The Gardiner Sign List
How hieroglyphic signs are organised into categories by Sir Alan Gardiner.
The Gardiner Sign List is the standard classification system for Egyptian hieroglyphs, created by Sir Alan Gardiner and published in his Egyptian Grammar (1927). It organises signs into thematic categories labelled A through Z, plus Aa for unclassified signs.
The 26 Categories
Each category groups signs by what they depict:
| Code | Category | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| A | Man and his Activities | seated man, man with arms raised |
| B | Woman and her Activities | seated woman, pregnant woman |
| C | Anthropomorphic Deities | god with sun disc, Osiris |
| D | Parts of the Human Body | head, eye, arm, hand, leg |
| E | Mammals | bull, lion, donkey, cat |
| F | Parts of Mammals | ox head, heart, skin |
| G | Birds | vulture, owl, falcon, duck |
| H | Parts of Birds | feather, wing, egg |
| I | Amphibians and Reptiles | crocodile, frog, snake |
| K | Fish and Parts of Fish | tilapia, oxyrhynchus |
| L | Invertebrates | bee, scarab, scorpion |
| M | Trees and Plants | reed, lotus, papyrus |
| N | Sky, Earth, Water | sun, star, mountain, water |
| O | Buildings and Parts | house, temple, door |
| P | Ships and Parts | boat, sail, oar |
| Q | Furniture | throne, chest, headrest |
| R | Temple Furniture, Sacred | altar, standard, shrine |
| S | Crowns, Dress, Staves | white crown, sceptre |
| T | Warfare, Hunting | mace, bow, arrow, knife |
| U | Agriculture, Crafts | plough, sickle, chisel |
| V | Rope, Baskets, Bags | rope coil, basket, ring |
| W | Vessels | jar, pot, cup, bowl |
| X | Bread and Cakes | bread loaf, offering loaf |
| Y | Writings, Games, Music | scroll, reed pen, game board |
| Z | Strokes and Figures | single stroke, plural strokes |
| Aa | Unclassified | placenta, grain, other |
Gardiner Codes
Each sign gets a code consisting of its category letter and a number: A1 is the first sign in category A (a seated man), G17 is the 17th sign in the birds category (an owl, representing the consonant m).
Variant forms are indicated by lowercase letters: A1a, A1b, etc. Extended signs not in Gardiner's original list use longer numbers or special prefixes.
Beyond Gardiner
Gardiner's original list contained about 750 signs. Modern catalogues — including the Unicode Hieroglyphica standard that PharaLex uses — extend this to over 5,000 signs by adding variants, composite signs, and newly discovered forms.