We Asked An Egyptologist How To Read Hieroglyphs!

Have you ever wanted to learn how to read hieroglyphs? Egyptologist Chris Naunton explores the history of hieroglyphs and how they were decoded.
00:05 History of Hieroglyphs
01:60 Rosetta Stone
04:40 Ptolemy
07:34 Cleopatra
14:32 Ramesses
18:32 Translation Challenge
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[@michalvalent8728]

Bring more videos like this one. Amazing how easy it seems to explain how hieroglyphs were written.

[@marmite-land]

It's so easy because it's wrong.

[@Melocoton326]

@@marmite-land could you elaborate?

[@prismaticmarcus]

@@Melocoton326 probably not

[@TheZarattack]

I need more!!! this is one of the coolest episodes!!! the details, no one ever get's into the details anymore! Yay!!!!!!

[@chrisjackson1215]

This is the kind of thing that the History Channel used to make. I've missed it so much.

[@rumbidzai]

Chris Naunton is setting up his own channel with online lectures. The stuff posted this far has been amazing. Highly recommended! There are several great episodes with him on History Hit's The Ancients you don't want to miss as well.

[@LouisAmateurArt]

I clicked because I was slightly pulled in by the title, and within minutes I was transfixed, right to the end. Please can we have more like this. Chris explains his subject--which is fascinating--superbly.

[@michaelsilveradventure5712]

For those of you who are interested in taking the plunge, find a copy of Alan Gardiner’s “Egyptian Grammar.” Written in 1927 it was the resource for learning Egyptian for a long time. My dad purchased a copy for me back in 1991 and I was self taught. It should be obvious but this is not an easy language to learn, primarily because you’re going to need to be good at drawing and when writing, you’ll need to remember shapes and proportions…similar to learning Chinese characters (but not as difficult.) Finally, we have a pretty good idea the sounds of the language (and there are videos online which have spoken examples) but to be honest, it’s all a guess…the examples tend to make the language sound mysterious and aggressive and mystical. I mention this because when learning a language, speaking and hearing the sounds are an integral part of the process and because there are few realistic examples you’re going to be at a disadvantage. Finally, for some reason, this guy glossed over Champillion (referring to him as “they” or “scholars”) was the driving force behind deciphering hieroglyphics. I can only assume the presenter didn’t want to delve into the debate about whether it was Young who was truly responsible for initial decipherment or Champollion. Both individuals should be recognized but Champollion should be recognized as the father of true Egyptology. He spoke 5 languages in his teens and because of his trip to Egypt to decipher more panels and tomb writing got sick and died. He was also responsible for initial decoding of Cuneiform. Had he lived longer there’s no telling how many more mysteries he would have cracked. He was truly a remarkable person and literally gave his life to his cause. Were Hollywood a different kind of institution a movie about this guy’s life would be very cool and would inspire many young people.

[@mithunkartha]

My handwriting was referred to in school as hieroglyphs.

[@tonyharpur8383]

😂 I frequently ask people 'can you read my hieroglyphs...?' 😎 Admittedlly, my writing is closer to...demotic. 😉

[@Eteriaa]

Kid's a natural

[@danaburre618]

Bahahahahaha

[@durangodave]

they called mine sensless scrible, and that was even true without cursive lol

[@tonyharpur8383]

@@durangodave ah, true hieroglyphs then! 😉They were just....illiterate....in Egyptian! 😎

[@luna-hw9li]

Chris is an amazing presenter/explainer of ancient Egyptian history.

[@ChristopherNaunton]

Aww, thanks 🙏

[@davidcarter8874]

True he has a unique gift. I thought it's because you're drawn in because he's attractive but it's definitely more than just that.

[@luna-hw9li]

@@davidcarter8874 that's really not what I meant, but if it works for you, well, enjoy looking... 🙂 I just really enjoy his various presentations on ancient egypt and I hope he does much more of that.

[@CarolynParsons-mv1ji]

Thank you so much! The Rosetta Stone is, of course, known for helping historians begin to read Egyptian hieroglyphics. Breaking it down for the lay person is so helpful and I never realized how interesting it would be! This is fantastic!

[@akumabito2008]

Interesting! I've heard about the Rosetta stone before, but I necer knew exactly how they used it to crack hieroglyphics!

[@TheMoneypresident]

Pretty good movie and documentary about champoleon.

[@BobSacamano-yv3ru]

@@TheMoneypresident on this channel? I’m interested, what’s it called?

[@TheMoneypresident]

@BobSacamano-yv3ru history channel.

[@TheMoneypresident]

@@BobSacamano-yv3ru search Champollion movie or rosseta stone

[@FutureMythology]

This video makes understanding hieroglyphs seem so simple. I'm eager for more videos that demystify ancient writing systems like this!

[@briganja]

I really enjoyed this video! I thought it would be like a tutorial but I prefer this-learning about the process of deciphering hieroglyphics thousands of years after the writing system was last used!

[@florianbooneiam]

More videos with Chris and hieroglyphs, please...

[@headshot6959]

This is easily the coolest video this channel has yet uploaded. The guy knocked it out of the park at the end, you'll struggle to top this.

[@ChristopherNaunton]

Well a big thank you for this comment 😀🙏

[@headshot6959]

@@ChristopherNaunton You.... I have no interest in Egyptology and little appreciation of linguistics. Yet after watching this video I feel compelled to learn more and even attempt to impress my friends by engraving their phonetic hieroglyphic names into brass. I will check out your books.

[@ChristopherNaunton]

@@headshot6959 Great to read this, thank you again! 🙏

[@bennoe5715]

This is fantastic. The details of how hieroglyphs were actually decoded based on the Rosetta Stone and other sources were fascinating. More content like this please! Just experts doing expert things to teach us something.

[@lemon_j22]

Wow, went to a museum the other day with things like this in. This is cool.

[@pho3nix-]

I will definitely learn to read Hieroglyphs now.

[@shayaschonfeld4738]

This guy is SUCH a good explainer!

[@Astronic]

This was one of your best videos.

[@lucyj8204]

This is fascinating, and really well timed for my 10yo's Ancient Egypt homework. Thanks so much!

[@hostiliscivitas]

Thank you Napoleon

[@oberstul1941]

This was mind-blowingly informative and oddly engaging. I love Egyptian hieroglyphic history, please give us more of this. Cheers!

[@janedoe4316]

I would 100000% love to learn more about egyptian hieroglyphs from you!!!

[@DeaconBlu]

Love this! Thanks! 😎👍

[@HistoryHit]

Glad you like it!

[@davidhall7744]

Bravo Chris 👏 Excellent video 😉

[@ChristopherNaunton]

Thank you! 🙏

[@user-jd7md1mx2u]

So many questions I have had for years on how to read Hieroglyphs - fascinating. You have re-stoked my interest, such that I will search out more information. Thank you Chris.

[@rodpettet2819]

Simply the best explanation I've seen. Many thanks for the enlightenment.

[@lisacrandall409]

I loved this. I already knew about the role of the Rosetta Stone in allowing hieroglyphs to be deciphered (and I’ve seen a replica of the stone). But I really enjoyed learning about the specific steps that were taken, and the assumptions that were made, in order to crack the code. Thank you for explaining it all very clearly, with a great pace. Ancient Egypt is endlessly fascinating ❤

[@TheJCJexe]

Wow, this is so well explained! Bravo!

[@purberri]

That was very informative I’ve always been fascinated by ancient Egypt

[@stevehenderson1248]

What a great video! Makes me want to learn more, thank you 👍

[@myouatt5987]

Fascinating - thank you! It makes (far) more sense to me now. Great vid! 😀

[@chrissim4386]

This was amazing, very nice, very well explained.

[@mariajones188]

So interesting. Thank you

[@killerhertzmercedes]

Excellent video, more like this please!

[@scottyboy72]

Thanks for the insight..

[@jodirauth8847]

Great job

[@atum]

Great effort. Thank you

[@katherinecollins4685]

Loved this

[@RedHeadedTsunami]

Fascinating!

[@africanpagan6338]

very cool. thanks

[@Orgikan]

outstanding video!

[@NinaHansen2008]

Loved it!

[@lynnedelacy2841]

Really really interesting!!!!

[@paulannable3734]

I knew nothing about any of this but I’ve often wondered. Excellent bit of educational entertainment

[@BernardDauphinais]

That was great!

[@wesley907]

Thanks. I really liked that walkthrough.

[@HistoryHit]

Glad to hear it!

[@thestudentat101]

👍This explainer was great.🙂

[@themanwithinflatableknees8770]

Excellent. Absolutely excellent.

[@HistoryHit]

Many thanks!

[@mkphilly]

Brilliant!!

[@jayceewedmak9524]

Thank you! ❤😊

[@cyndiknapp4904]

Fascinating

[@emansamy8736]

So interesting Chris

[@liam5382]

Great video. I learnt about this when I was younger watching Cosmos by Carl Sagan

[@benjaminblakemore9704]

AMAZING 👏 😊

[@PietGrobler-dt1ce]

Absolutely fascinating😯🤓😃

[@Jayjay-qe6um]

I have to rewatch this video again, just to learn hieroglyphs.

[@davidcarter8874]

Fantastic

[@giuseppelogiurato5718]

This video was blessedly "Dan Snow-less"... Please, give us more lo-tech straightforward educational content from Dan Norton. This is the second or third time I've subscribed, because of the lack of Snow.

[@AC-gm6bq]

Superb

[@NeptunesLagoon]

Those amazing caucasians with their idiographic scripts, such as in Sumerians & Egyptians and cuneiform also 😮🎉

[@rcarioca]

enlightening

[@DallingerM]

You need to get the Metatron on this channel. Putting him in a fully produced video would be awesome! Not only is he a language expert, his knowledge of ancient history bewildering! Another man is Kevin Hicks, getting him in a documentary would be amazing! You’ve got the ability and opportunity to recruit well known names in our community to your team, you shouldn’t waste the chance to create something mind blowing

[@egbutler114]

Metatron has been proven to have European bias and can't be trusted. He denies facts that debunks his narrative.

[@TheCosmicGuy0111]

Nice!

[@HistoryHit]

Thank you!

[@garynance988]

I'm retiring soon, and your video made me want to do more research on reading Egyptian hieroglyphics, so I started searching for a physical book online, only to see poor reviews for most books. Do you have any recommendations for a good book on this subject?

[@aceroadholder2185]

A simple point that should be mentioned is how to tell if the text should be read left to right or right to left. The text is read so that you are reading into the faces of the animals or human figures. This applies to vertical columns of text as well to determine which column to start with. Like print advertising today, the Egyptians would get creative with text on temple walls and the like. For example, over a doorway one side would have text written left to right and right to left on the other side.

[@fotograf736]

Thank you for the great video, I was led to believe hieroglyphic symbols corresponded to syllables rather than letters, though syllables were briefly mentioned, we seemed to have used only letter to symbol correspondence in the examples, confused🤔

[@1czechit1]

very cool

[@yodydee]

Why was the hieroglyph of the sound "t" a loaf (just to take one example)? Did the Egyptian word for "loaf" start with a "t" sound?

[@patavinity1262]

That's exactly it. Hieroglyphs began as a purely pictographic system (the picture means the thing it represents). Later, each hieroglyph began also to represent the phonetic characteristics of the word for the thing it depicted.

[@johngriffon2118]

Get The Fink! He already did one video like this about cuneiform, but i wonder if hed be willing to do a more in depth follow up.

[@offcenterconcepthaus]

Damn good.

[@HardleyJ]

Clear, engaging, entertaining, interesting, and cute ;-)

[@blxtothis]

When I first learned of the Rosetta Stone (Original and copy in the British Museam) as a precocious 9 ye are old, I mischievously asked out=r History Tutor “But what if the pieces we found each describe totally different subjects? I didn’t get an answer. It makes sense that Ancient Greek would be listed owing to Alexander’s Conquest and Ptolemy gets a mention as that Monarchical Lineage was derived from his General who was installed as Boss Man of Egypt. Cleopatra was descended from this Greco-Egyptian line.

[@KravKernow]

How many individual hieroglyphs are there? Presumably, if there are many more symbols than there can be vocalised sounds, even allowing for subtleties of tone, then that would be indicative that the language must have been at least partly pictorial?

[@Emthe30something]

12:14 the scholars working on this were lucky both names, Cleopatra and Ptolmey were foreign names to Egypt. The luck of history!

[@AlicjaChojecka]

When writing history hit in hieroglyphs, how do I know where to start reading, If I don't know the word?

[@ulrichlachman1216]

What are the difference sign of all the letter of the Alfaberh?

[@ttestates1]

Holy Sharpies Chris! 😅

[@MaxHohenstaufen]

Great introduction to the subject, but we need a lot more depth and content! I wanna know as much as possible! And it still looks easier than japanese.

[@juneallan4903]

It's same type of idea example.you see a car badge sign.you notice pretty quick it could be named Ford,Toyota, etc.then you know asap it's a vehicle,that drives you along a road.has tyres,seats,stearing wheel.etc.all from a badge.

[@Rain-Dirt]

I would not mind taking lessons from this guy.

[@caterpillakilla]

yea…got it

[@shreenilodedra5725]

If only people , academics and scholars had this positive attitude towards Aramaic / Syriac .

[@fatosshubert7272]

“Obelisk. Ancient Egyptians called it “tekhenu “ William Thomas 1549 in his history of Italie.” Apparently.

[@Katrene.]

At 15:51 the 'hook' is inversed from the drawing you show as corresponding example... In OUR alphabet, that would equate to a 'b' and a 'd' or a 'q' and a 'p' being the same character... hmmm......?!!

[@kilrati]

How did they know about Remeses?

[@WalterMitty1966]

Brilliant , but no mention of Jean-François Champollion!! Look him up And i'm bloody English !! lol

[@yochanan770]

The "HistoryHit" name should also include the number determinitive. | | |

[@michaelsparks1265]

If I close my eyes I'm listening to James May

[@mrhassell]

William John Bankes, age 68, died 15 April 1855 at Venice, buried 13 June 1855. spouse(s) unknown, children unknown. He (likely) isn't related to "Banksy"... who knows?

[@asuka4ever1979]

Chinese characters are like Egyptian hieroglyphs. Some are logograms, like sun, hand, trees, and moon. Some others are syllabic, using those logograms as sounds.

[@fatosshubert7272]

“Sir Wallis Budge’s An Egyptian Hieroglyphic Dictionary. Has listed the rulers name between bc3.400-3.100. Starting from; 1…PU last letters. 2. SKA can be read SAKA next to the name there is GoD sign. Goes on and on up to 439 Han. By Polat Kaya yahoo papers.”

[@fatosshubert7272]

They were Turanl/ Tur/ Turk. Oghuzian group of Turkish speaking people. MASAR was their original name.

[@ahmedelkhwaga2751]

Egyptians aren't turks​@@fatosshubert7272

[@chasehicks7465]

The more you know

[@annekabrimhall1059]

How do we know that we were still saying them the same ways that the ancient Egyptians did?

[@archiehendricks6093]

Lion On Me

[@user-qk4wq5jt5q]

very little about the importance of Coptic to the decipherment

[@ime3126]

Many african languages can be usefull

[@donquijote7463]

AKROBETO: HOLD MY BEER.

[@jessibaethke9770]

Maybe pt is similar to gh in english 🤔

[@kingerikthegreatest.ofall.7860]

Will these inscriptions unlock a stargate ?

[@robertomagnani8091]

I wonder how the Mayan scripture was decoded.

[@lagribbs2693]

𓆑𓅱𓈖!

[@user-sq2vu5gs5v]

🤔

[@Chodda]

very interesting. but this video depicts the assumption that they vocalized in english phonetics?