Hieratic is script hieroglyphics. Below are some of the more popular signs in hieroglyphics, followed by the hieratic version (some with one or two options). Many of the characters changed over the centuries. These are all read from right to left. Hieroglyphics were usually from right to left, but sometimes written left to right. Hieratic was always written right to left. (link to site Jim Loy’s Egyptian Hieroglyphics and Egyptology Page (archive.org))
Lesson 1- “Alphabetic” Signs (From
As with Hieroglyphics, the best place to start is to learn the “alphabetic” signs – those signs representing a single consonant. Since most people using these lessons will probably already be familiar with Hieroglyphic writing, the following table gives correspondences between the Hieratic characters, and the equivalent Hieroglyphs (from which they are derived). Since Hieratic was written from right to left, the signs (both Hieratic and Hieroglyphic) are shown facing right as they would in actual texts.
Hieratic | Value | Hieroglyph | Hieratic | Value | Hieroglyph | |
A | x | |||||
i | X | |||||
a | s | |||||
w | s | |||||
b | S | |||||
p | q | |||||
f | k | |||||
m | g | |||||
n | t | |||||
r | T | |||||
h | d | |||||
H | D |
The Hieratic form of was originally , which you will notice corresponds with the other two bird signs and , however this was gradually replaced by the sign given in the table above.
There was also a second form of in Hieratic: which was taken over into Hieroglyphic as .
Link to Stephan Fryer’s Lessons – Basic Lessons in Hieratic – Index (archive.org)