School left me with the impression that hieroglyphs were primitive constructs - purely logographic and ideographic. It was a shock to later learn that they are also alphabetic and phonetic.
The opportunities for creative expression are amazing in such a system
jhbadger•1h ago
Yes, the system is reminiscent of written Japanese in that way in that a word is sometimes spelled out phonetically, sometimes with an ideograph, and sometimes both for good measure if one or the other isn't viewed as clear enough.
Pet_Ant•1h ago
I have heard it described as not quite an "alphabet" but more like a rebus[1] using an alphabet.
That website is a super simplistic breakdown. There is so much more to actual hieroglyphs. You get semi-alphabetic, bi-consonantal, tri-consonantal, determinative, and logographic functions all in the same system, and the order you see it isn't always the order it's read.
antihipocrat•1h ago
The opportunities for creative expression are amazing in such a system
jhbadger•1h ago
Pet_Ant•1h ago
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebus