Gardiner's sign list


Gardiner's Sign List is a list of common Egyptian hieroglyphs compiled by Sir Alan Gardiner. It is considered a standard reference in the study of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs.
Gardiner lists only the common forms of Egyptian hieroglyphs, but he includes extensive subcategories, and also both vertical and horizontal forms for many hieroglyphs. He includes size-variation forms to aid with the reading of hieroglyphs in running blocks of text. In contrast, for example, the Budge Reference has about 1000 hieroglyphs listed in 50 pages, but with no size variations.
Gardiner does not cross-index signs; once put on the list, other significant uses may be overlooked. One example of this is G16, nbtỉ, the ideogram for The Two Ladies, goddesses Wadjet as the cobra and Nekhbet as the white vulture. These are the protective and patron goddesses of the separate Egyptian kingdoms that joined into ancient Egypt, who were both then displayed on the uraeus of Wadjet when the unification occurred and afterward considered jointly to be the protectors of Egypt and the pharaohs. This ideogram is listed only on the bird list as G16, and overlooked on the deity list and the reptile list.
Other subcategories included by Gardiner are abbreviations and personalized forms, and also a complete subset, used on papyrus, specifically for the Book of the Dead.

Categories

A. Man and his occupations

56 signs in Gardiner, with A59 "man threatening with stick" inserted after A25 "man striking with left hand hanging behind back", and two variants A14* "blood interpreted as ax" of A14 "man with blood streaming from his head" and A17* "child sitting with arms hanging down" of A17 "child sitting with hand to mouth".
A1
A1		A2
A2		A3
A3		A4
A4		A5
A5		A6
A6		A7
A7		A8
A8		A9
A9		A10
A10
A11
A11		A12
A12		A13
A13		A14
A14		A15
A15		A16
A16		A17
A17		A18
A18		A19
A19		A20
A20
A21
A21		A22
A22		A23
A23		A24
A24		A25
A25		A26
A26		A27
A27		A28
A28		A29
A29		A30
A30
A31
A31		A32
A32		A33
A33		A34
A34		A35
A35		A36
A36		A37
A37		A38
A38		A39
A39		A40
A40
A41
A41		A42
A42		A43
A43		A44
A44		A45
A45		A46
A46		A47
A47		A48
A48		A49
A49		A50
A50
A51
A51		A52
A52		A53
A53		A54
A54		A55
A55		A56
A56		A57
A57		A58
A58		A59
A59		A60
A60

B. Woman and her occupations

7 signs in Gardiner.
B1
B1		B2
B2		B3
B3		B4
B4		B5
B5		B6
B6		B7
B7		B8
B8		B9
B9		B10
B10
B11
B11		B12
B12		--------

C. Anthropomorphic deities

11 signs in Gardiner with the addition of five 19th Dynasty signs, C12 Amun, C17 Mont, C18 Tjanen, C19 and C20 Ptah.
C1
C1		C2
C2		C3
C3		C4
C4		C5
C5		C6
C6		C7
C7		C8
C8		C9
C9		C10
C10
C11
C11		C12
C12		C17
C17		C18
C18		C19
C19		C20
C20

D. Parts of the human body

Expected quantity: 63
D1
D1		D2
D2		D3
D3		D4
D4		D5
D5		D6
D6		D7
D7		D8
D8		D9
D9		D10
D10
D11
D11		D12
D12		D13
D13		D14
D14		D15
D15		D16
D16		D17
D17		D18
D18		D19
D19		D20
D20
D21
D21		D22
D22		D23
D23		D24
D24		D25
D25		D26
D26		D27
D27		D28
D28		D29
D29		D30
D30
D31
D31		D32
D32		D33
D33		D34
D34		D35
D35		D36
D36		D37
D37		D38
D38		D39
D39		D40
D40
D41
D41		D42
D42		D43
D43		D44
D44		D45
D45		D46
D46		D47
D47		D48
D48		D49
D49		D50
D50
D51
D51		D52
D52		D53
D53		D54
D54		D55
D55		D56
D56		D57
D57		D58
D58		D59
D59		D60
D60
D61
D61		D62
D62		D63
D63		D64
D64		D65
D65		D66
D66		D67
D67		D68
D68		D69
D69		D70
D70

E. Mammals

Expected quantity: 34
E1
E1		E2
E2		E3
E3		E4
E4		E5
E5		E6
E6		E7
E7		E8
E8		E9
E9		E10
E10
E11
E11		E12
E12		E13
E13		E14
E14		E15
E15		E16
E16		E17
E17		E18
E18		E19
E19		E20
E20
E21
E21		E22
E22		E23
E23		E24
E24		E25
E25		E26
E26		E27
E27		E28
E28		E29
E29		E30
E30
E31
E31		E32
E32		E33
E33		E34
E34		E35
E35		E36
E36		E37
E37		E38
E38		E39
E39		E40
E40

F. Parts of mammals

Expected quantity: 52
F1
F1		F2
F2		F3
F3		F4
F4		F5
F5		F6
F6		F7
F7		F8
F8		F9
F9		F10
F10
F11
F11		F12
F12		F13
F13		F14
F14		F15
F15		F16
F16		F17
F17		F18
F18		F19
F19		F20
F20
F21
F21		F22
F22		F23
F23		F24
F24		F25
F25		F26
F26		F27
F27		F28
F28		F29
F29		F30
F30
F31
F31		F32
F32		F33
F33		F34
F34		F35
F35		F36
F36		F37
F37		F38
F38		F39
F39		F40
F40
F41
F41		F42
F42		F43
F43		F44
F44		F45
F45		F46
F46		F47
F47		F48
F48		F49
F49		F50
F50
F51
F51		F52
F52		F53
F53		F54
F54		F55
F55		F56
F56		F57
F57		F58
F58		F59
F59		F60
F60

G. Birds

Expected quantity: 54
G1
G1		G2
G2		G3
G3		G4
G4		G5
G5		G6
G6		G7
G7		G8
G8		G9
G9		G10
G10
G11
G11		G12
G12		G13
G13		G14
G14		G15
G15		G16
G16		G17
G17		G18
G18		G19
G19		G20
G20
G21
G21		G22
G22		G23
G23		G24
G24		G25
G25		G26
G26		G27
G27		G28
G28		G29
G29		G30
G30
G31
G31		G32
G32		G33
G33		G34
G34		G35
G35		G36
G36		G37
G37		G38
G38		G39
G39		G40
G40
G41
G41		G42
G42		G43
G43		G44
G44		G45
G45		G46
G46		G47
G47		G48
G48		G49
G49		G50
G50
G51
G51		G52
G52		G53
G53		G54
G54		G55
G55		G56
G56		G57
G57		G58
G58		G59
G59		G60
G60

H. Parts of birds

Expected quantity: 8
H1
H1		H2
H2		H3
H3		H4
H4		H5
H5		H6
H6		H7
H7		H8
H8		H9
H9		H10
H10

I. Amphibious animals, reptiles, etc.

15 signs in Gardiner.
No.img.Unicodephon.descriptionusage, notes
I1I1? U+13188ꜥšꜣlizard"lizard"
I2I2? U+13189freshwater turtleštjw "turtle"
I3I3? U+1318Aı͗tcrocodile"crocodile", "be greedy; lust after", "voracious, angry",
I4I4? U+1318Bcrocodile on a shrineSobek
I5I5? U+1318Ccrocodile with inward curved tail"collect, gather"
I6I6? U+1318Ekmpiece of crocodile-skin with spinesas phonogram in kmt "Egypt", skm "grey-haired"
I7I7? U+1318Ffrog"frog", Heqet, ideogram in wḥm-ꜥnḫ "repeating life"
I8I8? U+13190ḥfntadpole
I9I9? U+13191fhorned viper
I10I10? U+13193ḏcobra in repose
I11I11? U+13195ḏḏtwo cobras
I12I12? U+13197cobra erectUraeus, Nesret
I13I13? U+13198I12 + V30"goddess"
I14I14? U+13199snake"snake", "serpent"
I15I15? U+1319Avariant of I14

K. Fish and parts of fish

Expected quantity: 7
K1
K1		K2
K2		K3
K3		K4
K4		K5
K5		K6
K6		K7
K7		K8
K8		K9
K9		K10
K10

L. Invertebrates and lesser animals

Expected quantity: 7
L1
L1		L2
L2		L3
L3		L4
L4		L5
L5		L6
L6		L7
L7		L8
L8		L9
L9		L10
L10

M. Trees and plants

44 signs in Gardiner.
M1
M1		M2
M2		M3
M3		M4
M4		M5
M5		M6
M6		M7
M7		M8
M8		M9
M9		M10
M10
M11
M11		M12
M12		M13
M13		M14
M14		M15
M15		M16
M16		M17
M17		M18
M18		M19
M19		M20
M20
M21
M21		M22
M22		M23
M23		M24
M24		M25
M25		M26
M26		M27
M27		M28
M28		M29
M29		M30
M30
M31
M31		M32
M32		M33
M33		M34
M34		M35
M35		M36
M36		M37
M37		M38
M38		M39
M39		M40
M40
M41
M41		M42
M42		M43
M43		M44
M44		------

N. Sky, earth, water

42 signs in Gardiner.
N3 is an Old Kingdom variant of N2.
N11 "moon" has vertical variants, N12 is a 19th-Dynasty variant of N11.
No.img.Unicodephon.descriptionusage, notes
N1N1? U+131EFptsky
N2N2? U+131F0grḥsky with sceptredet. for "darkness"
N3N3? U+131F1as N2variant of N2Old Kingdom variant of N2
N4N4? U+131F2 moisture falling from the sky"dew", "rain"
N5N5? U+131F3rꜥ sun
N6N6? U+131F4rꜥ sun with uraeus19th Dynasty
N7N7? U+131F5N5 + T28ẖrt-hrw "day-time"
N8N8? U+131F6wbnsunshineUsually depicted with three rays, older variants may also have four rays. Determinative for e.g. pḥḏ "to shine, illumine" and wbn "rise"; from this latter case, it can also take the phonetic value of wbn when standing on its own, e.g. in wbn "wound". Alternatively, it is either a determiner or ideogram for ḥnmmt, the name of the "sun folk" of Heliopolis.
A depiction with four rays is found on an ivory wand of c. 2100 BC: The "Sun with rays" hieroglyph is shown once, placed upon the head of a ram. It has a central dot, like the "Sun" hieroglyph, with four elongated, undulating vertical rays. See also Aten.
N9N9? U+131F7psḏmoon with its lower half obscured18th Dynasty
N10N10? U+131F8as N9variant of N918th Dynasty
N11N11? U+131F9crescent moon
N12N12? U+131FAvariant of N1118th Dynasty
N13N13? U+131FBhalf of N11 + N14"half-month festival"
N14N14? U+131FCstar
N15N15? U+131FDstar in circle
N16N16? U+131FEN18 + 3 x N33"earth, land"
N17N17? U+131FFvariant of N16as N16
N18N18? U+13200ı͗sandy tract"island"
N19N19? U+132032 x N18in ḥr-ꜣḫty "Horus-of-the-Horizon"
N20N20? U+13204tongue of land"sand bank, shore"
N21N21? U+13205tongue of land"bank, region"
N22N22? U+13206tongue of landOld Kingdom predecessor of both N20 and N21
N23N23? U+13207irrigation canaldifferentiation of N36
N24N24? U+13208land with irrigation tunnels"district, nome"
N25N25? U+13209hills"hill-country, foreign land"
N26N26? U+1320Bḏwmountain
N27N27? U+1320Csun rising over mountain"horizon"
N28N28? U+1320Dḫꜥsun rising over hill
N29N29? U+1320Eqsandy hill-slope
N30N30? U+1320Fmound with shrubs"mound"
N31N31? U+13210road bordered by shrubs"road"
N32N32? U+13211lump of clay or dungOld Kingdom
N33N33? U+13212grain of sand
N34N34? U+13214metal ingot
N35N35? U+13216nripple of watervariant "three ripples" ? U+13217
N36N36? U+13218water channel
N37N37? U+13219pool"pool"
N38N38? U+1321Bvariant of N37more detailed drawing of N37
N39N39? U+1321Cgarden pool full of watervariant of N37
N40N40? U+1321DN37 + D54"go"
N41N41? U+1321Ebı͗ꜣwell full of water"well"
N42N42? U+1321Fvariant of N41as N41

O. Buildings, parts of buildings, etc.

51 signs.
O1
O1		O2
O2		O3
O3		O4
O4		O5
O5		O6
O6		O7
O7		O8
O8		O9
O9		O10
O10
O11
O11		O12
O12		O13
O13		O14
O14		O15
O15		O16
O16		O17
O17		O18
O18		O19
O19		O20
O20
O21
O21		O22
O22		O23
O23		O24
O24		O25
O25		O26
O26		O27
O27		O28
O28		O29
O29		O30
O30
O31
O31		O32
O32		O33
O33		O34
O34		O35
O35		O36
O36		O37
O37		O38
O38		O39
O39		O40
O40
O41
O41		O42
O42		O43
O43		O44
O44		O45
O45		O46
O46		O47
O47		O48
O48		O49
O49		O50
O50
O51
O51		---------

P. Ships and parts of ships

Expected quantity: 11
P1
P1		P2
P2		P3
P3		P4
P4		P5
P5		P6
P6		P7
P7		P8
P8		P9
P9		P10
P10
P11
P11		P12
P12		P13
P13		P14
P14		P15
P15		P16
P16		P17
P17		P18
P18		P19
P19		P20
P20

Q. Domestics and funerary furniture

Expected quantity: 7
Q1
Q1		Q2
Q2		Q3
Q3		Q4
Q4		Q5
Q5		Q6
Q6		Q7
Q7		Q8
Q8		Q9
Q9		Q10
Q10

R. Temple furniture and sacred emblems

Expected quantity: 25
R1
R1		R2
R2		R3
R3		R4
R4		R5
R5		R6
R6		R7
R7		R8
R8		R9
R9		R10
R10
R11
R11		R12
R12		R13
R13		R14
R14		R15
R15		R16
R16		R17
R17		R18
R18		R19
R19		R20
R20
R21
R21		R22
R22		R23
R23		R24
R24		R25
R25		R26
R26		R27
R27		R28
R28		R29
R29		R30
R30

S. Crowns, dress, staves, etc.

Expected quantity: 45
S1
S1		S2
S2		S3
S3		S4
S4		S5
S5		S6
S6		S7
S7		S8
S8		S9
S9		S10
S10
S11
S11		S12
S12		S13
S13		S14
S14		S15
S15		S16
S16		S17
S17		S18
S18		S19
S19		S20
S20
S21
S21		S22
S22		S23
S23		S24
S24		S25
S25		S26
S26		S27
S27		S28
S28		S29
S29		S30
S30
S31
S31		S32
S32		S33
S33		S34
S34		S35
S35		S36
S36		S37
S37		S38
S38		S39
S39		S40
S40
S41
S41		S42
S42		S43
S43		S44
S44		S45
S45		S46
S46		S47
S47		S48
S48		S49
S49		S50
S50

T. Warfare, hunting, and butchery

Expected quantity: 35
T1
T1		T2
T2		T3
T3		T4
T4		T5
T5		T6
T6		T7
T7		T8
T8		T9
T9		T10
T10
T11
T11		T12
T12		T13
T13		T14
T14		T15
T15		T16
T16		T17
T17		T18
T18		T19
T19		T20
T20
T21
T21		T22
T22		T23
T23		T24
T24		T25
T25		T26
T26		T27
T27		T28
T28		T29
T29		T30
T30
T31
T31		T32
T32		T33
T33		T34
T34		T35
T35		T36
T36		T37
T37		T38
T38		T39
T39		T40
T40

U. Agriculture, crafts, and professions

41 signs.
U1
U1		U2
U2		U3
U3		U4
U4		U5
U5		U6
U6		U7
U7		U8
U8		U9
U9		U10
U10
U11
U11		U12
U12		U13
U13		U14
U14		U15
U15		U16
U16		U17
U17		U18
U18		U19
U19		U20
U20
adze on block
stp "cut", "choose"
U21
U21		U22
U22		U23
U23		U24
U24		U25
U25		U26
U26		U27
U27		U28
U28		U29
U29		U30
U30
U31
U31		U32
U32		U33
U33		U34
U34		U35
U35		U36
U36		U37
U37		U38
U38		U39
U39		U40
U40
U41
U41		---------

V. Rope, fiber, baskets, bags, etc.

40 signs.
V39 is the Tyet or "Knot of Isis".
V40 is the numeral 10 in dates.
V1
V1		V2
V2		V3
V3		V4
V4		V5
V5		V6
V6		V7
V7		V8
V8		V9
V9		V10
V10
V11
V11		V12
V12		V13
V13		V14
V14		V15
V15		V16
V16		V17
V17		V18
V18		V19
V19		V20
V20
V21
V21		V22
V22		V23
V23		V24
V24		V25
V25		V26
V26		V27
V27		V28
V28		V29
V29		V30
V30
V31
V31		V32
V32		V33
V33		V34
V34		V35
V35		V36
V36		V37
V37		V38
V38		V39
V39		V40
V40

W. Vessels of stone and earthenware

25 signs.
W1
W1		W2
W2		W3
W3		W4
W4		W5
W5		W6
W6		W7
W7		W8
W8		W9
W9		W10
W10
W11
W11		W12
W12		W13
W13		W14
W14		W15
W15		W16
W16		W17
W17		W18
W18		W19
W19		W20
W20
W21
W21		W22
W22		W23
W23		W24
W24		W25
W25		-----

X. Loaves and cakes

8 signs.
X1
X1
t feminine		X2
X2		X3
X3
bread		X4
X4		X5
X5
bread, food		X6
X6
loaf 		X7
X7
half-loaf 		X8
X8
conical loaf; "give"

Y. Writings, games, music

8 signs.
Y1
Y1
Papyrus
roll-tied		Y2
Y2		Y3
Y3
Scribe
equipment		Y4
Y4		Y5
Y5		Y6
Y6
board
game
piece		Y7
Y7
Y8
Y8
Sistrum

Z. Strokes, signs derived from Hieratic, geometrical figures

11 signs.
Z1
Z1		Z2
Z2		Z3
Z3		Z4
Z4		Z5
Z5		Z6
Z6		Z7
Z7		Z8
Z8		Z9
Z9		Z10
Z10
Z11
Z11		---------

Aa. Unclassified

31 signs in Gardiner.
Aa1
Aa1		Aa2
Aa2		Aa3
Aa3		Aa4
Aa4		Aa5
Aa5		Aa6
Aa6		Aa7
Aa7		Aa8
Aa8		Aa9
Aa9		Aa10
Aa10
Aa11
Aa11		Aa12
Aa12		Aa13
Aa13		Aa14
Aa14		Aa15
Aa15		Aa16
Aa16		Aa17
Aa17		Aa18
Aa18		Aa19
Aa19		Aa20
Aa20
Aa21
Aa21		Aa22
Aa22		Aa23
Aa23		Aa24
Aa24		Aa25
Aa25		Aa26
Aa26		Aa27
Aa27		Aa28
Aa28		Aa29
Aa29		Aa30
Aa30
Aa31
Aa31		Aa32
Aa32		Aa33
Aa33		Aa34
Aa34		Aa35
Aa35		Aa36
Aa36		Aa37
Aa37		Aa38
Aa38		Aa39
Aa39		Aa40
Aa40
Aa41
Aa41		Aa42
Aa42		Aa43
Aa43		Aa44
Aa44		Aa45
Aa45		Aa46
Aa46		Aa47
Aa47		Aa48
Aa48		Aa49
Aa49		Aa50
Aa50

Unicode

These hieroglyphs have unicode code points and so, given a suitable font, can be displayed or printed. The block starts at U+013000 for A001.

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