subject, so it is read first. rꜥ-ms-sw Ramesses and ḏḥwtj-ms Thutmose also begin with the god in reading. The rule is about where the word belongs grammatically, so you sometimes need the meaning to know the reading.
Why it works
Common mistake
Worked example: Read the phrase
- nṯr “god” is the honored word.
- Its grammatical place is after ḥm “servant”: “servant of the god”.
Answer: ḥm-nṯr
Worked example: Read the name
- Signs: rꜥ, mn, ḫpr.
- Ra is written first out of honor; the name means “enduring is the form of Ra”.
Answer: mn-ḫpr-rꜥ, Menkheperre (Thutmose III)