Transliterations have no vowels (Transliteration and Its Order), but people need to say words aloud in class and in conversation. Egyptologists use a simple convention for this. It is a tool, not a reconstruction of ancient speech.
Key idea
| Transliteration | Said | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| nfr | nefer | good |
| ḥtp | hetep | offering, peace |
| nṯr | netjer | god |
| ḫpr | kheper | become |
| sḏm | sedjem | hear |
| rmṯ | remetj | people |
| kꜣ | ka | ka (life force) |
| ḥqꜣ | heqa | ruler |
Traditional forms
A few famous words and names keep spellings that came into English through Greek or older scholarship: ꜥnḫ is “ankh”, jmn is “Amun”, rꜥ is “Ra” (or “Re”), ptḥ is “Ptah”, mꜣꜥt is “Maat”. Royal names are usually given in their familiar forms, such as Tutankhamun and Ramesses.
Why it works
Common mistake
Worked example: Say it
- ḏ is “dj”.
- An e goes between consonants: dj-e-d.
Answer: djed
Worked example: Weak consonants
- ꜣ is said “a”.
- ḫ is “kh”.
Answer: akh
Longer words and phrases
Compounds are said part by part: ḥtp-dj-nsw is “hetep-di-nesu”, nsw-bjt “nesu-bity”, zꜣ-rꜥ “sa-Ra”. A w after a consonant at the end of a word is “u”: nbw “gold” is “nebu”, hrw “day” is “heru”. Different teachers vary a little (some say “nesut” or “nisu”), and that is fine: the transliteration, not the sound, is what identifies the word.
Names reached English by several roads, so they come in several forms. Greek writers turned jmn-ḥtp into Amenophis, while Egyptologists say Amenhotep; the god jmn appears as Amun, Amon and Amen. When you meet two spellings of a name in two books, transliterate both: they usually turn out to be the same Egyptian word.
Worked example: A compound
- mꜣꜥ: m, then ꜣ and ꜥ both “a”: “maa”.
- ḫrw: kh-e-r, then w as “u”: “kheru”.
Answer: maa-kheru