A statement becomes a question in Egyptian by putting a word in front of it, or by putting a question word where the answer would go.
Key idea
jn (or jn jw) at the head of a sentence asks a yes-or-no question: jn jw=k m pr "are you in the house?", jn sḏm.n=k "have you heard?". Question words stand where the answer would be: zj "who? what?", jḫ "what?", ptr "what? who?", tnj "where?": zj pw "who is it?", jw=k tnj "where are you?".
Why it works
Many languages mark yes-or-no questions with a word at the front (French "est-ce que", Latin "-ne"). Egyptian uses jn. A question word, on the other hand, replaces the missing piece: in jw=k m pr "you are in the house" the place is m pr; in jw=k tnj "where are you?" tnj takes its slot. In zj pw "who is it?", zj takes the place of a noun in a pw sentence (Sentences with pw).
| Question | Meaning | Answer pattern |
|---|---|---|
| jn jw=k m pr | are you in the house? | jw=j m pr I am in the house |
| jn sḏm.n=k | have you heard? | sḏm.n=j I have heard |
| jn rḫ.n=k rn=f | do you know his name? | rḫ.n=j rn=f I know his name |
| zj pw | who is it? | zꜣ=k pw it is your son |
| jḫ pw | what is it? | t pw it is bread |
| jw=k tnj | where are you? | jw=j m njwt I am in the town |
Worked example: A yes-or-no question
Translate jn jw=f ḥr sḏm.
- jn at the head of the sentence: a question.
- jw=f ḥr sḏm "he is listening" (The Pseudoverbal Construction).
Answer: "Is he listening?"
Worked example: A question word
Translate jḫ pw.
- jḫ "what?" stands where a noun would be in a pw sentence.
Answer: "What is it?"
Spellings of the question words vary: zj is also written zy and sy in older books, tnj also tnw, ptr also pty. The answer boxes accept the common variants.
Common mistake
Confusing the question jn with jn "by", which names the doer after a passive or an infinitive (rdjt ḥtp jn nsw "the giving of an offering by the king", Subjects and Objects of the Infinitive). Check where it stands: at the head of a sentence, before a full statement, jn asks a question; after a verb, before the doer, it means "by". A third use, before a noun and a participle, comes in jn and the Cleft Sentence.