Write Your Name in Egyptian Hieroglyphics
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Want to learn to write your name in Egyptian Hieroglyphics? Â This is the perfect educational activity to add to an ancient Egyptian history lesson!
I have a printable hieroglyphic alphabet chart for you to download and print and use to write your name in hieroglyphics.
I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to go to Egypt for a week when I was in college on a study abroad. Â It was such an amazing thing to be able to see the pyramids and Egyptian temples in real life. You see them all the time in pictures, but the real thing is just astounding! Â I love showing my kids pictures of the ancient Egyptian writing on the temple walls and tombs that I got to visit.
While I was there I got a few souvenirs, one was a necklace with my name carved in a silver cartouche. Another is a papyrus painting of a representation of the tree of life with birds. Â Both are still treasures to me all these years later!
I thought it would be a fun activity to teach my kids a bit about one of the oldest writing systems in the world. Learning about ancient history and ancient cultures is so interesting. We learn so much from the past and from history. It’s important to find ways to incorporate that into our learning.
What are Egyptian Hieroglyphics?
The ancient Egyptians used a system of writing with pictures for over 4,000 years. Â These individual pictures were called hieroglyphs and together as words are known as hieroglyphics. The pictures were used to represent words or objects. The word hieroglyph means sacred carving. Â It a Greek translation and from the Egyptian phrase “the god’s words”
Egyptian hieroglyphs were written on papyrus and then carved into stone on temple walls and tombs. They were also used as decoration in art and architecture in the Egyptian culture.
Originally when Egyptian hieroglyphic writing was discovered, nobody knew how to read or translate it. However a scholar named Jean-François Champollion was able to translate it with the use of the Rosetta Stone. The Rosetta Stone had inscriptions in three different scripts. One of those scripts was Ancient Greek, and he was able to use that language to translate the Egyptian hieroglyphs!  Amazing, right?!
Names of a monarch in ancient Egypt were often written in a cartouche, which is a oblong enclosure with the characters inside making up their name. You will see these royal names inscribed on their tombs and coffins.
Write Your Name in Egyptian Hieroglyphics
Now for the fun part! Are you doing a study of ancient Egypt? Â This activity will be perfect to add into your plans. I have created am Egyptian hieroglyphic alphabet chart that matches up the hieroglyphs with the English alphabet. Â Each picture represents a letter. There were over 500 hieroglyphs representing different words in Egyptian, so this is a very simplified version from what they used.
Practice learning to draw the hieroglyphs. You can make copies and cut them up to build words to make it easier on kids! I made it possible to do it both way in the printable. You can use these to write your own names, but also to create your own hieroglyphic messages. Write a secret message and short sentences to each other and learn to decode them.
Tips: Â When a word has double letters, you only need to use a letter once. in hieroglyphics. You don’t need to write or draw silent letters. Some of the hieroglyphs stand for double letter sounds like sh or ch. The Egyptians did not have a letter x, so this would need to be represented with a ks sound.
Download my Hieroglyphics Printable Now!
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More History & Geography Learning Ideas:
Homemade Water Clock: Ancient Science
What is a Paleontologist? Easy Reader for Kids
Exploring Spices From Around the World
Greek and Latin Roots Worksheets and Activities
