Homework - Middle Egyptian Grammar through Literature

Homework #1
Indicate the order in which the signs should be read by numbering
them next to the signs.

Homework #2
Identify only the uniliteral signs and transliterate them:

Homework #3
Use the uniliteral and biliteral charts to identify the uniliterals,
biliterals, phonetic complements and the determinatives.
Transliterate:
side
son
see
(ferry) across
rejoice, be glad
send
daughter
man-servant
maid-servant
, road, way,
office, hall
device
construction, work,
vizier
donkey
secret
water
crocodile
mouth, utterance
(noun) face
(preposition) upon,
concerning, because
Notes: The determinative is not necessarily the last sign. There
may be more than one determinatives for a single word. There is a
subtle difference between the pintail duck and the goose, the
former has a more pointed tail and tranliterates as zA and the latter
as gb in gbb the Earth god. The latter occurs rarely.

Homework #4
Transliterate and translate the following:
(Vocabulary is attached at the end for your convenience.)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
son
daughter
man-servant
maid-servant
, road, way
construction, work
vizier
donkey
crocodile
mouth, utterance
(noun) face

Homework #5
Transliterate and translate the following. The first 8 are noun
phrases, the last 2 are sentences.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Notes: Ignore the single stoke next to the pintail duck and
focus on the seated man determinative. The determinative
of town here carries a phonetic value nwt. For the sentences:
In Egyptian, the predicate (verb) comes BEFORE the
subject! Use the vocabulary of Homework 3. In the
sentences the owl m is the preposition “in.” Finally, wjA is
“bark, boat.”

Homework #6
Transliterate and translate the following. The first 2 are noun phrases, the last 3 are
sentences.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5. (The god Amun-Re speaks to the pharaoh
Thutmose III.)
Notes: 3. The suffix pronoun attached to a verb is the subject, for example Dd.j
means “I say.” n is the preposition “to.” 4. The Middle Egyptian word order is predicate
(verb) + subject, for example Dd Hmt “the woman says.” 5. is the
preposition “with.”
jmj-r steward, overseer (manager)
wr (adjective) great; (noun) elder
xAst foreign land
Dd say
rn name
Vocabulary
zXAw scribe
sxtj peasant
Xnm empower
haw body
zA protection

Transliterate and translate the following:
1.
Homework #7
2. What is the difference between the following? Explain the grammar.
aA “great.” Hint: The cobra is the determinative for “goddess,” the scroll is for “thing.”
3. The noun phrase
is an example of a nfr Hr construction. bnr(j) “sweet,” mrwt “love.” Then try:
4. Srj “little.”
5.
sxr “plan,” bjn “evil.”
6.
The old man leaning on a stick has several interpretations: jAw “old,” smsw “eldest,” wr
“great, chief.” Choose the one that fits. Explain the twofold appearance of the suffix
pronoun.

Transliterate and translate the following:
Homework #8
1. This is a construction involving comparison. Note the position of r:
2. st “it” is an independent pronoun here, again a comparison:
3. H(n)qt “beer” (note the suppressed n), dpt “taste,” bjt “honey” (the bee is an ideogram
with phonetic value bjt). A comparison:
4. jw mr.n.f “he loved,” a perfect verb construction. Tzm “dog, hound,” a comparison:
(This is not a very nice thing to say!)
5. An example of the superlative. Note the different roles of the seated man:
6.
zp “time.”
7.
wAt “side.”
8.
Note the irregular plural of king is nstyw.
9.
Xt “thing.”
10.
ky…ky “each other.” Try to guess the meaning of the first verb by its determinative.
11.
Remember the seated man admiring the stars is HH “million.”
12.
13.
hrw “day.”
14.
dwAw “morning.” (The star is a triliteral with phonetic value dwA.)

Transliterate and translate the following:
1. Note the dependent pronoun tw:
Hna.j “with me.” Translate in future tense.
2. Note the comparison:
Homework #9
aSA “many” (the plural strokes serve as a determinative!)
3.
4. note the exclamatory dual.
5. mjtn “path.” Note the seated man at the end.
6. twt “like,” n.s “to her,” st “it.”
7. rwd “firm.”
8. iw particle (not to be translated), sw “he,” m
pA-Hrw “today,” sf “yesterday.” Note the comparative.
9. m.k particle, can be translated as “look,” sDm
“listen,” n “to,” r(m)T “people.”
10. … jsT particle, can be translated as “now,”
wrt very.

Homework #10
Transliterate and translate the following as full sentences:
1. Note the exclamatory dual of the adjective: , n.j “for me.”
2. mdwt “talk, speech,” note the different roles
of the seated man, translate pw as a demonstrative pronoun.
3. jw particle (not to be
translated) wn “exist, to be,” jm “there,” note the honorific transposition in the name,
aSA “many” (the plural strokes serve here as a determinative!) n.f “for him.”
4. Notice the nfr Hr construction (translate it as possessive).
5. Translate js as “indeed”
This is not a positive trait! (Hint: This sentence contains a nfr Hr construction listed in an
earlier handout.)
6. pwnt Punt probably present-day Somaliland:
7. A pw nominal sentence.
8. A pw nominal sentence, pA is a demonstrative pronoun here.

Homework #11
Transliterate and translate the following as full sentences:
1. dmj “harbor, abode,” jmnt (feather on a standard) = “west.” A
pw B nominal sentence. This needs to be translated poetically.
2. The throne here is ws (not the usual st) (see the list of biliterals for the
two phonetic values), and with jr (the eye) these two are spelled together as wsjr “Osiris”
(god of the Underworld).
3. A pw nominal sentence! Notice that pw is placed forward
between the noun and its modifying adjective.
4. jrp “wine” and mw “water” (ideogram). Notice the
preposition n with suffix pronoun. What is a good translation of the comparative wr…r..?
In this sentence the owner is boasting about his wealth.
5. wab “priest,” note the spelling of the sun-god. A
pw nominal sentence! Note the forward position of pw within the indirect genitive.
6. pxrt “remedy” (the intestine
determinative from pXr “going around”), Haw “body,” mrHt “oil,” note the gender! A pw
B nominal sentence.
7. Transliterate and translate the following prepositional phrases:
8. Translate as a full sentence (with future tense). aA
“here.”
9. sbH “cry,” wrt “very.” Translate as a phrase.

Homework #12
Transliterate and translate the following as full sentences:
1.
jw particle, grt moreover, rdj.n.j I gave, Hqr hungry, jb
thirsty, Hbs clothes, HAj naked. Tomb biography listing the owner’s good
deeds.
2. mj like.
3. Twt you (Old Egyptian form of the 2S
independent pronoun ntk/ntT).
4. dbH.n.f he
begged, dj.n.sn they gave, jrtt milk.
5. xAst foreign land, Xr under, rd foot, note the plural
and the dual!
6. mH.n filled, m with, jtj barley.
7. tAS boundary, jAbtj
eastern, jtrw river, jmntj western.
8. rSwt joy, mAA.sn
they can see, mr pyramid.
Transliterate and translate the following phrases:
9. wAt path, wart flight.
10. Htp peace, wrt very. Note the feminine endings.

Homework #13
Transliterate and translate the following as full sentences:
1. Sms follow, Hm majesty, rd
foot (note the dual!), tj when.
2. m.k look, HAb festival, translate the
second particle as “now that.” (Sarcastic statement about adverse times.)
3. hnw praise, r-pr temple.
4.
km complete, hrw days, jsT while, Abd month (refers to the monthly work-shift of ordinary
people cleaning in the temple).
5. sj she (dependent pronoun).
6. nn (there was) no, wxA fool, Hr(j)-jb among
(Egyptian idiom).
7. translate n(j) as negation.
8. wAD green, fresh, wAD-wr the Great Blue-Green = the sea,
usually the Mediterranean or the Red Sea.
9. xt tree, oA high.
10. xA if only, nhj little, t bread.
11. jm there.
12. mnjw herdsman. Notice the m of predication.

Homework #14
Transliterate and translate the following as full sentences:
1. stj pour, jt(j)
father (the horned viper is a determinative!), mwt mother, nHH eternity. Interpret this
statement, e.g. what does the son do, and what does city of eternity means?
2. dj make, nxt victorious.
3. pr emerge, go up, m from, sbA
teaching, sbA-pr house of teaching.
4. jrj make, TAt vizier, rswt southern.
5. remember the tongue is a reverse nisbe and
should be transliterated as jmj-r !
6. nn not (negation).
7. jnj bring, wr
(tribal) chief, Xrd child.
8. a arm, n(j)
negation, aHa stand, hAw vicinity. There is a nfr Hr construction in the sentence!

Homework 15
Transliterate and translate the following:
1.
zbj = pass (subjunctive), nHH HH HH= HH eternity, ndm-jb jb =
happiness (lit. sweet heart), Hz Hzt Hz
= praise, jmj.k jmj.k = where you are (lit. you wherein), wnn wnn =
exists(subjunctive), HHAtj
H
Atj = heart (organ), nnn
n = negation, bt = abandon (the t ending is
infinitive with suffix pronoun). The suffix pronoun refers to what? Why should the tomb
owner worry about his heart?
2. jw jw = wrong, crime, r = against (here). Who shouldn’t
wrong here who?
3.
jr jrj jr jrj
j = make
(perfect), m m m3wt m3wt m3wt = anew, jnr jnr = stone, HD = white (also silver, shiny), rwdt wdt wdt = hard stone
(usually sandstone), Ï3 = door, aS = cedar, m3(w) m3(w) = new, fresh, xt xtjw xt xtjw
jw (with the tjw-bird!)
=hillside (reference to Lebanenese cedar forests), m m HAt HAt = before (time). Description of a
new temple.
4.
js jst js particle, r.f r.f particle (for emphasis), km km =
complete(perfect), ar = ascend(perfect), Ht Htp Ht = rest, peace, jm = there, dt and nHH HH both
mean eternity but one is in space the other in time; look at the determinatives! What does
the suffix pronoun after jm jm jm refer to?
Uses of the preposition jr jr: jr
5. jr+adjective-verb = if…, HA HAtj HA
tj tj = mayor
Notice the r of futurity.
6. jr jr+noun jr = as for…,dt-nswt nswt nswt =
king of eternity. ntjw ntjw jm jm (note the plural nisbe) refers to whom? Notice the A pw nominal
sentence after jr.
7. jr jr +
wnn wnn + subject = if+subject+is..., mdwt mdwt = speech, Xrt rt rt-Hr rt Hr Hrw Hr = daytime, ra = day. Advice to a
subordinate.
8. mjtt.s mjtt.s = the likes of it,
dr = since, p3t p3t = old time, antiquity.