Languages · Egyptian Hieroglyphs
Egyptian hieroglyphs
The writing of the pharaohs, from the first kings around 3000 BC to the last carved inscription at Philae in AD 394. Learn how the signs work, look any sign up, drill the alphabet with flashcards, and write your own name in a cartouche.
How Hieroglyphs Work
Sound signs, signs for two and three sounds, word signs and the silent signs that tell you what a word means. Which way to read, how signs are packed into blocks, and why Egyptologists say “nefer” for a word written nfr.
Read the guide →Sign List
Every sign on the site, grouped by Sir Alan Gardiner’s categories (A for men, B for women, G for birds…), with its code, sound, meaning and a word that uses it. Search by code, sound or meaning.
Look up a sign →Flashcards
Learn the alphabet of one-sound signs, then the common two- and three-sound signs, the determinatives, the numbers and real words. Spaced review brings each card back just before you’d forget it.
Start studying →Cartouche Maker
Type a name and see it in sound signs, choose the sign for each sound, set it in a cartouche across or down, then print it or save it as a picture. Then try reading the cartouches of real pharaohs.
Make a cartouche →Typing Helper
Type transliteration with an ordinary keyboard, the way Egyptologists do (Htp → ḥtp), and copy the result. It works the other way too, and shows how each word is said.
Start typing →Middle Egyptian I and II
Ready for the language itself? Two college-level courses on the Egyptology Ladder teach Middle Egyptian from the first sign to reading real texts: the Tale of Sinuhe, tomb stelae and the Rosetta Stone.
Open the courses →Where to start
- New to hieroglyphs? Read how they work (ten minutes), then learn the alphabet on flashcards, a few signs a day.
- Ages 8 to 12: the Young Explorers course has a unit on scribes and hieroglyphs, and the cartouche maker is a fun way to practice the sound signs.
- Studying Middle Egyptian: follow Middle Egyptian I and II, keep the sign list open beside you, and use the typing helper for your notes.
- Curious about the history? See Ancient Egypt: the map, the timeline and the courses on history, religion and archaeology.
Try it: your name in hieroglyphs
A quick taste of the cartouche maker. Egyptians didn’t write English names, of course; this is a modern game played with real sound signs.