1) Triliteral signs

Triliteral signs are signs that present the phonetic value of 3 consonants. Even more than was the case with biliteral signs, the distinction between phonogram and ideogram is rather vague for the triliterals. The following list provides an overview of the most common signs.

anx aHa wAs wAD bnr

mAa nfr nTr nDm HqA

Htp xpr xrw sxm sDm

As was the case with biliteral signs, triliteral signs can be accompanied by one or two uniliteral signs as phonetic complements. The phonetic complement either repeats the last or the last two consonants of the triliteral sign: reads aHa, "to arise", and not aHaa , with the last a being used as phonetic complement ; reads anx, "to live, life" and not anxnx. In some more exceptional cases, all three consonants can be repeated. The triliteral signs can, like the biliterals, be used without any phonetic complement.
Biliteral signs are normally not used as phonetic complements for triliteral signs. Note however the group   mAa that combines the biliteral sign   mA with the triliteral   mAa.

2) Special cases and peculiar writings

a) Abbreviations

It has already been mentioned that phonetic complements are optional and that some words may be written with phonetic or ideographic signs only. Some of the most common words, stereotyped phrases and formulae are often also abbreviated. These are some of the most frequently used abbreviations:

• is an abbreviation for anx wDA snb, "may he live, prosper and be healthy". It is used after words referring to anything royal, including the king and his name. This phrase was so stereotype that it was reduced to three vertical lines in hieratic writings and later to just a number of vertical lines.
• or , fuller writing is read mAa-xrw and literally means "true of voice", although it is also translated as "justified". It is an epithet that was added to the names of the deceased. It refers to the fact that the deceased has passed the judgement and is allowed to enjoy the afterlife.
• was used as an abbreviation for , nsw, "King (of Upper Egypt)". The full writing of this word itself is a special cases and will be explained in the next paragraph.
• is read nsw-bi.ty and is usually translated as "the King of Upper and Lower Egypt". It was part of the royal titulary that will be elaborated in the next lesson.
• is used as abbreviation for kA nxt , "victorious bull", often used to refer to the king.

In addition to these abbreviations, it must also be reminded that words can be written using ideograms only. E.g. the sign can be used for ra, "sun" and for ra, "Re", the solar god.

b) Transpositions of signs and words

The normal order of signs as explained in Lesson I, can be changed, either for graphic or for honorific reasons. Transposition of signs for graphic reasons was led mostly by a concern to use the available space as much as possible.
Small signs may be placed under the breast of a sign representing a bird, even when the latter sign needs to be read first. The group can thus be read tw and wt, depending on the context.
Long narrow signs are usually written before a sign representing a bird, where the normal sign-order would expect them to follow. Thus we find for wD.

More drastic are the transpositions with honorific intent, which could not only change the order of single signs, but also of words and entire phrases. Words referring to the king or to the gods are often written before other words to which they are closely connected. For instance, the sign-group , meaning "scribe of the king" must be read sS-nsw and not nsw-sS. The plant, used as an abbreviation for the word "king" is placed before the sign sS, "scribe" because the king was more important than his scribes.
For the same reason the sign meaning "god" is written before the sign meaning "servant" in Hm-nTr, "servant of god", "priest".
The names of gods may be moved to the front of phrases, even if, grammatically, they belong at the end. Thus needs to be read mry imn, "beloved of Amun". Any honorific titles added to the name of a god, are moved to the front as well: mry imn, nb ns.wt tA.wj, "beloved of Amun, Lord of the Thrones of the Two Lands".