Htp-di-(n)sw(t)

Hover your mouse over each of the three hieroglyphs in the picture at the right. As you do so, a label will appear showing the consonants which the sign represents and the English meaning.

In this case, as in most cases, the text is read from right to left.

A rule of the thumb for pronouning the words is to put an 'e' between the consonants. You can pronounce the first sign as 'neswet' (almost like 'no sweat'). 'King' is not the only meaning this sign can have, but in this context 'king' is meant. I'll tell you later on why the (n) and the (t) are in parentheses.

We need to distinguish between 'H' and 'h' in transliteration. Pronounce this sign 'Hetep' or 'Hotep', putting some emphasis on the 'H'.

In the third sign you need to remember that both 'd' and 'i' are considered consonants. The actual consonant doesn't occur in English, but it's rather close to 'i' or 'y', so we write it like that. Pronounce it 'dee'. This sign is partly damaged at the top.

Can you find the beginning of the offering formula in the stela to the left?

(HINT: there are two of them, they each appear at the start of their own line, but they look just a little different than the formula shown above. You have to get used to inconsistencies in reading Egyptian hieroglyphs).

When you think you've identified them, hover your mouse over them. If you're right, a little confirming message will appear.

Egyptian word order is somewhat different from English word order. The whole phrase means "An offering which the king gives". It is found at or near the start of very many funerary inscriptions, like those found on coffins or burial stelae.

The king was the only valid conduit to the gods, all prayers to the gods and all messages from the gods came through him, although he could, and did, delegate this authority to priests.

The picture on the right shows a rather different version of the offering formula, but still recognizable. Don't let the different arrangement of the signs bother you, although I admit that it's not usual practice in writing this part of the formula. Hover your mouse over the part of the image where you think the formula is located.

Stelae, inscriptions on stone, were often erected at or near tombs to identify the tomb owners. Passers-by could, simply by reciting the inscriptions, help the tomb owners in the next life. Just how, merely reciting a writing, is something we'll investigate in the next few pages.

As you can see, some parts of the stela have been damaged. Don't let that interfere with your reading of the text.

Hover your mouse over the hieroglyphs in the picture at left to see which consonants go with which glyphs.

There are three new signs (but two of them are the same). Egyptian hieroglyphs can stand for anywhere from one to four consonants. Reading from right to left we see "sw" + "t" spelling "(n)swt". Final "t" is often omitted in writing, as in the first example at the top of the page, although it was present in the first quiz question. The two new signs can be seen on the monoliterals page.

The top sign at left "Htp" gets a little help below it in the "t" and "p" signs. Egyptian often does this. It's a different way of spelling the word, but doesn't change the actual number of consonants. The word is still "Htp", the extra signs are called complementary consonants.