Some verbs are built from other verbs. The commonest way is to put s in front of a root. You met the result already: smn sits in many royal names, and sꜥnḫ in many epithets.
Key idea
A causative is s- + a root, and it means "make (someone or something) do or be" what the root says: ꜥnḫ "live" → sꜥnḫ "make live, keep alive"; mn "remain, be firm" → smn "make firm, establish".
Why it works
Many languages build causatives with a prefix or an ending (English has "en-" in enlarge, "make large"). In Egyptian the prefix is s. It turns an intransitive verb, one that takes no object, into a transitive one: you do not "live" something, but you can "make something live". That is why causatives so often have an object after them.
| Root | Meaning | Causative | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| ꜥnḫ | live | sꜥnḫ | make live, keep alive |
| mn | remain, be firm | smn | make firm, establish |
| ḥtp | be content | sḥtp | satisfy, pacify |
| ḫpr | come into being | sḫpr | bring into being, create |
| nfr | be good | snfr | make good, beautify |
| wꜥb | be pure | swꜥb | purify |
| ꜥꜣ | be great | sꜥꜣ | make great, magnify |
Worked example: Make a causative
Write the causative of ḥtp "be content".
- Put s before the root: s + ḥtp.
- sḥtp "make content, satisfy, pacify". Kings sḥtp the gods with offerings.
Answer: sḥtp
Worked example: Read a causative
A text says sꜥnḫ=f rmṯ. What does it mean?
- sꜥnḫ is s + ꜥnḫ "live": "make live, give life to".
- =f after the verb is its subject: "he".
- rmṯ "people" is the object.
Answer: "He gives life to the people."
A causative belongs to the class of its root plus the s: smn behaves like a strong verb. In dictionaries causatives are listed under s, not under their root, so look up sꜥnḫ under s.
Causatives are common in royal and religious language, where kings and gods are the ones who make things happen: a king smn "establishes" monuments and laws, a god sꜥnḫ "keeps alive" the land, priests swꜥb "purify" a temple. When a verb you do not know begins with s, try reading the rest as a root you know before you reach for the dictionary.
Common mistake
Reading the s as a separate word. Students see s and think of the suffix pronoun =s "she" and read sꜥnḫ as "she lives". But a suffix pronoun comes after its word, never before it: "she lives" is ꜥnḫ=s. Check where the s stands: at the front, it is the causative prefix.