48 signs
Checked October 2026

Easy Hieroglyphics to Draw

Press for an Egyptian sign to copy: its strokes, and the sound, word or number it stands for.

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Drawn: The stool, the sign for pThe stool, the sign for pA plain square. It can be filled with cross lines like matting.

Next step History things to draw

All 48 signs

Sounds: animals and the body 12

The cobra at rest, the sign for dj A snake with its head lifted, its body running level behind and its tail dropping straight down.
The Egyptian vulture, the sign called aleph A bird standing side on with a hooked bill and long folded wings reaching to its tail.
The face, the sign for hr A face seen from the front: a rounded head, two ears standing out, eyes, nose and mouth.
The foot, the sign for b A lower leg and foot seen from the side, like a boot: an upright shin and a flat sole.
The forearm, the sign called ayin A forearm lying flat with the open palm facing up at one end.
The hand, the sign for d A hand seen from the side, fingers together and straight, the thumb on top.
The hare, the sign for wn A hare crouching side on with two very long ears.
The horned viper, the sign for f A long body in low waves with the head raised at one end and two small horns on it.
The lying lion, the sign for rw and later l A lion lying down, side on, head up and front paws stretched out.
The mouth, the sign for r Two curved lines that meet in a point at each end, like a lens lying flat.
The owl, the sign for m Body side on, face turned full front: a round head with two big eyes, a plump body, a folded wing and a short tail.
The quail chick, the sign for w A round chick side on: small head, short bill, a stub of wing and two sturdy legs.

Show all 48 signs (36 more)

Sounds: things 12

The basket with a handle, the sign for k A shallow bowl seen from the side with a small loop handle at one end.
The door bolt, a sign for s A long rod lying flat with two small knobs close together in the middle.
The folded cloth, a sign for s A tall stroke folded over at the top and hanging part of the way down.
The loaf of bread, the sign for t A half circle sitting on its flat side.
The pool, the sign for sh A long, low rectangle.
The reed, the sign for i A flowering reed: one tall stem with a long feathery plume up one side.
The ring stand, the sign for g A squat stand seen from the side: a flat rim, sides that curve in toward the base and a small triangle in the middle.
The shelter, the sign for h A rectangle drawn as a square spiral: start at one corner and wind inward once.
The slope of a hill, the sign for q A wedge: a flat base, one upright side and a curve joining them.
The stool, the sign for p A plain square. It can be filled with cross lines like matting.
The twisted wick, the sign for an emphatic h A cord twisted into three loops, one above another, with two loose ends at the foot.
The water ripple, the sign for n A zigzag line of small even peaks.

Symbols and whole words 12

The ankh, the sign for life A T with a drop-shaped loop on top.
The djed pillar, the sign for stable A column that widens at its foot, with bars across its top.
The Eye of Horus, the udjat eye An eye with a long brow above it, a short line dropping from it and a longer line ending in a curl.
The feather, the sign for true One tall feather curving over at the tip, with a straight shaft.
The heart and windpipe, the sign for good A rounded heart with a straight windpipe rising from it and a short crosspiece near the top.
The papyrus roll, the sign of writing A flat strip with a small tie in the middle of its top edge: a rolled, tied scroll.
The scarab beetle, the sign for become A beetle seen from above: an oval body in three parts with six legs.
The shen ring, a loop of rope A circle resting on a short straight line: a loop of rope tied to a stick.
The star, the sign for star A star of five slim points.
The sun disc, read as Ra or as day A circle with a small circle at its center.
The walking legs, the sign of movement Two legs in mid-stride, joined at the top, both feet pointing the way they walk.
The was scepter, the sign for power A long straight staff with a forked foot and a stylized animal head at the top.

Numbers and name rings 12

A name written consonant by consonant in a royal ring Draw the ring, then one sound sign for each consonant of the name. Vowels were not normally written.
An empty cartouche, the royal name ring An oval with a straight line across one end. The signs of a king's name went inside.
The bent finger, the number 10,000 One finger pointing up and slightly bent.
The cattle hobble, the number 10 An upside-down U.
The coil of rope, the number 100 A spiral of rope with its end hanging down.
The figure of Heh, the number 1,000,000 A figure with both arms raised as if holding up the sky, and a palm branch on its head.
The number 23 in hobbles and strokes Two upside-down Us, then three strokes. A sign is repeated as many times as its place needs.
The number 4,622 as carved at Karnak Four water lilies, six coils of rope, two hobbles and two strokes.
The single stroke, the number 1 One short upright stroke.
The tadpole, the number 100,000 A plump head and body that taper into a curved tail.
Three strokes, the sign for a plural Three short strokes side by side.
The water lily, the number 1,000 An upright stem with a leaf on top and a small root at its foot. The plant is also called a lotus.

How this list was compiled: Original list written for Draw This Next on 2026-10-02: 48 Egyptian hieroglyphs to copy in four kinds (sound signs from animals and the body; sound signs from things; symbols and whole-word signs; numbers and name rings), twelve of each, each marked easy, medium or hard. The stroke descriptions are our own; each was set beside the picture of its sign that Wikipedia shows. Each sign's name, its code in Gardiner's sign list and the sound, word or number it stands for were read on 2026-10-02 in the English Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org; text free to reuse under CC BY-SA 4.0): the articles List of Egyptian hieroglyphs, Egyptian uniliteral signs, Egyptian hieroglyphs, Gardiner's sign list, Egyptian numerals, Cartouche, Ankh, Was-sceptre and Shen ring. The code and the value are kept with each item. Sounds are given as they are usually said in English, without the scholars' special letters. The single stroke is Z1 in the list of hieroglyphs; the article Egyptian numerals labels the numeral Z15. A sign whose reading the articles did not confirm was left out. No hieroglyph character is printed, so no special font is needed. Licence: own work

How it works

Forty-eight real Egyptian hieroglyphs to copy, each with the strokes to draw and what it stands for: sound signs, whole-word signs, numbers and the name ring. The page opens on the 27 easy ones.

Read the full guide

Signs that stand for sounds

Twenty-four signs each stood for one sound and worked like an alphabet: the water ripple for n, the mouth for r, the owl for m. Vowels were not normally written. Egyptians most often wrote from right to left, and the animals and people in a line face its beginning.

Numbers and name rings

Numbers had one sign for each power of ten, repeated as often as needed: a stroke for 1, a cattle hobble for 10, a coil of rope for 100. A king's name was written inside a cartouche, an oval with a bar at one end. Choose Any level under the button for all 48.

Questions and answers

What are the easiest hieroglyphics to draw?

The ones made of a line or a plain shape: the water ripple for n is a zigzag, the loaf of bread for t a half circle, the pool for sh a long rectangle and the number 1 a single stroke. Easy holds 27.

Can I write my name in hieroglyphics?

Only by sound. Choose a one-sound sign for each consonant you hear in the name and set them in a cartouche. Egyptian writing did not normally show vowels, and some English sounds have no sign, so a modern name is an approximation.

How many hieroglyphs are there?

In its classical period the system had some 900 different signs. The standard modern list, Gardiner's, describes 763 signs in 26 groups, and each sign on this page was checked against its code in that list.

What does the ankh mean?

Life. The ankh, a T-shape topped by a drop-shaped loop, is the hieroglyph for the word life and for the verb to live.