---
title: hieroglyph — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «hieroglyph» in the school dictionary: A picture or symbol used for writing, especially in ancient Egypt, where little drawings of birds, eyes and other things stood for sounds or words. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

<!-- md -->
[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hieroglyph/)

<!-- crumbs -->
[home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [dictionaries](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/) / [school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/) / [H](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/) / hieroglyph

# hieroglyph

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** little drawings, birds, Writing, Ancient Egyptians, Rosetta Stone, scholars · **What happens:** use, stand, draw, be, read, write · **To what, where:** picture, ancient Egypt, scholars, hieroglyphs, names, walls

<!-- .vabout -->
«hieroglyph» in the school dictionary: its 2 meanings for a pupil and its 7 examples, every sentence parsed by Mova itself — its syntax tree, a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies, and its pragmatics clause by clause. The word in the dictionary, with its sense in the lessons: [hieroglyph in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/hieroglyph.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A picture or symbol used for writing, especially in ancient Egypt, where little drawings of birds, eyes and other things stood for sounds or words.

<!-- fold The tree, 25 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:hieroglyph:m1:1
# text = A picture or symbol used for writing, especially in ancient Egypt, where little drawings of birds, eyes and other things stood for sounds or words.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	picture	picture	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	4	cc	_	_
4	symbol	symbol	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	conj	_	_
5	used	use	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	2	acl	_	_
6	for	for	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	writing	writing	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	_
9	especially	especially	ADV	RB	_	12	advmod	_	_
10	in	in	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
11	ancient	ancient	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	12	amod	_	_
12	Egypt	Egypt	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	24	punct	_	_
14	where	where	ADV	WRB	PronType=Rel	24	advmod	_	_
15	little	little	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	16	amod	_	_
16	drawings	drawing	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	24	nsubj	_	_
17	of	of	ADP	IN	_	18	case	_	_
18	birds	bird	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	16	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	20	punct	_	_
20	eyes	eye	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	18	conj	_	_
21	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	23	cc	_	_
22	other	other	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	23	amod	_	_
23	things	thing	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	18	conj	_	_
24	stood	stand	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	12	acl:relcl	_	_
25	for	for	ADP	IN	_	26	case	_	_
26	sounds	sound	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	24	obl	_	_
27	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	28	cc	_	_
28	words	word	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	26	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
29	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **use** | participle |  | a picture or symbol *not said here* |  | ancient Egypt |  | for writing | vn eat-39.1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **stand** | past | little drawings of birds and eyes and other things |  |  |  |  | for sounds or words | vn admire-31.2 «NP V NP PP.attribute»: agent=Experiencer for sound=Attribute |
| 3 | **draw** |  | birds and eyes and other things |  |  |  |  |  | nom drawing «communication intransitive»: of=agent |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

## Meaning 2 {#m2}

<!-- .note -->
Usage: informal — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Writing that is very hard to read.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:hieroglyph:m2:1
# text = Writing that is very hard to read.
1	Writing	writing	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
2	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	5	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	very	very	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
5	hard	hard	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	1	acl:relcl	_	_
6	to	to	PART	TO	_	7	mark	_	_
7	read	read	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | Writing |  |  |  |  | hard *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **read** | to-infinitive | Writing *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Ancient Egyptians wrote with hieroglyphs.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:hieroglyph:x1:1
# text = Ancient Egyptians wrote with hieroglyphs.
1	Ancient	ancient	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	amod	_	_
2	Egyptians	Egyptian	PROPN	NNPS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	wrote	write	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	with	with	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	hieroglyphs	hieroglyph	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **write** | past | Ancient Egyptians |  |  |  |  | with hieroglyphs | vn scribble-25.2-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The Rosetta Stone helped scholars read hieroglyphs.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:hieroglyph:x2:1
# text = The Rosetta Stone helped scholars read hieroglyphs.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	Rosetta	Rosetta	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	Stone	Stone	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	helped	help	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	scholars	scholar	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obj	_	_
6	read	read	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	xcomp	_	_
7	hieroglyphs	hieroglyph	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **help** | past | the Rosetta Stone | scholars |  |  |  |  | vn help-72.1-1-1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Agent scholar=Beneficiary clause=Theme |
| 2 | **read** | infinitive | scholars *not said here* | hieroglyphs |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent hieroglyph=Topic |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Each hieroglyph can stand for a sound or an idea.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:hieroglyph:x3:1
# text = Each hieroglyph can stand for a sound or an idea.
1	Each	each	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	2	det	_	_
2	hieroglyph	hieroglyph	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
4	stand	stand	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
5	for	for	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	sound	sound	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	_
8	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	10	cc	_	_
9	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	idea	idea	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **stand** | can | each hieroglyph |  |  |  |  | for a sound or a idea | vn admire-31.2 «NP V NP PP.attribute»: agent=Experiencer for sound=Attribute |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
We wrote our names in hieroglyphs on paper scrolls.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:hieroglyph:x4:1
# text = We wrote our names in hieroglyphs on paper scrolls.
1	We	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	wrote	write	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	our	our	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	4	nmod:poss	_	_
4	names	name	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
5	in	in	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	hieroglyphs	hieroglyph	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obl	_	_
7	on	on	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	paper	paper	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	compound	_	_
9	scrolls	scroll	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **write** | past | We | our names |  | hieroglyphs on paper scrolls |  |  | vn scribble-25.2-1 «NP V NP PP.destination»: agent=Agent name=Theme in hieroglyph=Destination |
| 2 | **name** |  | our |  |  |  |  |  | nom name «communication transitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Hieroglyphs were carved on the walls of tombs.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:hieroglyph:x5:1
# text = Hieroglyphs were carved on the walls of tombs.
1	Hieroglyphs	hieroglyph	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj:pass	_	_
2	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux:pass	_	_
3	carved	carve	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
4	on	on	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	walls	wall	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obl	_	_
7	of	of	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	tombs	tomb	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **carve** | past · passive |  | Hieroglyphs |  | the walls of tombs |  |  | vn scribble-25.2-1 «NP V NP PP.destination»: subject=Theme on wall=Destination |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
My brother's handwriting looks like hieroglyphs!

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:hieroglyph:x6:1
# text = My brother's handwriting looks like hieroglyphs!
1	My	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	brother	brother	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	's	's	PART	POS	_	2	case	_	_
4	handwriting	handwriting	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
5	looks	look	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	like	like	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	hieroglyphs	hieroglyph	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	!	!	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **look** | present | My brother's handwriting |  |  |  |  | like hieroglyphs | vn stimulus\_subject-30.4 «NP V PP.attribute»: agent=Stimulus |
| 2 | **handwrite** |  | My brother |  |  |  |  |  | nom handwriting «communication transitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The first of the stories actually written down, were written in Egyptian hieroglyphs, or on Babylonian cakes of clay, three or four thousand years before our time.

<!-- fold The tree, 27 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:hieroglyph:x7:1
# text = The first of the stories actually written down, were written in Egyptian hieroglyphs, or on Babylonian cakes of clay, three or four thousand years before our time.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	first	first	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing|NumForm=Word|NumType=Ord	11	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	of	of	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	stories	story	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nmod	_	_
6	actually	actually	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	_
7	written	write	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	5	acl	_	_
8	down	down	ADP	RP	_	7	compound:prt	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	2	punct	_	_
10	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	11	aux:pass	_	_
11	written	write	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
12	in	in	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
13	Egyptian	Egyptian	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	14	amod	_	_
14	hieroglyphs	hieroglyph	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	11	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	19	punct	_	_
16	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	19	cc	_	_
17	on	on	ADP	IN	_	19	case	_	_
18	Babylonian	Babylonian	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	19	compound	_	_
19	cakes	cake	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	14	conj	_	_
20	of	of	ADP	IN	_	21	case	_	_
21	clay	clay	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	19	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
22	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	23	punct	_	_
23	three	three	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	26	compound	_	_
24	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	25	cc	_	_
25	four	four	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	23	conj	_	_
26	thousand	thousand	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	27	nummod	_	_
27	years	year	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	19	nmod	_	_
28	before	before	ADP	IN	_	30	case	_	_
29	our	our	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	30	nmod:poss	_	_
30	time	time	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
31	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	11	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **write down** | participle |  | the stories *not said here* |  |  |  | actually *property* | vn scribble-25.2-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **write** | past · passive |  | the first of the stories |  | Egyptian hieroglyphs or Babylonian cakes of clay  thousand years | time |  | vn scribble-25.2-1 «NP V NP PP.destination»: subject=Theme in hieroglyph=Destination |

<!-- div src -->

**Text:** the school dictionary of Mova's schools (`world/data/dictionary-schools/`), written for Mova. **Trees:** Mova's own parse — the `en` model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), each meaning and example read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.

<!-- /div -->

<!-- pn -->
- ← previous: [hierarchy](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hierarchy/)
- next →: [hieroglyphic](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hieroglyphic/)
- ↑ back to [H in school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/)