Egyptian hieroglyphs are the ultimate ancestor of the Phoenician alphabet, the first widely adopted phonetic writing system.
Egyptian hieroglyphs were the formal writing system used in Ancient Egypt, used for writing the Egyptian language. It combined logographic, syllabic and alphabetic elements, with some 1,000 distinct characters. Cursive hieroglyphs were used for religious literature on papyrus and wood.
Discover the secrets of hieroglyphics—ancient Egypt's writing system—and explore its symbols, meanings, and rich historical significance
Scholars have discovered that there are three different classes of Egyptian hieroglyphics. Some signs belong to more than one class. Phonograms are signs that represent a specific sound. Some correspond with the sounds of two or more letters. Ideograms represent ideas instead of sounds.