Hieroglyphic Grammar – Making Words Feminine

Let’s read some hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪!

Today 𓏇𓇋𓈖𓇳 we are going to be looking at some grammar – how to make a word feminine! The inscription 𓏟𓏛𓏥 in the picture 𓏏𓅱𓏏 says the word “goddess 𓊹𓏏.” The word “god 𓊹” is an extremely popular word and is used throughout ancient Egyptian inscriptions 𓏟𓏛𓏥!

The “cloth wound on a pole 𓊹” symbol is both an ideogram and a determinative for the word “god.” The symbol is thought to sound like “ntr” which probably sounds like “neter.” 

Yesterday in my post I mentioned that the “flat loaf of bread 𓏏” is a uniliteral phonogram used to represent the sound “t.” It also functions as the ideogram for the word “bread 𓏏𓏺” and can be used to make words feminine when placed at the end of the word! 

A Note: just because the “𓏏” appears in a doesn’t mean that the word is automatically feminine – it must be at the end of the word! All nouns in Middle Egyptian were either masculine or feminine, and the masculine nouns had no special ending! The ending of “𓏏” is just an ending, and is not part of the root of the word. 

Here’s some examples of some words that become feminine with the “𓏏”:

“𓌢𓈖 brother” and “𓌢𓈖𓏏 sister”

“𓊹 god” and “goddeHieroglyphic Grammar – Making Words Femininess 𓊹𓏏”

“𓋾𓈎𓀀 male ruler” and “𓋾𓈎𓏏𓁐” (here not only is 𓏏 added but the determinative changes too) 

“𓎟 Lord” and “Lady 𓎟𓏏” 

“𓌳𓁹𓄿𓄛 lion” and “𓌳𓁹𓄿𓏏𓄛 lioness”