A Letter to Imhotep: Reviving the Ancient Egyptian Language
By AmroPublished on Updated on 2 min read
A letter to the architect and physician, builder of the world's first stone building, Djoser's Step Pyramid. Time passes, and the ancient Egyptian language comes back to life. Then a young Egyptian man writes a letter to Imhotep.
The Letter in Hieroglyphs
𓇋𓀞 𓍹𓇍𓅓𓊵𓀀𓍺 𓇋𓈖𓆓 𓁷𓎡
𓏌𓎡𓀀 𓅓 𓆎𓏏𓊖 𓅓 𓅭𓎡 𓍹𓂝𓅓𓂋𓅱𓀀𓍺
𓏌𓎡𓀀 𓌞𓏲 𓌞 𓋴𓃀𓇼𓄿𓇋𓇋𓏏𓏛𓎡
𓅓𓂋𓉴 𓊪𓈖 𓐍 𓅱 𓋴 𓈖𓎡𓀜 𓈖 𓆥 𓐍𓂋𓂋𓂝𓏤 𓊢𓂝𓅱
𓇍 𓂋𓅓𓍿𓀀𓁐 𓅓 𓇿𓎟 𓌴𓁹𓄿𓄿 𓋴𓅱
𓅓𓂝 𓊵
𓋹 𓍑 𓋴
𓅭𓎡 𓍹𓂝𓅓𓂋𓅱𓀀𓍺
𓏌𓎡𓀀 𓅓 𓆎𓏏𓊖 𓅓 𓅭𓎡 𓍹𓂝𓅓𓂋𓅱𓀀𓍺
𓏌𓎡𓀀 𓌞𓏲 𓌞 𓋴𓃀𓇼𓄿𓇋𓇋𓏏𓏛𓎡
𓅓𓂋𓉴 𓊪𓈖 𓐍 𓅱 𓋴 𓈖𓎡𓀜 𓈖 𓆥 𓐍𓂋𓂋𓂝𓏤 𓊢𓂝𓅱
𓇍 𓂋𓅓𓍿𓀀𓁐 𓅓 𓇿𓎟 𓌴𓁹𓄿𓄿 𓋴𓅱
𓅓𓂝 𓊵
𓋹 𓍑 𓋴
𓅭𓎡 𓍹𓂝𓅓𓂋𓅱𓀀𓍺
The Translation and the Letter in Different Scripts
| English translation | Phonetic signs (Latin letters) | Hieroglyphs |
|---|---|---|
| O Imhotep, greetings to you | i (ii-m-Htp), inD Hr.k | 𓇋𓀞 𓇍𓅓𓊵𓀀 𓇋𓈖𓆓 𓁷𓎡 |
| I am from Egypt, your descendant Amro | ink m kmt, sA.k amrw. | 𓏌𓎡𓀀 𓅓 𓆎𓏏𓊖 𓅓 𓅭𓎡 𓂝𓅓𓂋𓅱𓀀 |
| I am the follower, a follower of your teachings | ink Sms.w, Sms sbA.yt.k | 𓏌𓎡𓀀 𓌞𓏲 𓌞 𓋴𓃀𓇼𓄿𓇋𓇋𓏏𓏛𓎡 |
| This pyramid, which you built for the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, is still standing | mr pn, xwsi.n.k n nswt bty xr-r-a aHa.w | 𓅓𓂋𓉴 𓊪𓈖 𓐍 𓅱 𓋴 𓈖𓎡𓀜 𓈖 𓆥 𓐍𓂋𓂋𓂝𓏤 𓊢𓂝𓅱 |
| All people come from all over the world to see it | ii Hr nb m tA nb, mAA sw | 𓇍 𓂋𓅓𓍿𓀀𓁐 𓅓 𓇿𓎟 𓌴𓁹𓄿𓄿 𓋴𓅱 |
| Farewell | ma Htp | 𓅓𓂝 𓊵 |
| Life, prosperity and health to you | anx wDA snb | 𓋹 𓍑 𓋴 |
| Your descendant Amro | sA.k amro | 𓅭𓎡 𓂝𓅓𓂋𓅱 |
