Khem Resh: Egyptian Phrasebook

Random Glossary of Egyptian Words

Sepdet’s collection of Khem Resh (Egyptian language)

Disclaimer: I am a student, not an expert, and have doubtless made mistakes. My main source is Gardiner’s Egyptian Grammar, but I’m afraid I have some words from E.A. Wallace Budge, an 1800s scholar whose work is known to be inaccurate. For GOOD books to teach yourself Egyptian, I recommend:

Note on transliteration: I use the number 3 for a vowel that’s got a sort of gravelly sound to it…it’s close to an AHHH. The capital H is a consonant we don’t have, slightly harsher than the sound at the end of the Scottish “loch”, sounding much like you ran the word into a brick wall. For Trek aficionados, pretend you’re speaking Klingon. You can change H to ch and 3 to A. See end of this page for more details on spelling/transliteration.

To Create Phrases

“em” is Egyptian for “in”, so you can write things like iaH ‘m pet for Moon in the sky.
“En” is “of”: Ma’at n yib, truth of my heart.
Adding a ‘t’ after a word like ‘interpreter’ makes it feminine, since feminine nouns end in t.
Adding a “w” at the end of a noun makes it plural.

Gimme some words, already!

irya3 doorkeeper (Gatekeeper?)
aw interpreter
new hunter
ipwty messenger
seshemw leader, guide
adjem judge (Philodox?)
shemshw hyt elder of the portal (Warder?)
shemay/shemayt singer/chantress (Galliard?)
Hwn/Hwnt youth/girl (Cub?)
Hm fool,jester,ragabash (At least, I think that’s what poltroon means. Damn antique lexicon. ;)
neHw protector
mekty protector ( so mektyu means Guardian pack!)
sedjty foster-child
shemshw elder

m3a-kherw to be True of Voice (akin to Truth of Gaia–an important Egyptian concept)
heprt edge, brim of a sheet of water (place for reaching through to the umbra?)
Hry sesht3 he who is set over the secrets (Harbinger?)
hnem-met sun-folk
khnemesh friend
sesht3 mystery, secret
inb wall (The gauntlet?)
wnwty Hour-watcher, star-watcher, a priestly title. (Stargazer!)
iaH moon (the sign shows a crescent moon)
w3dj 1. success, fortune 2. A green stone. 3. be green, fresh. Again, there were probably a few vowels or endings to differentiate these words in spoken speech; they’re just closely related.
shwt feather
Wadjet a goddess whose name comes from the word for Green and success
m3a, m3at true, truth
peshedj shrine,altar
ds knife (whence Sepdet’s old fetish and deed-name: DsiaH, moon-knife)
sefet sword
djened rage
beHes the hunt
nesert fire (also the name of a fire-goddess/cobra spirit)
swHet egg
3d (be) angry, aggressive
seH-netcher “chamber of the gods”, the council chamber of Anubis
meHeshHesh filthy one, a name for a monster
ikm shield
Hek3 magic
psejd-netyw new moon festival
neb/nebt lord/lady
medes keen, alert
s3ti brother and sister
sen brother
khesb’d sky-blue. The lapis bead judges wore which was inscribed with the word “ma’at”.

benw phoenix
miw cat
penw mouse
tch(e)sm hound
nrt vulture
ky monkey
ash3 lizard
ian sacred baboon
iart cobra
bik falcon
ib’r stallion

i3m charm, graciousness
i3mw splendor, brilliance
i3t’t cream, milk
i3d’t dew
iab cup
ib heart. Also intelligence, wish, mind.
ib’r to dance [yeah, I know. Same signs...there was probably a different vowel between the b and r which the Egyptians didn't bother to write in.]
inw gifts,tribute
idyt girl, maid
yiH! Hey!
a3 donkey
ankh literally, mirror. Usually, life.
iH net, catch, snare
antyw myrrh
ad desert’s edge
set-nem lead astray
sw3dj renew
webed burn
wepet brow, vertex
wen Hr en… light is given to (useful for adding to a noun you like, to make a fancy name)
wenef be glad
beb3t flowing stream
b3stet Bastet, the cat-goddess, sometimes just Bast.
bit honey
bi3yt marvel
benet harp
pet sky
feq3 reward
m3H wreath
mar successful
mw water (A very precious concept, as you can tell from the words below)
Hr muwen loyal to
mwnef helper, champion
mefk3t turquoise
swt breeze
swHet egg
seshed glitter
menw trees (men is singular)
mer friend, beloved
mr canal, channel
mri love
mert weaver
nebw gold
nefer beautiful
heret contentment, quiet
Hmt craft
Hmt-ib skillful (literally, crafty-minded)
Her-ret flower
Hedj-djwt brightness,light
Hedj-t3 dawn
kh3wy night
hrd child
s3/s3t son/daughter (sa-Ra is what the Pharoah always called himself, son of the sun god. It shows up before every king’s cartouche.)
net water
shemw summer
w3w wave
itrw river
henw brook
Hep Flood,inundation
she pool
shetch3t aurora,halo
henmet well
q3y ascent,high place (like a pyramid…can we say, Mage, the Ascension)
Hedj silver
menat beaded necklace of Hathor, a token of priestly office
medjed to strike the mark, adhere to a path
shesmet malachite, the name of a goddess
bi3 copper
tcheHnet faience,precious glass
tcheHen sparkle
m3tch red granite
deshert red pot
naa smooth, be smooth
tchmes red
tchmesw injury, harm
djw mountain
iswt ancient times
hbny ebony–a modern English word from ancient Egyptian!
weben overflow
kekw darkness,chaos
wekh light
dw3t The duat, the afterlife
shenyt rainstorm
sheb3 star (sheba!)
ankhet goat
djeneH wing We don’t actually know what vowels these are. I wonder if this is actually the origin of the word Jonah?
ahi fly
Hefner tadpole, a man’s name
Hef3w serpent
bwt abomination
H3t corpse

Egyptian Vowels

I use the number 3 for a vowel that’s got a sort of gravelly sound to it…it’s close to an AHHH.
The lowercase a I use (as in ankh) is a different sign from the 3, and I think it’s softer–halfway between ‘ah’ and ‘eh’.
It’s not clear whether the Egyptian “i” was a “y” or an “i”…I’ve even seen some people use it as an e when making those popular commercial cartouches, since that’s what was used for the e in “Alexander” and “Kleopatra” on the extremely late-period Rosetta Stone. At the beginning of a word–at least in middle Egyptian–I think it was more of a “yih” sound.
I use a w instead of a u for the ooo sound, because, well, that’s what Gardiner does.
Finally, I write an “e” where the Egyptians didn’t bother to write in a vowel; this is just an approximation.

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