Get Hieroglyph Translate

The ancient Egyptians' language had archaeologists baffled until the hieroglyphs were carefully deciphered using the Rosetta Stone. The discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb wouldn't happen for another century but in 1821 in Piccadilly, London, an exhibition about ancient Egypt opened.

Google's hieroglyphics translator can now help you decode the riddles of time-worn Egyptian phrases.

Scientists and historians who analyzed the symbols in the next few centuries believed that it was a form of ancient picture writing. Thus, instead of translating the symbols phonetically—that is, representing sounds—they translated them literally based on the image they saw.

0:44 2:35 How to Write Your Name in Egyptian Hieroglyphs - YouTube YouTube Start of suggested clip End of suggested clip Any double letters in your name that are only pronounced once write out your name again using theMoreAny double letters in your name that are only pronounced once write out your name again using the sounds in your name instead of the letters.

Why So Difficult? One reason for the difficulty, as scholars learned later, is that hieroglyphic symbols can represent not only sounds (like an alphabet), but also whole syllables, and whole words.

With the help of the Rosetta Stone, Jean-Francois Champollion created an alphabet of phonetic hieroglyphs. Other scholars were able to use it to translate the inscription completely. "Thanks to the Rosetta Stone, Champollion was able to decipher the hieroglyphs.

The ancient Egyptians' language had archaeologists baffled until the hieroglyphs were carefully deciphered using the Rosetta Stone. The discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb wouldn't happen for another century but in 1821 in Piccadilly, London, an exhibition about ancient Egypt opened.