Search for and type hieroglyphs like emoji
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Browse, search for and type Egyptian hieroglyphic signs like emoji
Scroll through and search Sir Alan Gardiner's renowned Egyptian sign list to type hieroglyphs into your iOS apps and documents
The keyboard features the signs listed in Gardiner's "Egyptian Grammar", third edition
You can also search for hieroglyphs right in the keyboard
Your apps and documents should use a font with extended Unicode support such as Noto Sans Egyptian Hieroglyphs (for Apple apps) or Segoe UI Historic (for Microsoft Office)
Installing the keyboard on your iPhone or iPad
Downloading the app onto your iPhone and iPad also installs the Gardiner hieroglyphic keyboard
To activate the hieroglyphic keyboard:
- Open Settings on your device
- Select General > Keyboard > Keyboards
- Select Add New Keyboard
- In Third-Party Keyboards, select Gardiner and verify that Hieroglyphic Keyboard - Gardiner has been added to your keyboards
- In your app, start to type then press and hold the 🌐 keyboard key to list available keyboards
On Mac, you can search and type hieroglyphs using a virtual on-screen keyboard, then copy hieroglyphs into your documents
Using the Gardiner keyboard
In the Gardiner keyboard, tap the (G) sign list icon to display the Gardiner sign list, if it is not already displayed
Use the vertical slider on the left side to display from one to five glyphs on each row
Use the selector on the right side to filter glyphs by shape, for instance tall, narrow signs
Scroll left and right through the sign list to find the hieroglyph you want to type
Tap a category (A) to (Z) or (Aa) at the bottom to navigate quickly to a Gardiner category
Press down on any sign in the list for a couple of seconds for details of the hieroglyph
Tap the keyboard symbol to display the phonetic keyboard, if it is not displayed
Tap on the uppercase key to switch between letters and phonograms. Type phonetic symbols using the top row of keys
If the font used in your app or document does not support the ꜣ (aleph), ꞽ (yod) or ꜥ (ayin) phonetic symbols, press down on the phonetic key for a couple of seconds, for an alternative symbol
Search for a hieroglyph
To search for a hieroglyph within the keyboard, tap the search field in the top right of the virtual keyboard and enter your search term
You can search for any of
- what a sign depicts, like sandal
- what a sign means, like life
- a pronunciation, like ankh
- a transliteration, like ߵnḫ
- an MdC mnemonic (or transliteration), like anx
- a Gardiner sign reference, like S34
- a Unicode character, like 𓋹
- an emoji, like 🐝
- a Unicode codepoint, like U+132F9
- signs containing a symbol, like glyphs that depict a ruler holding a 𓋹 (a "part of" search)
As you type your search term, matching hieroglyphs appear below the search field. Press down on any sign in the search results for a couple of seconds for details of the glyph
Press down on any sign in the search results for a couple of seconds for details of the hieroglyph
Tap on a search result to type the sign
You can also search for a whole number from 01 to 100,000 to convert it into hieroglyphs
Gardiner Hieroglyph Keyboard app privacy statement
The app does not collect, store, use, analyze or share any of your personal data
The app and keyboard extension do not collect, store, use, analyze, share or learn from anything that you type
By collect, we mean transmit off your device in a way that allows the app publisher or any service provider to access it
The app does not request or require any personal information such as your name or e-mail address
The app does not request or require your location
If you have any questions about how the Gardiner app may use your personal information, please contact the publisher