.n

See also: n and Appendix:Variations of "n"

Egyptian

Etymology 1

Loprieno hypothesizes development from an earlier form *-ina.[1] In any case, perhaps ultimately from a form such as Proto-Afroasiatic *ˀan- (first-person pronoun (plural exclusive?)); compare Iraqw -ni, Arabic ـنَا (-nā).

Pronunciation

(reconstructed) IPA^(key): /in/ → /in/ → /en/ → /en/

(modern Egyptological) IPA^(key): /ʔɛn/
- Conventional anglicization: .en

Pronoun

pl 1. suffix pronoun

we, us, our (see usage notes)

Usage notes

This form of pronoun attaches directly to the preceding word, and means different things depending on what it is attached to.

When attached to a noun, it indicates the possessor of the noun.
When attached to a verb of the suffix conjugation, it indicates the subject of the verb.
When attached to an infinitive verb (especially of an intransitive verb) whose subject is not otherwise expressed, it indicates the subject of the verb.
When attached to a transitive infinitive verb whose subject is otherwise expressed or omitted, it indicates the object of the verb.
In the third person, when attached to a prospective participle, it indicates gender and number agreement.
When attached to a particle like jw or a parenthetic like ḫr, it indicates the subject of the clause.
When attached to a preposition, it indicates the object of the preposition.
When it follows a relative adjective such as ntj or ntt, it indicates the subject of the relative clause (except in the first person singular and third person common).

Inflection

Old Egyptian personal pronouns

	number	first person	second person		third person
	number	first person	masculine	feminine	masculine	feminine
suffix pronouns	singular	∅, .j	.k, .kj¹	.ṯ, .ṯn	.f, .fj¹	.s, .sj¹
	dual	.nj	.ṯnj		.snj
	plural	.n	.ṯn		.sn

enclitic (‘dependent’) pronouns	singular	w, wj, wy	kw, k, ṯw, ṯ	ṯm, ṯn	sw, s	s
	dual	—	ṯnj		snj
	plural	n	ṯn		sn

stressed (‘independent’) pronouns	singular	jnk	ṯwt	ṯmt	swt	stt
	dual	—	—		ntsnj
	plural	—	ntṯn		ntsn, jntsn

stative (‘pseudoparticiple’) endings	singular	.kj, .k	.tj, .t		∅, .j	.tj, .t
	dual	—	.tjwn		.wy, .wj	.ty
	plural	.wn, .nw	.tjwn		∅, .w, .y, .wy	.tj, .t
Only when attached to a dual noun or prospective participle.

Middle Egyptian personal pronouns

	number	first person	second person		third person
	number	first person	masculine	feminine	masculine	feminine
suffix pronouns	singular	∅, .j	.k, .kj¹	.ṯ, .t	.f, .fj¹	.s, .sj¹
	dual²	.nj	.ṯnj, .tnj		.snj
	plural	.n	.ṯn, .tn		.sn, .w³

enclitic (‘dependent’) pronouns	singular	wj, w	ṯw, tw	ṯn, tn	sw, st	sj, s, st
enclitic (‘dependent’) pronouns	plural	n	ṯn, tn		sn, st

stressed (‘independent’) pronouns	singular	jnk	ntk, ṯwt²	ntṯ, ntt, ṯwt²	ntf, swt²	nts, swt²
stressed (‘independent’) pronouns	plural	jnn³	ntṯn, nttn		ntsn

stative (‘pseudoparticiple’) endings	singular	.kw	.tj, .t, .tw³		∅, .w	.tj, .t, .tw³
stative (‘pseudoparticiple’) endings	plural	.wn, .wjn	.tjwn, .tjwnj		∅, .w, .y

proclitic (‘subject form’) pronouns³	singular	tw.j	tw.k	tw.t	sw	sj, st
proclitic (‘subject form’) pronouns³	plural	tw.n	tw.tn		st
Only when attached to a dual noun or prospective participle. Only in formal texts, especially religious texts. Only in postclassical (Neo-Middle Egyptian) texts.

Late Egyptian personal pronouns

	number	first person	second person		third person
	number	first person	masculine	feminine	masculine	feminine
suffix pronouns	singular	∅, .j	.k, .kw	.t	.f, .fj	.s, .st, .sw
suffix pronouns	plural	.n	.tn, .twn		.w, .sn¹

enclitic (‘dependent’) pronouns¹	singular	wj	tw, tj		sw, st
enclitic (‘dependent’) pronouns¹	plural	n, wn	twn		sn, st

stressed (‘independent’) pronouns	singular	jnk	mntk, mtwk	mntt, mtwy	mntf	mntst, mntjst
stressed (‘independent’) pronouns	plural	jnn	mnttn		mntw

stative (‘pseudoparticiple’) endings¹	singular	.kw, .k	.tj, .tw		∅, .w, .y	.tj, .tw
	plural	.nw	.tn		∅, .w, .y
	unmarked (later)	∅, .tw

proclitic (‘subject form’) pronouns	singular	tw.j	tw.k	tw.t	sw	st, sw
proclitic (‘subject form’) pronouns	plural	tw.n	tw.tn		st, sw, swt
Only in formal texts, especially religious texts.

Alternative forms

Alternative hieroglyphic writings of .n

.n

[Late Egyptian]

In Late Egyptian, the presence of this pronoun results in the retention of final -t when the word it is attached to ends in this consonant; this is as a rule expressed by adding

before the pronoun to indicate the retained -t.

Etymology 2

Most likely grammaticalized from the preposition n (“to, for”).

Pronunciation

(modern Egyptological) IPA^(key): /ʔɛn/
- Conventional anglicization: .en

Suffix

(Old Egyptian, Middle Egyptian) Forms the perfect of all verbs.
(Old Egyptian, Middle Egyptian) Forms the perfect relative form of all verbs.
(Late Egyptian) Optionally marks the preterite of all verbs.
(Late Egyptian) Optionally marks the perfective active relative form of all verbs.

Alternative forms

Alternative hieroglyphic writings of .n

.n

References

James P[eter] Allen (2010) Middle Egyptian: An Introduction to the Language and Culture of Hieroglyphs, 2nd edition, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, pages 50, 227.
Junge, Friedrich (2005) Late Egyptian Grammar: An Introduction, second English edition, Oxford: Griffith Institute, pages 52, 66
Werning, Daniel A. (2008) “Aspect vs. Relative Tense, and the Typological Classification of the Ancient Egyptian sḏm.n⸗f” in Lingua Aegyptia 16, pages 261–292

Loprieno, Antonio (1995) Ancient Egyptian: A Linguistic Introduction, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 64

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[Loprieno-1] Loprieno, Antonio (1995) Ancient Egyptian: A Linguistic Introduction, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 64