Single-consonant signs
Uniliterals: the hieroglyphic "alphabet"
These roughly two dozen signs each spell a single consonant. They are the backbone of the script — every other sign is read against them — so this is the place to begin.
What uniliterals are
One sign, one consonant
A uniliteral stands for exactly one consonant sound. Strung together, they spell words the way our letters do — which is why they are often called the Egyptian “alphabet,” even though the Egyptians themselves never used them in isolation like an ABC.
How transliteration works
Scholars write each sign with a fixed Latin symbol — its transliteration. Some use special letters (ꜣ, ꜥ, ḥ, ḫ, š, ṯ, ḏ) for sounds English lacks. The italic name on each card (its “Egyptological reading”) is how the sign is spoken aloud in class.
How pronunciation works
Egyptian wrote only consonants. Because the vowels are lost, Egyptologists insert a helper “e” (and read ꜣ and ꜥ as “a”, i as “i”, w as “u”) so the words can be said at all. These are conventions, not the true ancient sounds.
Why phonetic classes matter
Grouping the signs by where and how the sound is made — in the throat, at the lips, through the nose — makes them far easier to learn and helps you recognize related spellings across the 24 signs below.
The signs by phonetic class
Each card shows the real hieroglyph, its transliteration, its Egyptological reading (in italics), the object it pictures, its rough sound, and its Gardiner sign-list code.
Glottals
Sounds shaped deep in the throat.The weak, throat-born consonants — the glottal stop of the vulture, the reeds, and the guttural ayin. Egyptologists sound them with an 'a' or 'i' helper vowel because they have no true vowel of their own.
ꜣ“aleph”
Egyptian vulture
glottal stop (a)
G1
i“i”
flowering reed
ee / y
M17
y“y”
two reeds
y
M17A
ꜥ“ayin”
forearm
guttural (ayin)
D36
Semivowels
Halfway between consonant and vowel.The gliding w of the quail chick behaves like a consonant when it opens a syllable and like an 'oo' vowel when it closes one.
w“w”
quail chick
w / oo
G43
Labials
Sounds made with the lips.Formed at the lips: the b of the foot, the p of the stool, and the f of the horned viper.
b“b”
foot
b
D58
p“p”
stool
p
Q3
f“f”
horned viper
f
I9
Nasals
Sounds hummed through the nose.The m of the owl and the n of the water ripple — air resonating through the nose.
m“m”
owl
m
G17
n“n”
water ripple
n
N35
Liquids
The flowing r sound.The r of the mouth is Egyptian's single liquid, a lightly rolled or tapped sound.
r“r”
mouth
r
D21
Fricatives
Sounds hissed through a narrow gap.The largest family: the breathy h signs, the two kh sounds, and the sibilants s and sh — all made by forcing air through a tight channel.
h“h”
reed shelter
h
O4
ḥ“ha”
twisted wick
emphatic h
V28
ḫ“kha”
placenta
ch (loch)
Aa1
ẖ“kha”
animal belly
soft ch
F32
s“s”
folded cloth
s
S29
š“sh”
garden pool
sh
N37
Velars / Uvulars
Sounds struck at the back of the mouth.Formed where the tongue meets the soft palate: the emphatic q of the hill, the k of the basket, and the g of the jar stand.
q“q”
hill slope
hard k
N29
k“k”
basket
k
V31
g“g”
jar stand
g
W11
Dentals
Sounds tapped at the teeth.Made with the tongue against the teeth: t and d, plus their palatalized cousins tj and dj.
t“t”
bread loaf
t
X1
ṯ“tja”
tethering rope
tj / ch
V13
d“d”
hand
d
D46
ḏ“dj”
cobra
dj
I10
Know the alphabet?
Drill the single-consonant signs with flashcards, or move on to the two-consonant biliterals.