Gardiner's sign list

Gardiner's Sign List is a list of common Egyptian hieroglyphs compiled by Sir Alan Gardiner. It is considered a standard reference in the study of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs.

Gardiner lists only the common forms of Egyptian hieroglyphs, but he includes extensive subcategories, and also both vertical and horizontal forms for many hieroglyphs. He includes size-variation forms to aid with the reading of hieroglyphs in running blocks of text. In contrast, for example, the Budge Reference has about 1,000 hieroglyphs listed in 50 pages, but with no size variations.

Gardiner does not cross-index signs; once put on the list, other significant uses may be overlooked. One example of this is G16, nbtỉ, the ideogram for the Two Ladies, goddesses Wadjet as the cobra and Nekhbet as the white vulture. These are the protective and patron goddesses of the separate Egyptian kingdoms that joined into ancient Egypt, who were both then displayed on the uraeus of Wadjet when the unification occurred and afterward considered jointly to be the protectors of Egypt and the pharaohs. This ideogram is listed only on the bird list as G16, and overlooked on the deity list and the reptile list.

Other subcategories included by Gardiner are abbreviations and personalized forms, and also a complete subset, used on papyrus, specifically for the Book of the Dead.

Categories

A. Man and his occupations

56 signs in Gardiner (1957:242–247), with A59 "man threatening with stick" inserted after A25 "man striking with left hand hanging behind back", and two variants A14* "blood interpreted as ax" of A14 "man with blood streaming from his head" and A17* "child sitting with arms hanging down" of A17 "child sitting with hand to mouth".

A1	A2	A3	A4	A5	A6	A7	A8	A9	A10
A11	A12	A13	A14	A15	A16	A17	A18	A19	A20
A21	A22	A23	A24	A25	A26	A27	A28	A29	A30
A31	A32	A33	A34	A35	A36	A37	A38	A39	A40
A41	A42	A43	A44	A45	A46	A47	A48	A49	A50
A51	A52	A53	A54	A55	A56	A57 A57	A58 A58	A59	A60 A60

B. Woman and her occupations

7 signs in Gardiner (1957:448).

B1	B2	B3	B4	B5	B6	B7	B8	B9	B10
B11	B12

C. Anthropomorphic deities

11 signs in Gardiner (1957:448f.) with the addition of five 19th Dynasty signs, C12 Amun, C17 Mont, C18 Tjanen, C19 and C20 Ptah.

C1	C2	C3	C4	C5	C6	C7	C8	C9	C10
C11	C12					C17	C18	C19	C20

D. Parts of the human body

Expected quantity: 63

D1	D2	D3	D4	D5	D6	D7	D8	D9	D10
D11	D12	D13	D14	D15	D16	D17	D18	D19	D20
D21	D22	D23	D24	D25	D26	D27	D28	D29	D30
D31	D32	D33	D34	D35	D36	D37	D38	D39	D40
D41	D42	D43	D44	D45	D46	D47	D48	D49	D50
D51	D52	D53	D54	D55	D56	D57	D58	D59	D60
D61	D62	D63	D64 D64	D65 D65	D66 D66	D67 D67	D68 D68	D69 D69	D70 D70

E. Mammals

Expected quantity: 34

E1	E2	E3	E4	E5	E6	E7	E8	E9	E10
E11	E12	E13	E14	E15	E16	E17	E18	E19	E20
E21	E22	E23	E24	E25	E26	E27	E28	E29	E30
E31	E32	E33	E34	E35 E35	E36 E36	E37 E37	E38 E38	E39 E39	E40 E40

F. Parts of mammals

Expected quantity: 52

F1	F2	F3	F4	F5	F6	F7	F8	F9	F10
F11	F12	F13	F14	F15	F16	F17	F18	F19	F20
F21	F22	F23	F24	F25	F26	F27	F28	F29	F30
F31	F32	F33	F34	F35	F36	F37	F38	F39	F40
F41	F42	F43	F44	F45	F46	F47	F48	F49	F50
F51	F52	F53 F53	F54 F54	F55 F55	F56 F56	F57 F57	F58 F58	F59 F59	F60 F60

G. Birds

Expected quantity: 54

G1	G2	G3	G4	G5	G6	G7	G8	G9	G10
G11	G12	G13	G14	G15	G16	G17	G18	G19	G20
G21	G22	G23	G24	G25	G26	G27	G28	G29	G30
G31	G32	G33	G34	G35	G36	G37	G38	G39	G40
G41	G42	G43	G44	G45	G46	G47	G48	G49	G50
G51	G52	G53	G54	G55 G55	G56 G56	G57 G57	G58 G58	G59 G59	G60 G60

H. Parts of birds

Expected quantity: 8

H1

H2

H3

H4

H5

H6

H7

H8

H9 H9

H10 H10

I. Amphibious animals, reptiles, etc.

15 signs in Gardiner (1957:475f).

No.	img.	Unicode	phon.	description	usage, notes
I1		𓆈 U+13188	ꜥšꜣ	lizard	"lizard"
I2		𓆉 U+13189		freshwater turtle	štjw "turtle"
I3		𓆊 U+1318A	ı͗t	crocodile	"crocodile" (ḫntj), "be greedy; lust after" (ḥnt), "voracious, angry" , (ꜣd)
I4		𓆋 U+1318B		crocodile on a shrine	Sobek
I5		𓆌 U+1318C		crocodile with inward curved tail	"collect, gather" (sꜣq)
I6		𓆎 U+1318E	km	piece of crocodile-skin with spines	as phonogram in kmt "Egypt", skm "grey-haired"
I7		𓆏 U+1318F		frog	"frog" (qrr), Heqet, ideogram in wḥm-ꜥnḫ "repeating life"
I8		𓆐 U+13190	ḥfn	tadpole
I9		𓆑 U+13191	f	horned viper
I10		𓆓 U+13193	ḏ	cobra in repose
I11		𓆕 U+13195	ḏḏ	two cobras
I12		𓆗 U+13197		cobra erect	Uraeus (iꜥrt), Nesret
I13		𓆘 U+13198		I12 + V30	"goddess"
I14		𓆙 U+13199		snake	"snake" (ḏdft), "serpent" (ḥfꜣw)
I15		𓆚 U+1319A		variant of I14

K. Fish and parts of fish

Expected quantity: 7

K1

K2

K3

K4

K5

K6

K7

K8 K8

K9 K9

K10 K10

L. Invertebrates and lesser animals

Expected quantity: 7

L1

L2

L3

L4

L5

L6

L7

L8 L8

L9 L9

L10 L10

M. Trees and plants

44 signs in Gardiner (1957:478–484).

M1	M2	M3	M4	M5	M6	M7	M8	M9	M10
M11	M12	M13	M14	M15	M16	M17	M18	M19	M20
M21	M22	M23	M24	M25	M26	M27	M28	M29	M30
M31	M32	M33	M34	M35	M36	M37	M38	M39	M40
M41	M42	M43	M44

N. Sky, earth, water

42 signs in Gardiner (1957:485–492). N3 is an Old Kingdom variant of N2. N11 "moon" has vertical (increscent and decrescent) variants, N12 is a 19th-Dynasty variant of N11.

No.	img.	Unicode	phon.	description	usage, notes
N1		𓇯 U+131EF	pt	sky
N2		𓇰 U+131F0	grḥ	sky with sceptre	det. for "darkness"
N3		𓇱 U+131F1	as N2	variant of N2	Old Kingdom variant of N2
N4		𓇲 U+131F2		moisture falling from the sky	"dew", "rain"
N5		𓇳 U+131F3	rꜥ	sun
N6		𓇴 U+131F4	rꜥ	sun with uraeus	19th Dynasty
N7		𓇵 U+131F5		N5 + T28	ẖrt-hrw "day-time"
N8		𓇶 U+131F6	wbn	sunshine	Usually depicted with three rays, older variants may also have four rays.[1] Determinative for e.g. pḥḏ "to shine, illumine" and wbn "rise"; from this latter case, it can also take the phonetic value of wbn when standing on its own, e.g. in wbn "wound". Alternatively, it is either a determiner or ideogram for ḥnmmt, the name of the "sun folk" of Heliopolis (Gardiner p. 486). A depiction with four rays is found on an ivory wand of c. 2100 BC: The "Sun with rays" hieroglyph is shown once, placed upon the head of a ram. It has a central dot, like the "Sun" hieroglyph (N5), with four elongated, undulating vertical rays.[2] See also Aten.
N9		𓇷 U+131F7	psḏ	moon with its lower half obscured	18th Dynasty
N10		𓇸 U+131F8	as N9	variant of N9	18th Dynasty
N11		𓇹 U+131F9		crescent moon
N12		𓇺 U+131FA		variant of N11	18th Dynasty
N13		𓇻 U+131FB		half of N11 + N14	"half-month festival"
N14		𓇼 U+131FC		star
N15		𓇽 U+131FD		star in circle
N16		𓇾 U+131FE		N18 + 3 x N33	"earth, land" (flat alluvial land with grains of sand)
N17		𓇿 U+131FF		variant of N16	as N16
N18		𓈀 U+13200	ı͗	sandy tract	"island"
N19		𓈃 U+13203		2 x N18	in ḥr-ꜣḫty "Horus-of-the-Horizon"
N20		𓈄 U+13204		tongue of land	"sand bank, shore"
N21		𓈅 U+13205		tongue of land	"bank, region" (in "two banks" = "Egypt")
N22		𓈆 U+13206		tongue of land	Old Kingdom predecessor of both N20 and N21
N23		𓈇 U+13207		irrigation canal	differentiation of N36
N24		𓈈 U+13208		land with irrigation tunnels	"district, nome"
N25		𓈉 U+13209		hills	"hill-country, foreign land"
N26		𓈋 U+1320B	ḏw	mountain
N27		𓈌 U+1320C		sun rising over mountain	"horizon"
N28		𓈍 U+1320D	ḫꜥ	sun rising over hill
N29		𓈎 U+1320E	q	sandy hill-slope
N30		𓈏 U+1320F		mound with shrubs	"mound"
N31		𓈐 U+13210		road bordered by shrubs	"road"
N32		𓈑 U+13211		lump of clay or dung	Old Kingdom
N33		𓈒 U+13212		grain of sand
N34		𓈔 U+13214		metal ingot
N35		𓈖 U+13216	n	ripple of water	variant "three ripples" 𓈗 U+13217
N36		𓈘 U+13218		water channel
N37		𓈙 U+13219		pool	"pool"
N38		𓈛 U+1321B		variant of N37	more detailed drawing of N37
N39		𓈜 U+1321C		garden pool full of water	variant of N37
N40		𓈝 U+1321D		N37 + D54	"go"
N41		𓈞 U+1321E	bı͗ꜣ	well full of water	"well"
N42		𓈟 U+1321F		variant of N41	as N41

O. Buildings, parts of buildings, etc.

51 signs (with variants, U+13250–1329A).

O1	O2	O3	O4	O5	O6	O7	O8	O9	O10
O11	O12	O13	O14	O15	O16	O17	O18	O19	O20
O21	O22	O23	O24	O25	O26	O27	O28	O29	O30
O31	O32	O33	O34	O35	O36	O37	O38	O39	O40
O41	O42	O43	O44	O45	O46	O47	O48	O49	O50
O51

P. Ships and parts of ships

Expected quantity: 11

P1	P2	P3	P4	P5	P6	P7	P8	P9	P10
P11	P12 P12	P13	P14 P14	P15 P15	P16 P16	P17 P17	P18 P18	P19 P19	P20 P20

Q. Domestics and funerary furniture

Expected quantity: 7

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

Q5

Q6

Q7

Q8 Q8

Q9 Q9

Q10 Q10

R. Temple furniture and sacred emblems

Expected quantity: 25

R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	R8	R9	R10
R11	R12	R13	R14	R15	R16	R17	R18	R19	R20
R21	R22	R23	R24	R25	R26 R26	R27 R27	R28 R28	R29 R29	R30 R30

S. Crowns, dress, staves, etc.

Expected quantity: 45

S1	S2	S3	S4	S5	S6	S7	S8	S9	S10
S11	S12	S13	S14	S15	S16	S17	S18	S19	S20
S21	S22	S23	S24	S25	S26	S27	S28	S29	S30
S31	S32	S33	S34	S35	S36	S37	S38	S39	S40
S41	S42	S43	S44	S45	S46 S46	S47 S47	S48 S48	S49 S49	S50 S50

T. Warfare, hunting, and butchery

Expected quantity: 35

T1	T2	T3	T4	T5	T6	T7	T8	T9	T10
T11	T12	T13	T14	T15	T16	T17	T18	T19	T20
T21	T22	T23	T24	T25	T26	T27	T28	T29	T30
T31	T32	T33	T34	T35	T36 T36	T37 T37	T38 T38	T39 T39	T40 T40

U. Agriculture, crafts, and professions

41 signs.

U1	U2	U3	U4	U5	U6	U7	U8	U9	U10
U11	U12	U13	U14	U15	U16	U17	U18	U19	U20 adze on block stp "cut", "choose" (stp-n-rꜣ "chosen of Ra")
U21	U22	U23	U24	U25	U26	U27	U28	U29	U30
U31	U32	U33	U34	U35	U36	U37	U38	U39	U40
U41

V. Rope, fiber, baskets, bags, etc.

40 signs (38 in Gardiner 1957). V39 is the Tyet or "Knot of Isis". V40 is the numeral 10 in dates.

V1	V2	V3	V4	V5	V6	V7	V8	V9	V10
V11	V12	V13	V14	V15	V16	V17	V18	V19	V20
V21	V22	V23	V24	V25	V26	V27	V28	V29	V30
V31	V32	V33	V34	V35	V36	V37	V38	V39	V40 V40

W. Vessels of stone and earthenware

25 signs.

W1	W2	W3	W4	W5	W6	W7	W8	W9	W10
W11	W12	W13	W14	W15	W16	W17	W18	W19	W20
W21	W22	W23	W24	W25

X. Loaves and cakes

8 signs.

X1 t feminine

X2

X3 bread

X4

X5 bread, food

X6 loaf (pAt)

X7 half-loaf (gSw)

X8 conical loaf; "give" (di, imi)

Y. Writings, games, music

8 signs.

Y1 Papyrus roll-tied

Y2

Y3 Scribe equipment

Y4

Y5

Y6 board game piece

Y7

Y8 Sistrum

Z. Strokes, signs derived from Hieratic, geometrical figures

11 signs.

Z1	Z2	Z3	Z4	Z5	Z6	Z7	Z8	Z9	Z10
Z11

Aa. Unclassified

31 signs in Gardiner (1957).

Aa1	Aa2	Aa3	Aa4	Aa5	Aa6	Aa7	Aa8	Aa9	Aa10
Aa11	Aa12	Aa13	Aa14	Aa15	Aa16	Aa17	Aa18	Aa19	Aa20
Aa21	Aa22	Aa23	Aa24	Aa25	Aa26	Aa27	Aa28	Aa29	Aa30
Aa31	Aa32	Aa33 Aa33	Aa34 Aa34	Aa35 Aa35	Aa36 Aa36	Aa37 Aa37	Aa38 Aa38	Aa39 Aa39	Aa40
Aa41	Aa42 Aa42	Aa43 Aa43	Aa44 Aa44	Aa45 Aa45	Aa46 Aa46	Aa47 Aa47	Aa48 Aa48	Aa49 Aa49	Aa50 Aa50

Unicode

𓁄
A059: man threatening with stick
In Unicode	U+013044 𓁄 EGYPTIAN HIEROGLYPH A059 (HTML 𓁄)

These hieroglyphs have unicode code points and so, given a suitable font, can be displayed or printed. The block starts at U+013000 for A001.

See also

• Egyptian hieroglyphs
• List of Egyptian hieroglyphs
• Transliteration of Ancient Egyptian
• List of cuneiform signs

References

1. Betrò, 1995. Hieroglyphics: The Writings of Ancient Egypt, Sun with Rays, p. 152.
2. Fleming; Lothian; (and Fletcher), 1997. The Way to Eternity: Egyptian Myth, Fergus Fleming, Alan Lothian, and consultant Dr. Joann Fletcher. c 1997, Duncan Baird Publishers. (hardcover, ISBN 0-7054-3503-2), 124-126.

Bibliography

• Budge, Sir E.A.Wallis, An Egyptian Hieroglyphic Dictionary, in Two Volumes, Sir E.A.Wallis Budge, (Dover Publications, Inc. New York), c 1920, Dover Edition, c 1978. (Large categorized listings of Hieroglyphs, Vol 1, pp. xcvii–cxlvii (97–147) (25 categories, 1000+ hieroglyphs), 50 pgs.)
• A.H. Gardiner, Catalogue of the Egyptian hieroglyphic printing type, from matrices owned and controlled by Dr. Alan (1928).
• A.H. Gardiner, "Additions to the new hieroglyphic fount (1928)", The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 15 (1929), p. 95.
• A.H. Gardiner, "Additions to the new hieroglyphic fount (1931)", The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 17 (1931), pp. 245–247.
• A.H. Gardiner, Supplement to the catalogue of the Egyptian hieroglyphic printing type, showing acquisitions to December 1953 (1953).
• A.H. Gardiner, Egyptian Grammar: Being an Introduction to the Study of Hieroglyphs. 3rd Ed., pub. Griffith Institute, Oxford, 1957 (1st edition 1927), pp. 438–548 (pdf).
• Wilkinson, Richard, Reading Egyptian Art, A Hieroglyphic Guide to Ancient Egyptian Painting and Sculpture, Richard H. Wilkinson, with 450 Illustrations, (Thames & Hudson Ltd, London), c 1992.

Reading list

• Betrò, Carmelo (1996). Hieroglyphics: The Writings of Ancient Egypt (1st ed.). Abbeville Press Pub. pp. 251. ISBN 9780789202321.: A primer based on Gardiner's sign list, focussing on major signs in seven categories.

External links

• Hieroglyphic fonts
• Khemet.de on Gardiner