Two-consonant signs
Biliterals: two consonants in one sign
A biliteral packs two consonants into a single hieroglyph. These are vocabulary signs, not alphabet signs — you learn them as building blocks of words rather than as letters.
How biliterals work
What they are
Each biliteral carries a fixed pair of consonants — for example pr (“house”) or nb (“lord, all”). The sign is read for those two sounds wherever it appears.
How they function
Scribes often reinforce a biliteral with small uniliteral “phonetic complements” that repeat one of its consonants, confirming how to read it. So pr may be followed by the r-sign to make the reading unmistakable.
Why no phonetic grouping
Uniliterals sort neatly by a single sound, so we group them by phonetic class. Biliterals hold two sounds at once, so that grouping breaks down — they are organized instead by what the sign pictures, using Gardiner categories.
Relation to determinatives
A single picture-sign can serve as a biliteral (read for sound) in one word and as a determinative (silent, giving meaning) in another. Position and phonetic complements tell you which job it is doing.
The most common biliterals
50 signs you meet most often. Each card shows the real hieroglyph, its transliteration value, its Egyptological reading in italics, what it pictures, its consonant-by-consonant sound, and its Gardiner code.
jr“ir”
eye
i·r
D4
ḥr“her”
face
ḥ·r
D2
pr“per”
house plan
p·r
O1
mn“men”
senet game board
m·n
Y5
nb“neb”
basket
n·b
V30
jb“ib”
heart
i·b
F34
kꜣ“ka”
raised arms (ka)
k·a
D28
ḏd“djed”
djed pillar
dj·d
R11
ḏw“dju”
mountain range
dj·w
N26
wr“wer”
swallow
w·r
G36
wn“wen”
hare
w·n
E34
bꜣ“ba”
jabiru stork
b·a
G29
pꜣ“pa”
flying pintail duck
p·a
G40
rw“ru”
reclining lion
r·w
E23
ms“mes”
three fox skins
m·s
F31
mꜣ“ma”
sickle
m·a
U1
zꜣ“za”
pintail duck (son)
z·a
G39
zꜣ“za”
reed shelter (protection)
z·a
V17
sw“su”
sedge plant
s·w
M23
sn“sen”
arrowhead
s·n
T22
st“set”
seat
s·t
Q1
ns“nes”
tongue
n·s
F20
ḥḏ“hedj”
mace with pear head
ḥ·dj
T3
ḫꜥ“kha”
sun rising over hill
kh·aa
N28
ḫt“khet”
branch
kh·t
M3
ẖr“kher”
butcher block
kh·r
T28
šw“shu”
feather
sh·w
H6
šn“shen”
coil of rope
sh·n
V1
šd“shed”
waterskin
sh·d
F30
tp“tep”
head in profile
t·p
D1
tꜣ“ta”
flat land with grains
t·a
N16
wꜣ“wa”
lasso
w·a
V4
ꜥb“ab”
horn
aa·b
F16
ꜥꜣ“aa”
wooden column (great)
aa·a
O29
ꜥq“ak”
cormorant
aa·q
G35
pḥ“peh”
hindquarters
p·ḥ
F22
mr“mer”
hoe
m·r
U6
mḥ“meh”
whip
m·ḥ
V22
ḥꜣ“ha”
clump of papyrus
ḥ·a
M16
ḥm“hem”
fuller’s club
ḥ·m
U36
ḥn“hen”
herb / plant
ḥ·n
M2
ḥz“hes”
tall water jar
ḥ·z
W14
ḫꜣ“kha”
lotus plant (1000)
kh·a
M12
qd“qed”
builder’s plummet
q·d
Aa28
qs“qes”
harpoon head
q·s
T19
km“kem”
crocodile skin (black)
k·m
I6
gm“gem”
black ibis
g·m
G28
gb“geb”
Nile goose
g·b
G38
tm“tem”
sledge
t·m
U15
ṯꜣ“tja”
duckling
tj·a
G47
Keep building
Practice these two-consonant signs, or step up to the three-consonant triliterals.