In 1928/1929 Alan Gardiner published an overview of hieroglyphs, Gardiner's sign list, the basic modern standard. It describes 763 signs in 26 categories (A–Z, roughly). Georg Möller compiled more extensive lists, organized by historical epoch (published posthumously in 1927 and 1936).
In Unicode, the block Egyptian Hieroglyphs (2009) includes 1071 signs, organization based on Gardiner's list. As of 2016, there is a proposal by Michael Everson to extend the Unicode standard to comprise Möller's list.[1]
1a. to load, to be laden, master of the load; equals Coptic language, ⲱⲧⲡ; (minor use for ꜣtp, ꜣṯp); 1b. to carry, to bear; additional constructs for carrier, bearer, supporter, (and types thereof); for fꜣ dnj, the "bearer-of-the-basket", see: Greek Kanephoros; 2. for kꜣt, kꜣwtj
𓀌
A10
U+1300C
seated man holding oar
to saw (sqdw)
𓀍
A11
U+1300D
seated man holding scepter of authority and shepherd's crook
friend (ḫnms)
𓀎
A12
U+1300E
soldier with bow and quiver
soldier, company/unit of soldiers (mnfyt), army/expedition (mšꜥ)
𓀏
A13
U+1300F
man with arms tied behind his back
enemy (ḫfty)
rebel (sbj)
Possibly also 'criminal', 'traitor', 'prisoner'
𓀐
A14
U+13010
falling man with blood streaming from his head
die (mwt)
enemy (ḫfty)
The wound is either self-inflicted or from a weapon strike.
The A14 figure could be a youth or child, being depicted without clothing, while A14A would be an adult.
A. Determinative for ks, ksj, & ks, to bow, to do homage, to submit; B. same for ḫꜣb, (and thematic words of ḫꜣ-ꜣ-b, star & luminary, hippopotamus, lamp & light, etc.)
Overnight meaning an overnight stay in any location, i.e. 'spend the night at home', 'spent the night in a hotel', 'slept over at (random person's name)'s house', etc.
𓁁
A56
U+13041
seated man holding stick
𓁂
A57
U+13042
man holding loaf on mat
𓁃
A58
U+13043
man applying hoe to ground
𓁄
A59
U+13044
man threatening with stick
to take away/withhold
𓁅
A60
U+13045
man sowing seeds
𓁆
A61
U+13046
man looking over his shoulder
𓁇
A62
U+13047
Asiatic
𓁈
A63
U+13048
king on throne holding staff
𓁉
A64
U+13049
man sitting on heels holding forward cup
𓁊
A65
U+1304A
man wearing tunic with fringes and holding mace
𓁋
A66
U+1304B
man holding sistrum
𓁌
A67
U+1304C
dwarf
𓁍
A68
U+1304D
man holding up knife
𓁎
A69
U+1304E
seated man with raised right arm and left arm hanging down
1. Ideogram for tp, "head"; other uses related to actions of the head; (example "the tp of the rebels", 'the "chief" of the rebels') 2. also for tp, see archaic dagger 3. (Narmer Palette shows 10 enemy heads-(decapitated))
1. Bil.hr-(ḥr) 2. Ideogram for 'face' 3. A major preposition for "on, upon", etc.; additional preposition constructs; 4. (see also: Nose, sometimes used for the face)
Determinative for pupil (ḏfḏ) abbreviation for Heqat-measure grain
𓂃
D13
U+13083
eyebrow
abbreviation for 1/8 Heqat-measure grain
smd
Abbreviation for 1/8 Heqat-measure grain; in 2-fold execution (Determinative):, eyebrow (jnḥ) (two brows above one another)
𓂄
D14
U+13084
right part of eye of Horus
abbreviation for 1/16 Heqat-measure grain
𓂅
D15
U+13085
diagonal marking of eye of Horus
abbreviation for 1/32 Heqat-measure grain
𓂆
D16
U+13086
vertical marking of eye of Horus
abbreviation for 1/64 Heqat-measure grain
𓂇
D17
U+13087
diagonal and vertical markings of eye of Horus
determinative Smell (sn)
Ideogram for ear (msḏr)
𓂈
D18
U+13088
ear
to listen (sḏm)
Sound sign for ḫnt Determinative and Ideogram for nose (fnḏ), be happy (ršw), be (sfn) face, front (ḫnt), mild, itself wiedersetzten (btjn), disobediently
𓂉
D19
U+13089
nose, eye and cheek
fnḏ/fnd šrt ẖnt
Ideogram or det. for the "nose", fnḏ/fnd, šrt; det. for words relating to smell, joy, and the nose; det. for "face", (ẖnt), (and the phoneme for face)
𓂊
D20
U+1308A
nose, eye and cheek (cursive)
nose (fnḏ),
smell (sn),
be happy (ršw),
be (sfn)
face, front (ḫnt),
mild, itself wiedersetzten (btjn),
disobediently
ḫnt
Determinative and Ideogram for nose (fnḏ), smell (sn), be happy (ršw), be
(sfn) face, front (ḫnt), mild, itself wiedersetzten (bṯn), disobediently
𓂋
D21
U+1308B
mouth
rr pẖr
r
To turn in the other direction.
Sound sign for r Ideogram for mouth. This on consonant sign is used in the so named Hieroglyphen-ABC to the reproduction of the consonant "r"
"to cense", "to pour out a libation"; as the noun, "incense", "incense offering", "dew"
notes= For the noun, Coptic languageⲉⲓⲱⲧⲉ-, (Egyptian jd, jdj, jdt), for dew, mist, vapour, rain-storm, moisture, exudation (under spelling of Egyp. lang. iad.
𓂩
D47
U+130A9
hand with palm up
hand (ḏrt)
𓂪
D48
U+130AA
hand without thumb
hand width (šsp)
𓂫
D48A
U+130AB
hand holding egg
𓂬
D49
U+130AC
fist
grasp (ꜣmm)
𓂭
D50
U+130AD
one finger
finger (ḏbꜥ)
abbreviation for 10,000 (ḏbꜥ)
𓂮
D50A
U+130AE
two fingers
𓂯
D50B
U+130AF
three fingers
𓂰
D50C
U+130B0
four fingers
𓂱
D50D
U+130B1
five fingers
𓂲
D50E
U+130B2
six fingers
𓂳
D50F
U+130B3
seven fingers
𓂴
D50G
U+130B4
eight fingers
𓂵
D50H
U+130B5
nine fingers
𓂶
D50I
U+130B6
five fingers (row)
𓂷
D51
U+130B7
one finger (horizontal)
finger nail (ꜥnt)
Activities with finger: measure (ḫꜣj), take (ṯꜣj), go (jw, šm)
dqr
𓂸
D52
U+130B8
phallus
phallus (ḥnn)
mt
Excluded from default fonts by some OS vendors.[4]
𓂹
D52A
U+130B9
phallus with folded cloth
Excluded from default fonts by some OS vendors.[4]
𓂺
D53
U+130BA
phallus with emission
in before (m bꜣḥ), phallus (ḥnn), urinate (wsš), seed (mtwt), man (ṯꜣy), husband (hj)
Excluded from default fonts by some OS vendors.[4]
𓂻
D54
U+130BB
legs walking
approach (tkn) enterprise (nmtt), do not move, stop Injure leg (rd), thigh (mnt)
𓂼
D54A
U+130BC
hieratic legs walking
𓂽
D55
U+130BD
legs walking backwards
𓂾
D56
U+130BE
leg
rd
Ideo., det. for rd, "leg"; Det. "to tread" Also: for pds, wꜥrt, sbq
1. Egyp. bil.ns. 2. A-tongue, and related words for speech; B-30th-(the 'Last Day of the Month'), and therefore, (next)-last
𓄔
F21
U+13114
ear of bovine
msḏr, ḏrḏ, sḏm
𓄕
F21A
U+13115
hieratic ear of bovine
𓄖
F22
U+13116
hind-quarters of lion
pḥ
1. Ideas of 'physical force', and 'strength, (from the legs of the hindparts); 2. Biliteralpḥ; 3. see also: "forepart of lion", what is 'foremost', what 'excels', etc.,
Egyptian "lung", sma-(smꜣ); used for union, (as in the "Two Lands", "Upper and Lower Egypt)-(Lower Egypt=the Nile Delta); Ideogram or det. for "unite", "join"
1. Egyp. bil.nḥ, for the bird; phon. for nḥ; 2. Ideas of petition, supplicate, beseech; for Egyptian languagenḥ-t, nḥḥ-t, oil, unguent, equivalent of Coptic language, "ⲛⲉϩ"; 3. for nḥḥ, eternity, or ever and ever, (see ḥḥ), Coptic "ⲉⲛⲉϩ"
1. the heron-like Bennu 2. Determinative for bnw, the "Phoenix-bird" 3. For 'Phoenix' & Harp, in both cultures-(Egypt & Mesopotamia), one of few Akkadian, Semitic word similarities: Akkadian: banuA, to create, build, generate; and banuB, to be good, beautiful.[5]
This hieroglyphic shows the very important hieroglyphic for bee, that stands also for honey.[citation needed] It is found very often on pharaonic naming-inscriptions-(as the combined term: Nesu-bity), because this hieroglyphic is a symbol for Lower Egypt together with the sedge, the symbol that stands for Upper Egypt, showing the domination of the Pharaohs over Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt.
1. Determinative for various plants or flowers 2. Two phonemes for "cane", and "canes", ḥn-(from ḥnj), js-(from jsw). 3. flower (garland), plant, branch, seed 4. Rosetta Stone, line R12, The people shall wear garlands on their heads, shall be made festal...
Ideogram or det. for bnr, sweet, date; for Egyptian languagebnrjt, sweetness, a favor, anything sweet, pleasant or nice; for bnryty, the 'confectioner'
Determinative in 1. ꜥḥꜥ-ꜥḥꜥw, for "stack-(of grain)"; (or other determiners for: food, provisions, stores, heaps of grain, wealth, riches, abundance); 2. and (kh)ty, 'heap of grain', where (kh)tyt, is "barn floor", or "place where grain is stored for sale"
1. see "Bundle of Flax"; 2. interchangeable with 'Bundle of Flax', bil.ḏr; 3A. Determinative; 3B. for the Decree of Canopus, used once, line 18, for Egyptian languagerd, (to grow, to flourish, to spring up, to spread out)
as a replacement for the "Garland"-(3-Plants-Bundle), "...., and the great processional festival of the Goddess Bast, because the time for the in-gathering of all the crops, and the inundation of theNile (River) taketh place therein. ...."[6]
𓇩
M40
U+131E9
bundle of reeds
𓇪
M40A
U+131EA
bundle of reeds
𓇫
M41
U+131EB
piece of wood
𓇬
M42
U+131EC
flower
𓇭
M43
U+131ED
vine on trellis
𓇮
M44
U+131EE
thorn
spd srt
Determinative for spd, "readiness", sharp, pointed, etc.; det. for srt, "thorn" Also means "giving"
N
Sky, earth, water
𓇯
N1
U+131EF
sky
pt
Sky, (or heaven), and often used as God/Pharaoh XXXX, Lord of Sky/Heaven, hieroglyph block:
𓇰
N2
U+131F0
sky with sceptre
grḥ
Night, darkness
𓇱
N3
U+131F1
sky with sceptre
grḥ
Night, darkness
𓇲
N4
U+131F2
sky with rain
𓇳
N5
U+131F3
sun
Ra/Re (Every pharaoh's prenomen has 'Re' in it, the name of the sun god, sometimes written 'Ra')
1. block of stone, (or brick, etc.) 2. Ideogram or det. in inr for "stone", "block", etc. 3. Det. in types of building stones or types of minerals 4A. Det. for dbt-(ḏbt), "brick"; 4B. dby-t-plinth, pedestal
𓈝
N40
U+1321D
pool with legs
Pool with walking legs
𓈞
N41
U+1321E
well with ripple of water
ḥmt bjꜣ
Phonemes for ḥmt, biꜣ; A "basin", but commonly used for 'wife', or 'woman'
bil.pr; used extensively in "placenames"-(home of God XXX); placenames for a Pharaoh, etc. 1. Ideogram, house, estate; 2. bil.pr; 3. Determinative for 'building', 'location'.
1. Ideogram or det. for wḏ, a stele; det. for ꜥḥꜥw, station (of a procession), "stele"; used also for 'memorial slab', boundary stone, landmark. 2. NOTE: there are other listed, (or Non-listed) hieroglyphs for boundary steles:
(similar)
(variants)
3. Similar spelling for wḏ: uses a stone block as det. and hand: ud
Four props, the Four Pillars of Heaven; also as, sḫnt, four pillars of the sky; (sa)(kh)niu, additionally, 4 legs of a chair; sḫnt, 4 legs of a vessel & sḫnt IV, the 4 Pillars that Support the Sky
𓋤
S16
U+132E4
pectoral
𓋥
S17
U+132E5
pectoral
𓋦
S17A
U+132E6
girdle
𓋧
S18
U+132E7
"menat necklace and counterpoise"
(mnjt)
1. "Menat and counterpoise"; 2. Ideogram or det. in mnjt, the necklace of Menat pearls
1. Ideogram in ḥmt, the name for the 'hand drill tool'; also hmt for words of "art", "artisan", etc. 2. Ideo. or det. for wbꜣ, to 'rise', to 'open'; see: Rise of a Star: wbn:
Uniliteral ḥ; eternity, or a long time period, (also variations of time periods, with tweaks of the seated man holding renpet-constructs) God Huh? Possibly ancestral to Proto-SinaiticHeth and its descendants
A. Determinative for the "vessel", Egyptian language, jꜥb-(no. 5 of 6); det. for jꜥb (1 & 2), 1: to approach, to come towards, to meet; 2: "to present a gift", to make an offering, 'an offering'; B. jꜥ, jꜥj, bathing; jꜥw, food, morning meal; jꜥb-(no. 3 of 6), uses Gardiner F16,
as det. for "to comb"; the other use of 'to comb', is for 'to card wool' and also uses the Horn hieroglyph, but is the equivalent word: b'-(no. 2, of 3); (no. 1 is a vessel, bowl, but made of "copper", etc.)
𓎻
W10A
U+133BB
Pot
bꜣ (rarely)
𓎼
W11
U+133BC
Jar stand
seat (nst)
g
𓎽
W12
U+133BD
Jar stand
seat (nst)
g
𓎾
W13
U+133BE
pot
Heset-pitcher, Senbet-pitcher (snbt) or similar containers
1. like, as, according to, inasmuch as, since, as well as, together with; all adverbial forms, some as a segue; 2. early forms use other hieroglyphs; 3. Egyptian: mjtj and mjtt relate to "image" or "likeness": likeness, copy, resemblance, statue, image, similitude, the like etc.
1. Determinative for the 'decorated bread loaf', pꜣt; phoneme for pꜣ; meanings of: stuff, matter, substance; for 'bread': dough, cake, bread, offering, food, product; 2. for the "primordial god(s)": "Pauti",
(or)
(many spelling versions)
𓏗
X6A
U+133D7
𓏘
X7
U+133D8
𓏙
X8
U+133D9
cone- shaped bread
ḏj
Ideogram for ḏi, rḏj, give, given, to give; (an equivalent to arm offering conical "loaf"), Gardiner D37,
In iconography and reliefs, used for pharaonic statements: "Given, Life, Power...Forever"-(the vertical form of 'to give')
Extensive dictionary entries beginning at "Mn"-(or men), since the definitions center around permanence, enduring, etc. A common Pharaonic epithet was: Mn-Kheper-Ra, but many names using "mn" as a name component
A. Ideo. for "sistrum", sššt, (or sḫm(=sistrum)); det. in sššt; B. sḫm is Egyptian for 'power', (confer with Sekhem scepter-(list sḫm) and Medamud-(article))
Z
Strokes, signs derived from Hieratic, geometrical features
Budge, Sir E.A.Wallis, An Egyptian Hieroglyphic Dictionary, in Two Volumes, Sir E.A.Wallis Budge, (Dover Publications, Inc. New York), c 1920, Dover Edition, c 1978. (Large categorized listings of Hieroglyphs, Vol 1, pp. xcvii–cxlvii (97–147) (25 categories, 1000+ hieroglyphs), 50 pgs.)
Möller, Georg. 1909. Hieratische Paläographie: die aegyptische Buchschrift in ihrer Entwicklung von der Fünften Dynastie bis zur römischen Kaiserzeit. Erster Band: Bis zum Beginn der achtzehnten Dynastie
Möller, Georg. 1927. Hieratische Paläographie: die aegyptische Buchschrift in ihrer Entwicklung von der Fünften Dynastie bis zur römischen Kaiserzeit. Zweiter Band: Von der Zeit Thutmosis' III bis zum Ende der einundzwanzigsten Dynastie,
Möller, Georg. 1936. Hieratische Paläographie: die aegyptische Buchschrift in ihrer Entwicklung von der Fünften Dynastie bis zur römischen Kaiserzeit. Dritter Band: Von der zweiundzwanzigsten Dynastie bis zum dritten Jahrhundert nach Chr.
Möller, Georg. 1936. Hieratische Paläographie: die aegyptische Buchschrift in ihrer Entwicklung von der Fünften Dynastie bis zur römischen Kaiserzeit. Vierter *Band: Ergänzungsheft zu Band I und II
Wilkinson, Richard, Reading Egyptian Art, A Hieroglyphic Guide to Ancient Egyptian Painting and Sculpture, Richard H. Wilkinson, with 450 Illustrations, (Thames & Hudson Ltd, London), c 1992.
Rainer Hannig: Großes Handwörterbuch Ägyptisch-Deutsch. (2800 – 950 v. Chr.) Marburger Edition. 4th rev. ed. von Zabern, Mainz 2006, ISBN3-8053-1771-9, (= Hannig-Lexica. vol. 1); (= Kulturgeschichte der Antiken Welt. vol. 64, ISSN 0937-9746),contains the Gardiner list plus an extended sign list.
Rainer Hannig, Petra Vomberg: Wortschatz der Pharaonen in Sachgruppen. Hannig Lexica vol. 2, 2nd ed, von Zabern, Mainz 2012, ISBN978-3-8053-4473-9.
Friedrich Junge: Einführung in die Grammatik des Neuägyptischen 3rd rev. ed. Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2008, ISBN978-3-447-05718-9, information on transcription and transliteration and peculiarities of New Kingdom orthographies.
Christian Leitz: Die Tempelinschriften der griechisch-römischen Zeit. 3rd rev ed. Münster 2009, ISBN978-3-8258-7340-0, (= Quellentexte zur ägyptischen Religion 1), (= Einführungen und Quellentexte zur Ägyptologie 2), references older inventories of Ptolemaic era hieroglyphics.
