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Egyptian Hieroglyphs for Complete Beginners /anglais
This is the first guide to reading hieroglyphs that begins with Egyptian monuments themselves. Assuming no knowledge on the part of the reader, it shows how to interpret the information on the inscriptions in a step-by-step journey through the script and language of ancient Egypt.
We enter the world of the ancient Egyptians and explore their views on life and death, Egypt and the outside world, humanity and the divine. The book draws on texts found on some thirty artifacts ranging from coffins to stelae to obelisks found in museums in Egypt, America, and Europe, and selected across two thousand years. The texts are then explained clearly, and are supported by full translations, photographs, and line drawings.
We enter the world of the ancient Egyptians and explore their views on life and death, Egypt and the outside world, humanity and the divine. The book draws on texts found on some thirty artifacts ranging from coffins to stelae to obelisks found in museums in Egypt, America, and Europe, and selected across two thousand years. The texts are then explained clearly, and are supported by full translations, photographs, and line drawings.
160 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 2012
66 people are currently reading
723 people want to read
About the author
Bill Manley
16 books11 followersBill Manley is Honorary President of Egyptology Scotland. He was appointed Research Associate at the National Museum in Edinburgh in 1995, and Senior Curator of Egyptian Scripts in 2006. He is an Honorary Research Fellow of the University of Liverpool, at which he has taught Egyptology. He spent many years shaping and developing the Egyptology program offered by DACE at the University of Glasgow. Bill has been involved with archaeological work in Palestine and Egypt, most recently at Mo’alla, and his publications include three best-selling books, The Penguin Historical Atlas of Ancient Egypt (1996), How to Read Egyptian Hieroglyphs (1998, with Mark Collier) and The Seventy Great Mysteries of Ancient Egypt (2003).
http://www.egyptologyscotland.com/EgS...
http://www.egyptologyscotland.com/EgS...
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
January 17, 2025
Such a great resource! This is an easy onramp to reading hieroglyph inscriptions on ancient monuments. After working through it I can recognize basic patterns and common elements of offering formulas. I've grown a lot in my understanding of how the system works, how to decode inscriptions, and what challenges I may encounter along the way. Highly recommended.
January 2, 2014
This book is really neat. It teaches about Egyptian culture, religion and general beliefs while the reader learns the basics of reading hieroglyphs found on monuments, in tombs, etc. It helps the reader remove the popular misconceptions about Egyptian language and culture, as well as about language in general, and often makes good comparisons between features in English and those in Egyptian. The typesetting is very easy to read, and original pictures as well as sketches are used to teach hieroglyphs. The emphasis is on teaching the reader to read these monuments, so words and formulas common to these are taught. There is little in the way of grammar, but it isn't usually needed for the casual museum attender.
I really enjoyed the discussion of the Egyptian origin story, as well as the explanations of Egyptian cultural keywords (maat, ka, ba).
Some things I thought were neat:
The idea that civilization was primitive and therefore used pictures to write is mis-informed. Hieratic was used for normal writing and the history is just as long as that for hieroglyphs. Hieroglyphs had sacred and artistic value, and so are found on monuments, art, jewelry, etc.
The concept of "maat" means order and civilization, and contrasted with the state of chaos in the uncivilized lands outside of Egypt. One of the pharaoh's roles was to turn more chaos into "maat".
The Egyptian gods are innumerable because they were used as a language of divinity. New gods would be devised, old ones combined or altered, foreign ones adopted, etc. to get the right point across.
I really enjoyed the discussion of the Egyptian origin story, as well as the explanations of Egyptian cultural keywords (maat, ka, ba).
Some things I thought were neat:
The idea that civilization was primitive and therefore used pictures to write is mis-informed. Hieratic was used for normal writing and the history is just as long as that for hieroglyphs. Hieroglyphs had sacred and artistic value, and so are found on monuments, art, jewelry, etc.
The concept of "maat" means order and civilization, and contrasted with the state of chaos in the uncivilized lands outside of Egypt. One of the pharaoh's roles was to turn more chaos into "maat".
The Egyptian gods are innumerable because they were used as a language of divinity. New gods would be devised, old ones combined or altered, foreign ones adopted, etc. to get the right point across.
October 19, 2022
Muy interesante. Gente muy lista los egipcios. He aprendido muchas cosas con este libro y me ha parecido todo fascinante. Esto es un manual que te enseña a escribir egipcio antiguo y medio (jeroglíficos) desde cero, y la verdad es que esta muy bien enfocado. Si tuviera tiempo me pararía a memorizar y a hacer los ejercicios que propone, pero por el momento he aprendido conceptos generales y curiosidades y con eso me doy por satisfecho.
August 18, 2013
Out of all of the books I picked up on Egyptian hieroglyphs, I found this book the most helpful. Well-organized and fun to work with, Egyptian Hieroglyphs for Complete Beginners guides the reader through the translation of texts from actual Egyptian monuments and artifacts in an easy step-by-step method. The publisher printed the hieroglyphic text large enough for students to reproduce them by hand, something I had issues with in other books on the subject, including How to Read Egyptian Hieroglyphs: A Step-by-Step Guide to Teach Yourself by Mark Collier and Bill Manley (University of California, 1998). Comparing the two books, I'd say the author has learned a great deal over the last fourteen years about teaching people to read hieroglyphs, and this book serves as proof. Recommended.
July 19, 2019
5/5 stars
Recommended for people who like: languages, learning languages, how-to books, code breaking, history, linguistic anthropology
This is a good introductory book for people who want to learn to read hieroglyphics. I'll start off by saying it is in no way a comprehensive dictionary of hieroglyphs, the author only includes some of the most relevant/common ones as well as the most relevant/common pharaohs, gods, and words. As the title suggests, it is for beginners, though in the epilogue, Manley suggests a list of other books if you're interested in continuing your education in the language.
I thought this book was a fantastic intro. Not only does Manley slowly adapt you to the symbols, but he actually explains how they're used, why we think they came to be used that way, and the progression of the written language from pre-hieroglyph glyphs to the Arabic we see today. In the beginning of the book, he separates the symbols we'll need into 1-sound signs ('s', 'm', 't'), 2-sound signs ('mr', 'ms', 'nb'), 3-sound signs ('nfr', 'stp', 'ntr'), and signs that don't have sounds associated with them but solely stand for words (group, god, town). From there, Manley introduces you to words that use each set of sounds, starting with words like 'for' = 'n' and progressing to 'lord' = 'nb', and finally 'choose' = 'stp'.
From there, Manley basically has you jump right in and start reading off of statues. In the beginning, they're pretty simple and he walks you through some of the common terms, phrases, and structures you'll see when looking at stelas and monuments. It starts off slow, with only three or four lines to read per monument/stela, and then by the end Manley has you able to read 9 line stelas almost completely. Actual pictures of the monuments/stelas are provided in black-and-white, which can make it hard to figure out what the symbol is, but for most of the pictures there's also a separate rendering of the hieroglyphs that's clearer. My pet peeve, though, is that this rendering stops being provided as much toward the end of the book, which is also coincidentally when you start getting into stelas/monuments that have been damaged. I understand that it's good practice to be able to look at a not-so-clear picture and pictures of damaged glyphs and be able to translate them since that's all you'll have in the real world, but it's also still a book for beginners and I think renderings of some of the harder ones would be nice, Manley could put them at the back of the book if he still wanted readers to try on their own first.
On top of learning words, phrases, and their associated sounds, Manley also introduces you to cartouches, which are the little oval looking carvings pharaohs and other officials put their names inside of. You read them a bit differently than you would read the rest of the monument, but they're pretty simple and easy to get a hang of. I think Manley spent a little too much time in this section, since cartouches are mainly just recognizing the symbols, writing down their sounds (not the words associated with them!), and then finding a name in the back of the book that matches the sounds or symbols. Super easy.
All in all, I think it's a good book to get started learning Egyptian Hieroglyphs if you're interested or if you just want a fun activity to do over breaks or on weekends. If you're good with traditional codes (not computer codes, but stuff like ciphers and shifts), then this would also be pretty good for you, since a lot of it is just decrypting a code, no foreign-language skills necessary.
Recommended for people who like: languages, learning languages, how-to books, code breaking, history, linguistic anthropology
This is a good introductory book for people who want to learn to read hieroglyphics. I'll start off by saying it is in no way a comprehensive dictionary of hieroglyphs, the author only includes some of the most relevant/common ones as well as the most relevant/common pharaohs, gods, and words. As the title suggests, it is for beginners, though in the epilogue, Manley suggests a list of other books if you're interested in continuing your education in the language.
I thought this book was a fantastic intro. Not only does Manley slowly adapt you to the symbols, but he actually explains how they're used, why we think they came to be used that way, and the progression of the written language from pre-hieroglyph glyphs to the Arabic we see today. In the beginning of the book, he separates the symbols we'll need into 1-sound signs ('s', 'm', 't'), 2-sound signs ('mr', 'ms', 'nb'), 3-sound signs ('nfr', 'stp', 'ntr'), and signs that don't have sounds associated with them but solely stand for words (group, god, town). From there, Manley introduces you to words that use each set of sounds, starting with words like 'for' = 'n' and progressing to 'lord' = 'nb', and finally 'choose' = 'stp'.
From there, Manley basically has you jump right in and start reading off of statues. In the beginning, they're pretty simple and he walks you through some of the common terms, phrases, and structures you'll see when looking at stelas and monuments. It starts off slow, with only three or four lines to read per monument/stela, and then by the end Manley has you able to read 9 line stelas almost completely. Actual pictures of the monuments/stelas are provided in black-and-white, which can make it hard to figure out what the symbol is, but for most of the pictures there's also a separate rendering of the hieroglyphs that's clearer. My pet peeve, though, is that this rendering stops being provided as much toward the end of the book, which is also coincidentally when you start getting into stelas/monuments that have been damaged. I understand that it's good practice to be able to look at a not-so-clear picture and pictures of damaged glyphs and be able to translate them since that's all you'll have in the real world, but it's also still a book for beginners and I think renderings of some of the harder ones would be nice, Manley could put them at the back of the book if he still wanted readers to try on their own first.
On top of learning words, phrases, and their associated sounds, Manley also introduces you to cartouches, which are the little oval looking carvings pharaohs and other officials put their names inside of. You read them a bit differently than you would read the rest of the monument, but they're pretty simple and easy to get a hang of. I think Manley spent a little too much time in this section, since cartouches are mainly just recognizing the symbols, writing down their sounds (not the words associated with them!), and then finding a name in the back of the book that matches the sounds or symbols. Super easy.
All in all, I think it's a good book to get started learning Egyptian Hieroglyphs if you're interested or if you just want a fun activity to do over breaks or on weekends. If you're good with traditional codes (not computer codes, but stuff like ciphers and shifts), then this would also be pretty good for you, since a lot of it is just decrypting a code, no foreign-language skills necessary.
January 5, 2026
I studied Hieroglyphic Egyptian before the pandemic, completing Bill Manley's first book (with Mark Collier) and James Allen's textbook (3rd ed), and used to be able to go to museums and read (with effort) the artifacts. But that kinda died away, and I'm about to go see the big Egypt exhibit at the Met, so I thought I'd better brush up. This was a GREAT way to brush up especially on the offering formula (which is a large percentage of the artifacts you'll encounter at a museum). I really liked that we were reading this formula from the very first chapter.
Where I think this book was a bit weaker is for beginners. The first chapter felt like a LOT for a newcomer, introducing elements of the offering formula, 1-sound signs, 2-sound signs, and 3-sound signs all at one go. Even though Manley recommends his book with Collier as a sequel, I seem to recall Collier and Manley as being a bit gentler in the beginning. Could be just my memory though. I would probably have done some offering formula, and just explained the signs that were necessary to read the names there, and THEN had an intro to those signs. Then again, I'm not the one who's taught hieroglyphs for many years!
At the end, I also think that there could have been one chapter where he was like, look, here's an artifact you can read ENTIRELY on your own. Instead the last two "challenges" were ones where he still needed to give a lot of hints and handholding because there were new words (mostly names) we hadn't seen yet.
Still, this (and maybe C&M?) is the book I'm going to take with me to the exhibition. There's a good reference section at the back. Just give yourself some grace if you're new to hieroglyphs and struggling with the first chapter. It'll get easier.
Where I think this book was a bit weaker is for beginners. The first chapter felt like a LOT for a newcomer, introducing elements of the offering formula, 1-sound signs, 2-sound signs, and 3-sound signs all at one go. Even though Manley recommends his book with Collier as a sequel, I seem to recall Collier and Manley as being a bit gentler in the beginning. Could be just my memory though. I would probably have done some offering formula, and just explained the signs that were necessary to read the names there, and THEN had an intro to those signs. Then again, I'm not the one who's taught hieroglyphs for many years!
At the end, I also think that there could have been one chapter where he was like, look, here's an artifact you can read ENTIRELY on your own. Instead the last two "challenges" were ones where he still needed to give a lot of hints and handholding because there were new words (mostly names) we hadn't seen yet.
Still, this (and maybe C&M?) is the book I'm going to take with me to the exhibition. There's a good reference section at the back. Just give yourself some grace if you're new to hieroglyphs and struggling with the first chapter. It'll get easier.
April 20, 2025
Bøker om språk slår aldrig feil og historisk lingvistikk syns jeg er utrolig spennende. Boka lærer hvordan en leser og tolker hieroglyfer på en enkel og forståelig måte, uten at den fordummer subjektet. Hieroglyfer er svært fascinerende ettersom de symboliserer hele ord, stavelser eller enkle konsonanter, men de viser ingen vokaler. Jeg har i forbindelse med boka lest meg opp på det egyptiske språket og rekonstruksjoner av egyptiske vokaler, f.eks. 𓇓 nswt /nij.sí.wat/ [konge] eller "twt ꜥnḫ jmn" /tawátij ánah jamánuw/ [Tutankhamon], hvilket har gitt meg en oppfriska fascinasjon for språkhistorien i Egypt og nærliggende områder.
March 20, 2023
Kindle version only gives you the first 33 pages (poorly photocopied)
Kindle version only gives you the first 33 pages, and it’s a poor photocopy version as well. It’s a great book, but buy the paperback.
Kindle version only gives you the first 33 pages, and it’s a poor photocopy version as well. It’s a great book, but buy the paperback.
October 2, 2017
So confused lol. The language is tricksy. But I loved learning the intricacies of it all :)
September 3, 2018
Πολύ καλή έκδοση και βοηθητικές οι ασκήσεις, όμως εντελώς αρχάριοι πιθανόν να δυσκολευτούν.
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August 12, 2023I am a nerd, indubitably.
January 17, 2025
𓏏 𓇓 𓊵 𓏙𓊨𓁹𓎟 𓊽𓅱𓂧𓏏𓊖𓏤
𓋣𓈖𓏏𓅈𓄿 𓎟𓃀𓍋𓈋𓊖
𓉓𓏒𓅿𓃾𓈖 𓇋𓌳𓐍𓄪𓏤
Fr 🗣️💯
𓋣𓈖𓏏𓅈𓄿 𓎟𓃀𓍋𓈋𓊖
𓉓𓏒𓅿𓃾𓈖 𓇋𓌳𓐍𓄪𓏤
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March 6, 2017good
October 8, 2023
A fantastic approach to tackling what seems to be a complex subject
When I was contemplating English at a community college, I thought it would be smart to start with a structured grammar class. The counselor said that would be the quickest way to learn how to hate English. The structure can be picked up in the context of sophomore literature classes; later if one wanted to they can add a grammar class after mastering it in a natural way.
My first grammar book was “English Grammar for Students of German” by Cecile Zorach. Now I have dozens of books on ancient Egypt but have only started to decipher hieroglyphs. This book is like the Rosetta Stone series. After mastering hieroglyphs from real examples I can always go back to the stuffy structures.
I am still working on this critter as I am taking it in small steps. With any luck, I will be able to read the scroll of Thoth in the 1932 mummy movie. I hope it does not say "Be sure to drink your Ovaltine."
When I was contemplating English at a community college, I thought it would be smart to start with a structured grammar class. The counselor said that would be the quickest way to learn how to hate English. The structure can be picked up in the context of sophomore literature classes; later if one wanted to they can add a grammar class after mastering it in a natural way.
My first grammar book was “English Grammar for Students of German” by Cecile Zorach. Now I have dozens of books on ancient Egypt but have only started to decipher hieroglyphs. This book is like the Rosetta Stone series. After mastering hieroglyphs from real examples I can always go back to the stuffy structures.
I am still working on this critter as I am taking it in small steps. With any luck, I will be able to read the scroll of Thoth in the 1932 mummy movie. I hope it does not say "Be sure to drink your Ovaltine."
September 11, 2014
This is probably the best introduction to Egyptian hieroglyphs currently available for the beginner. It is based on an adult education course taught at the University of Glasgow's Centre for Open Studies. Although I personally found the style a bit too chatty for my taste, reading the book does make you feel you are being taught personally by Bill Manley in one of his classes. By minimising grammar and focussing on recognising standard inscriptions found on readily accessible museum objects (several of which can be seen in Glasgow and Edinburgh), Bill makes learning how to read hieroglyphs a pleasure. By placing the objects in the wider context of ancient Egyptian religious beliefs, he gives the learner a deeper understanding of the meaning of their inscriptions than a merely literal translation would provide. On a matter of detail the inscriptions in Glasgow should be credited to Glasgow Museums, not Glasgow City Museum. Reading this book is an excellent way for beginners to gain confidence in translating Egyptian hieroglyphs and should encourage them to go on to learn more.
June 30, 2017
This is a great book. I've tried several other beginning grammars and this is the one to start with. The book covers several inscriptions and provides a great overview of the offering formula. This isn't a comprehensive grammar but it is a wonderful starting place if you want to begin your studies of Middle Egyptian. I highly recommend it.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews