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Middle Egyptian: A Student's GuideMiddle Egyptian grammar, glossary and sign lists

Thematic Glossary

Particles

Introductory/Proclitic Particles

These particles introduce sentences or clauses and mark the type of sentence that follows them

Hieroglyphs	Transliteration	English
	jw	Particle introducing statements of fact.
	jn	Particle introducing cleft sentences and yes/no questions.
	jḫ	Used to mark sequential action. “Then”
	jsw	“Behold, Look”
	mk	Opens main clauses or independent sentences. “Behold, Look”
,	jsṯ / jsk	Can be used to mark a clause as dependent on a preceding clause or sentence. “Now then”, “Behold”
	wnt	Used to mark a clause with a nonverbal or verbal predicate as a noun clause. “That”
,	n, nn	See “Negative particles”
	ḥꜣ	Used as a wish. “If only”, “I wish”, “Would that”
	ḥwj
	ḥwj-ꜣ
	ḫr	Used to indicate the inevitable result of an action described in some preceding clause. “Then”, “Now”, “Thus”, “Further”
	smwn	Opens main clauses or independent sentences. “Perhaps”, “Maybe”, “Probably”
,	kꜣ	Used to mark a clause with verbal or nonverbal predicate as the future result of the action of some preceding clause. “Then”
,	tj	Serves to mark a clause with verbal or adverbial predicate as an adverb clause.
	ḫr m-ḫt	“Now after”, “Later”
	wn	Signifies that the sentence deals with a past action.

Enclitic Particles

These particles attach to the first word of the sentence and modify its meaning or its syntactic function

Hieroglyphs	Transliteration	English
	ꜣ	Emphasizes a preceding word or phrase.
,	jr=f, r=f	Emphasizes the subject’s role.
	js	Particle introducing subordinate clauses.
	wnnt	“Really”, “Actually”, “Indeed”, “Truly”, “In fact”
, ,	mj	Primarily used after the imperative. “Now, please”
	ms	This particle implies astonishment, reproach, objection, or particular persuasiveness. “Surely”
	ḥm	Indicates that the clause in which it occurs is an additional statement to one that has been made earlier. “And”, “Also”, “Moreover”
	swt	Indicates a contrast with the preceding clause, phrase or sentence. “But”
	grt	Like ḥm but normally marks a new topic or a new line of thought. “Now”, “Moreover”, “But”
, ,	tr tjj	Occurs exclusively in questions. “Actually”, “Really”

Interjections

These interjections are invariable exclamatory words expressing strong emotion, direct address, or a spontaneous reaction

Hieroglyphs	Transliteration	English
,	j jꜣ	Used before a vocative. “O!”, “Oh!”
	hꜣ	Used before a vocative. “O!”, “Oh!”
	j.nḏ ḥr	Always occurs first in the sentence, is always used with a second-person suffix pronoun attached, and usually with a following vocative. “Greetings!”
	m-bjꜣ	Occurs only as a separate word. “No!”
	tjw	Occurs only as a separate word. “Yes!”

Negative Particles

These particles are used to negate sentences, clauses, or commands in Middle Egyptian

Hieroglyphs	Transliteration	English
	n, nj	Used for negation of words, whether by itself or in combination with other words. Negates past/present statements. “Not”
	nn	Used primarily for negation of clauses and sentences. Negates present/future. “Not”, “No”
	nfr	Used only in combination with other words. Strong negation. “Not at all”
	w	An enclitic negation after the prospective in wishes or commands. “Shall not”
	jwt	The noun-clause counterpart of the negative particle n.
	jw.tjj	Serves as the relative-clause counterpart of n and nn. “Who/which not,” “Without”
	jm m	The prospective and imperative, respectively, of the negative verb jmj. “Do not!”
	tm	A verb meaning “Cease”, “Fail”, “Not do” but it is used more often as the negative counterpart of various verb forms than as a verb in its own right.

Interrogative Particles

These particles are used to introduce questions and to mark different types of questions in Middle Egyptian

Hieroglyphs	Transliteration	English
	jn jn jw	Introduces yes/no questions.
Interrogative Pronouns – used in questions that ask for specific information
,		m	“Who?”, “What?”
		sjj	“Who?”, “What?”
		jšs.t	“What?”
		ḥr sjj ~ ḥr jšs.t	“How?”, “Why?”
		ptr	“Who?”
		jḫ	“What?”
Interrogative Adverbs – used in questions that ask for specific information
	ṯn	“Where?”, “From where?”

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