Editing Egyptian hieroglyphs (section)

===Semantic reading===
[[File:Comparative evolution of Cuneiform, Egyptian and Chinese characters.svg|thumb|Comparative evolution from pictograms to abstract shapes, in cuneiform, Egyptian and Chinese characters]]
Besides a phonetic interpretation, characters can also be read for their meaning: in this instance, [[logogram]]s are being spoken (or [[ideogram]]s) and ''semagrams'' (the latter are also called determinatives).{{Clarify|reason=sentence is ungrammatical or incomplete|date=September 2019}}<ref name=Loprieno13>Antonio Loprieno, Ancient Egyptian, A Linguistic Introduction, [[Cambridge University Press]] (1995), p. 13</ref>

====Logograms====
A hieroglyph used as a [[logogram]] defines the object of which it is an image. Logograms are therefore the most frequently used common nouns; they are always accompanied by a mute vertical stroke indicating their status as a logogram (the usage of a vertical stroke is further explained below); in theory, all hieroglyphs would have the ability to be used as logograms. Logograms can be accompanied by phonetic complements. Here are some examples:

:*<hiero>ra:Z1</hiero> – ''rꜥ'', meaning "sun";

:*<hiero>pr:Z1</hiero> – ''pr'', meaning "house";

:*<hiero>sw-t:Z1</hiero> – ''swt'' (''sw''+''t''), meaning "reed";

:*<hiero>Dw:Z1</hiero> – ''ḏw'', meaning "mountain".

In some cases, the semantic connection is indirect ([[metonymic]] or [[metaphor]]ic):

:*<hiero>nTr-Z1</hiero> – ''nṯr'', meaning "god"; the character in fact represents a temple flag (standard);

:*<hiero>G53-Z1</hiero> – ''bꜣ'', meaning "[[Ba (Egyptian soul)|Bâ]]" (soul); the character is the traditional representation of a "bâ" (a bird with a human head);

:*<hiero>G27-Z1</hiero> – ''dšr'', meaning "flamingo"; the corresponding phonogram means "red" and the bird is associated by [[metonymy]] with this color.

====Determinatives====
[[Determinative]]s or semagrams (semantic symbols specifying meaning) are placed at the end of a word. These mute characters serve to clarify what the word is about, as [[homophone|homophonic]] glyphs are common. If a similar procedure existed in English, words with the same spelling would be followed by an indicator that would not be read, but which would fine-tune the meaning: "retort [chemistry]" and "retort [rhetoric]" would thus be distinguished.<!--
 – Hid as a confusing example, with enough other to consider, --
 – because WP does not resolve ambiguities by symbols. --
 Compare also the way Wikipedia uses [[disambiguation]]s. -->

<div><!-- division to keep embedded hieroglyphs within text -->
A number of determinatives exist: divinities, humans, parts of the human body, animals, plants, etc. Certain determinatives possess a [[Literal and figurative language|literal and a figurative meaning]]. For example, a roll of papyrus, <hiero>Y1</hiero> &nbsp; is used to define "books" but also abstract ideas. The determinative of the [[plural]] is a shortcut to signal three occurrences of the word, that is to say, its plural (since the Egyptian language had a dual, sometimes indicated by two strokes). This special character is explained below.</div>

[[File:Extract from the Tale of the Two Brothers.jpg|thumb|Extract from the ''[[Tale of the Two Brothers]]''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Budge |first1=Wallis |title=Egyptian Language |date=1889 |pages=38–42 |url=https://archive.org/details/EgyptianLanguage/page/n49/mode/2up}}</ref>]]
Here, are several examples of the use of determinatives borrowed from the book, ''Je lis les hiéroglyphes'' ("I am reading hieroglyphs") by Jean Capart, which illustrate their importance:

<hiero>nfr-w-A17-Z3</hiero> – ''nfrw'' (''w'' and the three strokes are the marks of the plural): [literally] "the beautiful young people", that is to say, the young military recruits. The word has a [[child (hieroglyph)|young-person determinative]] symbol: <small><hiero>A17</hiero></small> – which is the determinative indicating babies and children;
<hiero>nfr-:f:r:t-B1</hiero> – ''nfr.t'' (''.t'' is here the suffix that forms the feminine): meaning "the nubile young woman", with <hiero>B1</hiero> as the determinative indicating a woman;
<hiero>nfr-nfr-nfr-pr</hiero> – ''nfrw'' (the tripling of the character serving to express the plural, [[Inflection|flexional]] ending ''w'') : meaning "foundations (of a house)", with the house as a determinative, <hiero>pr</hiero>;
<hiero>nfr-f:r-S28</hiero> – ''nfr'' : meaning "clothing" with <small><hiero>S28</hiero></small> &nbsp; as the determinative for lengths of cloth;
<hiero>nfr-W22:Z2ss</hiero> – ''nfr'' : meaning "wine" or "beer"; with a jug <hiero>W22</hiero> &nbsp; as the determinative.

All these words have a meliorative connotation: "good, beautiful, perfect".{{citation needed|reason=Even the beer? The whole point here is that they have the same sign, but *different* meanings supplied by different determinatives.|date=March 2024}} The ''Concise Dictionary of Middle Egyptian'' by Raymond A. Faulkner, gives some twenty words that are read ''nfr'' or which are formed from this word.