Egyptian has a handy way of making adjectives from nouns and prepositions: add the ending -j. The result is called a nisbe (an Arabic grammatical term, from the same kind of adjective in Arabic). You need Adjectives, because nisbes agree just like other adjectives.
Key idea
| Base | Meaning | Nisbe | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| njwt | town | njwtj | of the town; townsman |
| nṯr | god | nṯrj | divine |
| ḥr | on | ḥrj | upper; who is on, over; chief |
| ẖr | under | ẖrj | lower; who is under, who carries |
| m | in | jmj | who is in |
| tp | head; on top | tpj | first; who is upon |
| ḫnt | front | ḫntj | foremost |
| jmnt | the West | jmntj | western |
Note jmj: the preposition m becomes jm when anything is attached to it, so its nisbe is jmj “who is in”. You will meet the same change in Prepositions with Pronouns.
Nisbes agree like other adjectives: feminine -jt (often written simply -t), masculine plural -jw. Many famous titles and epithets are nisbes. ẖrj-ḥbt “the one who carries the ritual book” is a lector priest; jmj-rꜣ, built from jmj “who is in” and rꜣ “mouth”, is an overseer; and Osiris is ḫntj-jmntjw “Foremost of the Westerners”, the westerners being the dead, who were buried on the west bank.
Why it works
Common mistake
Worked example: Make a nisbe
- Add -j.
Answer: jmntj “western”
Worked example: A special case
- m becomes jm before an ending.
- jm + j.
Answer: jmj “who is in”
Worked example: Translate
- ḫnt “front” + -j.
Answer: “foremost, who is in front”