Gardiner’s Sign List of Egyptian Hieroglyphs

The following is a list of commonly used hieroglyphs as organized by Sir Alan H. Gardiner in his Egyptian Grammar. The signs are organized into 26 main categories followed by 3 sections that list hieroglyphs by their shape. Choose from any of the links below to guide yourself to a specific category.

D. Parts of the Human Body

Gardiner Number	Hieroglyph	Description of Glyph	Details
D1		Head	Phono. tp. Det. or Ideo. for tp “head,” tpy “first, chief.” Det. ḏ3ḏ3“head.”
D2		Face	Phon. ḥr. Ideo. for ḥr “face.”
D3		Hair	Det. for šny “hair,” iwn “complexion, nature.” Abbr. for gm wš “found missing.”
D4		Eye	Phono. iri “to do, make.” Ideo. for irt “eye.”
D5		Eye with paint	Det. for actions or conditions of the eye. ex. dgi “look,” šp “blind.”
D6		Eye with paint	Use as D5.
D7		Eye with paint	Det. for adorn and in ʿnw ” “Anu” (location).
D8		Eye enclosed	Det. forʿnw “Turah,” ʿn “beautiful.”
D9		Eye weeping	Det. or Ideo. for rmi “weep.”
D10		Eye with falcon’s head marking	Det. or Ideo. for w3ḏt “wedjat eye.”
D11		White part of w3ḏt eye	1/2 ḥeqat measure of grain.
D12		Eye pupil	Det. for ḏfd “pupil of eye.”
D13		Eyebrow	1/8 ḥeqat measure of grain.
D14		White part of w3ḏt eye	1/16 ḥeqat measure of grain.
D15		Part of w3ḏt eye markings	1/32 ḥeqat measure of grain.
D16		Part of w3ḏt eye markings	1/64 ḥeqat measure of grain.
D17		Markings of w3ḏt eye	Det. or Ideo. for tit “figure, image.”
D18		Ear	Det. or Ideo. for msḏr “ear.”
D19		Eye, nose, and cheek	Det. or Ideo. for fnd “nose.” Det. sn “smell,” rš “rejoice.”
D20		Var. D19	Use as D19
D21		Mouth	Phon. r. Ideo. for r “mouth.”
D22		Mouth with two lines	Ideo. for rwy “2/3.”
D23		Mouth with three lines	Ideo. for ḫmt rw “3/4.”
D24		Upper lip with teeth	Det. or Ideo. for spt “lip.” Mistakenly used a F42.
D25		Lips with teeth	Det. or Ideo. for spty “lips.”
D26		Lips spewing water	Det. for spit, spew. ex. psg “spit,” ḳʿ “spew out.”
D27		Breast	Det. for breast, suckle. ex. mnḏ “breast”
D27a		Var. of D27	Use as D27.
D28		Two arms	Phono. k3. Ideo. for k3 “soul.”
D29		Var. of D28	Use as D28.
D30		Two arms with tail	Det. for nḥb-k3w “Uniter of Attributes, Assigner of Kas,” name of mythical serpent deity.
D31		Combination of signs D32 and U36	Ideo. for ḥm-k3 “ka servent.”
D32		Two arms embracing	Det. for embrace, open. ex. inḳ “envelop,” ḥpt “embrace.”
D33		Arms holding oar	Phono. ẖn. Ideo. for ẖni “row.”
D34		Arms with shield and axe	Ideo. for ʿḥ3 “fight”
D34a		Arms with shield and mace	Use as D34.
D35		Negative arms	Phono. n. Ideo. for n and nn, “not.” Det. negation.
D36		Arm	Phono. ʿ. Ideo. ʿ “arm, hand.”
D37		Arm holding sign X8	Phono. di in rdi “give.”
D38		Arm holding bread	Phono. mi or m. Det. for imi “give.”
D39		Arm holding W24	Det. for offer, present. ex. ḥnk “present,” drp “offer.”
D40		Arm holding stick	Det. for force, effort. ex. nḫt “strong.” Ideo. h3i “evaluate.”
D41		Arm with downward facing palm	Phono. ni. Det. for arm. ex. rmn “arm, shoulder.”
D42		Arm with downward facing palm	Det. or Ideo. for mḥ “cubit”
D43		Arm with flail	Phono. ḫw. Ideo. for ḫwi “protect.
D44		Arm with scepter	Det. and Ideo. for ḫrp “control, be at head of, administer.”
D45		Arm with brush	Det. and Ideo. for ḏsr “clear road, sacred, holy.”
D46		Hand	Phono. d. Ideo. for ḏrt “hand.”
D46a		Hand with water	Ideo. for idt “fragrance.”
D47		Hand	Det. for ḏrt “hand” when spelled with Phono.
D48		Palm without thumb	Ideo. šsp “palm, hand-breadth” (measure)
D49		Fist	Det. for grasp. ex. 3mm “grasp,” ḫfʿ “seize.”
D50		Vertical finger	Ideo. for ḏbʿ “finger,” ḏbʿ “10,000.” Det. foraccurate, when doubled.
D51		Horizontal finger	Det. for actions related to finger, fruit, flower. ex. ʿnt “nail,” ḫ3i “measure,” dḳr “fruit.”
D52		Penis	Phono. mt. Det. for male. ex. ʿ3 “ass,” ṯ3y “male.” Ideo. k3 “bull.”
D53		Penis with liquid	Det. for male, penis. ex. m b3ḥ “in the presence of” ḏr b3ḥ “since,” r b3ḥ “before.”
D54		Legs walking	Phono. iw in iwi “come.” Det. for motion.
D55		Legs walking (reverse of D54)	Det. for backwards. ex. ʿnn “turn back,” ḫtḫt “be reversed.”
D56		Leg	Phono. pd. Det. for leg, foot. ex. rd “leg,” pd “knee.”
D57		Leg with T30	Det. for mutilate. ex. i3ṯ “be mutilated.”
D58		Foot	Phono. b. Ideo. for bw “place.”
D59		Foot with D36	Phono. ʿb
D60		Foot with water streaming	Ideo. for wʿb ”pure, clean.”
D61		Toes	Ideo. for s3ḥ “toe”
D62		Var. D61	Use as D61.
D63		Var. D61	Use as D61.

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Gardiner’s Sign List of Egyptian Hieroglyphs

D. Parts of the Human Body

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