Egyptian Hieroglyphs Database

This page contains 600 Egyptian hieroglyphic symbols. Egyptian hieroglyphs (sacred carvings) were the formal writing system used in Ancient Egypt, combining logographic and alphabetic elements. Emerging around 3200 BCE and remaining in use until the 5th century CE, it represents one of the longest-lived writing systems in human history. Each symbol carries specific phonetic values, meanings, or grammatical functions, serving as an essential key to understanding ancient Egyptian civilization, religious rituals, royal names, and daily life. Below is a detailed breakdown of each symbol category with technical parameters and usage contexts.

𓀀 Human Figures (Category A)

𓀀 (seated man, A1) is one of the most fundamental human figure signs, commonly used as a determinative for "man," "person," "father," "official," or collective nouns. It has no independent phonetic value but may hint at a "z" sound. In monumental inscriptions, the direction of seated figures is crucial—facing right indicates right-to-left reading, facing left indicates left-to-right reading. Unicode: U+13000, Manuel de Codage: A1, HTML entity: 𓀀. After copying, ensure Egyptian font support (Segoe UI Historic recommended).

𓀁 (seated man with high crown, A2) specifically denotes "pharaoh," "king," or the title "King of Lower Egypt." Its Red Crown (Deshret) symbolizes Lower Egypt's Nile Delta. This sign deterministically marks "nsw" (king) and frequently appears within royal cartouches. Unicode: U+13001, MdC: A2. On Ramesses III's temple reliefs, this sign combines with the scepter sign to indicate royal authority. Note: The Red Crown has its own Unicode point (U+132BA), requiring layout software support for composite rendering.

Additional seated male figures (A3-A20) represent officials, rulers, worshipers, soldiers, prisoners, rowers, craftsmen, and various professions. Female figures (B1-B26) include seated, standing, nursing, and mourning women, reflecting gender-specific roles in ancient Egyptian society.

𓁹 Body Parts (Category D)

𓁹 (eye, D4) serves both phonetic (jr) and determinative functions for "see," "do," "act," and "eye" itself. The famous Eye of Horus derives from this sign, representing protection, health, and renewal. Unicode: U+13079, MdC: D4. When combined with other facial signs, it can form composite emblems representing specific deities.

𓂉 (mouth, D21) represents the consonant /r/, depicting a human mouth. Beyond its phonetic value, it functions as a preposition ("toward," "against," "until") and in verbs meaning "say" or "open." Unicode: U+13089, MdC: D21.

𓂧 (hand, D46) represents /d/, depicting the right hand. Ancient Egyptians presented offerings and swore oaths with the right hand. Used for verbs "give," "say," "stabilize," and appears in names like "Djedkara." Unicode: U+130A7, MdC: D46.

Additional body part signs (D47-D60) represent arms, elbows, palms, fingers, feet, and legs, serving as determinatives for body parts and actions, essential in ancient Egyptian medical texts.

𓃀 Animals (Category E)

𓃥 (jackal, E16) represents the consonant sequence "sp" or serves as a determinative for Anubis, "tomb," or "corpse." Based on the Egyptian golden wolf, this sign symbolizes cemetery guardianship. Unicode: U+130E5, MdC: E16.

𓃠 (cat, E13) primarily functions as a determinative for "cat" or the goddess Bastet. Ancient Egyptians domesticated wild cats and held them sacred. This sign generally carries no phonetic value, appearing ideographically after "miw" (cat). Unicode: U+130E0, MdC: E13.

Additional animal signs (E1-E34) represent snakes, crocodiles, lions, hippopotami, cattle, antelopes, rabbits, baboons, scorpions, and elephants, forming a complete picture of the ancient Egyptian animal worldview, each with specific symbolic significance and religious associations.

𓅓 Birds (Category G)

𓅓 (owl, G17) represents the consonant /m/, Latin transliteration "m," MdC code "G17." One of the most frequently used signs, it can represent the prepositions "in," "as," "through," and verbs "see," "give." The sign depicts a perched Eurasian eagle-owl, reflecting the ancient Egyptians' keen observation of nature. Unicode: U+13153.

𓄿 (vulture, G1) represents the single consonant /j/ (or as a weak consonant), used for "I," "my," or in divine names. Unicode: U+1313F, Latin transliteration typically "ȝ" or "A," MdC: G1.

Additional bird signs (G2-G36) represent falcons, ibises, ostriches, quails, ducks, geese, swallows, and sparrows. The falcon sign (U+13150, G5) symbolizes Horus, representing kingship and sky—one of the most sacred hieroglyphs. The ibis sign (U+13164, G26) represents Thoth, god of wisdom and writing, common in scribal inscriptions.

𓆑 Amphibians & Reptiles (Category I)

𓆑 (horned viper, I9) represents the consonant "f" and is widely used for possessive "he," "it" in the genitive case. Unicode: U+13191, MdC: I9. This sign depicts the Egyptian horned viper, a venomous snake, mostly used abstractly for concepts like "carrying" or "he."

Additional reptile and amphibian signs (I1-I15) represent frogs, tadpoles, turtles, lizards, and crocodiles. The frog sign (U+1318F, I1) represents the concept of "tens of thousands," serving as a common numeral determinative. 𓆼 (lotus, M12) represents the lotus flower, symbolizing Upper Egypt and meaning "million."

𓇋 Plants (Category M)

𓇋 (reed leaf, M17) represents the consonant /j/ or /y/, Latin transliteration "ı͗" or "i." One of the highest-frequency signs in hieroglyphic writing, used for first-person suffixes, demonstrative pronouns, and verb perfect tenses. Unicode: U+131CB, MdC: M17.

𓇏 (bunch of flax, M23) represents the consonant /w/ or vowel /u/, Latin transliteration "w." Used for the masculine singular pronoun "you," verbs "far," "great," and the country "Wawat." Unicode: U+131CF, MdC: M23.

Additional plant signs (M1-M44) represent palm branches, grain, barley, wheat, sedge, papyrus, and the sun symbol (U+131F3, N5)—the symbol of Ra, representing "day" and "time," central to Egyptian religion.

𓈖 Sky & Water (Category N)

𓈖 (water ripple, N35) represents the consonant /n/, Latin transliteration "n," MdC: N35. This highly common sign represents negation, the preposition "to/for," and "belonging to," also serving as a determinative for "pillar." Its form depicts water surface ripples, with calligraphic conventions specifying wave count and symmetry. Unicode: U+13216.

Additional sky and water signs (N1-N41) represent sky, stars, moon, rain, wind, air, canals, and pools. 𓇯 (sky, N1) represents Nut, the sky goddess.

𓉐 Architecture & Geography (Categories O, P, N)

𓉐 (house, O1) is a building determinative for "house," "palace," "temple," "tomb," etc. Unicode: U+13250, MdC: O1. This sign depicts a rectangular floor plan with a door opening, representing standard ancient Egyptian architectural diagramming.

𓉔 (courtyard, O4) represents the consonant /ħ/, Latin transliteration "ḥ," MdC: "X." Depicts a courtyard or booth with a checkerboard pattern, pronouncing like a strong pharyngeal fricative. Unicode: U+13254.

𓊹 (god on a standard, R8) represents "deity" or "divinity," serving as a determinative for all divine names. Pronounced "nṯr" (netjer), meaning god. Unicode: U+132B9, MdC: R8.

𓋹 (ankh, S34) represents "life," read as "ˁnḫ." Though not corresponding directly to consonantal phonemes, it can spell "life," "dwell," or "live" in writing. One of the most famous cultural icons of Egypt. Unicode: U+132F9, MdC: S34.

𓌀 (was scepter, S40) represents "dominion," "power," "happiness," read as "wꜣs." Depicts a scepter with a Seth-animal head atop and a forked base. Unicode: U+13300, MdC: S40.

📌 Hieroglyph Usage & Typography Guidelines

First, Egyptian hieroglyphs have flexible writing direction. Generally, follow the direction figures and animals face—facing left means left-to-right reading, facing right means right-to-left reading. In digital typography, Unicode provides fixed-direction characters, but for semantic accuracy, use logical direction with modern rendering engines for bidirectional layout support. Second, hieroglyphs are often arranged in "quadrats" (virtual squares), stacking multiple signs vertically and horizontally for compact layout. Third, Latin transliteration standards vary. The Manuel de Codage system is most common in Egyptology, but German and American systems also exist. Fourth, for LaTeX documents requiring extensive hieroglyph insertion, load the hieroglf package, preferably using XeLaTeX with the "Noto Sans Egyptian Hieroglyphs" system font. Fifth, in HTML/CSS, always declare "Segoe UI Historic," "Noto Sans Egyptian Hieroglyphs" first in font-family for reliable display. Sixth, as hieroglyphs are ancient logographic writing, copying/pasting may lose semantic grouping information—use MdC encoding as an exchange format for longer texts, while using Unicode for individual card symbols.

💡 Usage Tips

To copy any Egyptian hieroglyph's Unicode, Latin transliteration, or Manuel de Codage code, simply click the corresponding symbol card and then click any detail item in the popup panel for one-click copying. Each symbol can generate SVG vector source code or be downloaded as a 512×512 pixel transparent-background PNG image, perfect for academic papers, posters, or digital designs. When writing Egyptology reports, MdC encoding is recommended as a markup language, rendered into graphics using JSesh or RES tools. For infrequently typed symbols, bookmark this page for quick reference. May the wisdom and power of ancient Egyptian writing facilitate unimpeded progress in your research and creative work.