𓏭

Egyptian

Glyph origin

Showing two strokes, often diagonal but sometimes vertical , to represent duality. This glyph was conventionally colored black. The phonogrammatic value of j is derived from its use as the dual ending, -j.

Symbol

(j)

1. Uniliteral phonogram for j. [since the Middle Kingdom]
2. Logogram for -j (dual ending), originally replacing (for superstitious reasons) the device of writing the determinative twice in certain contexts. [since the Pyramid Texts]
3. Written in place of two difficult-to-draw signs. [mostly since the 19th Dynasty]

Usage notes

Some transliteration schemes treat this glyph as a phonogrammatic variant of (j), while others treat it as a variant of (y), and some treat all three as equivalent.

References

• Gardiner, Alan (1957) Egyptian Grammar: Being an Introduction to the Study of Hieroglyphs, third edition, Oxford: Griffith Institute, →ISBN, pages 536–537
• Peust, Carsten (1999) Egyptian Phonology: An Introduction to the Phonology of a Dead Language‎^[1], Göttingen: Peust und Gutschmidt Verlag GbR, page 48