Egyptian
Pronunciation
Verb
2-lit.
- (transitive) to learn, to come to know or experience
- (transitive, in the stative or perfect) to know (something)
c. 1900 BCE,
The Instructions of Kagemni (
pPrisse/pBN 183) line 2.2:
- nj rḫ.n.tw ḫprt jrrt nṯr ḫft ḫsf.f
- One cannot know what might come to be or what the god might do when he punishes.
- (transitive, in the stative or perfect) to be acquainted or familiar with (someone)
c. 2000 BCE – 1900 BCE,
Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor (pHermitage/pPetersburg 1115) lines 119–121:
- jw dpt r jjt m ẖnw sqdw jm.s rḫ.n.k
- A boat is to come from home with sailors in it whom you know.
- (catenative, in the stative or perfect, with a verb in the infinitive) to know how to, to be able to
Usage notes
Unlike other transitive verbs, the stative of rḫ has an active meaning rather than a passive one and can have a direct object denoting what is known. When this direct object is a personal pronoun, it appears in enclitic (dependent) form.
Inflection
Conjugation of rḫ (biliteral / 2-lit. / 2rad.) — base stem: rḫ, geminated stem: rḫḫ
| infinitival forms
|
imperative
|
| infinitive
|
negatival complement
|
complementary infinitive1
|
singular
|
plural
|
rḫ
|
rḫw, rḫ
|
rḫt
|
rḫ, j.rḫ
|
rḫ, j.rḫ
|
| ‘pseudoverbal’ forms
|
| stative stem
|
periphrastic imperfective2
|
periphrastic prospective2
|
rḫ
|
ḥr rḫ
|
m rḫ
|
r rḫ
|
| suffix conjugation
|
| aspect / mood
|
active
|
passive
|
contingent
|
| aspect / mood
|
active
|
passive
|
| perfect
|
rḫ.n
|
rḫw, rḫ
|
consecutive
|
rḫ.jn
|
active + .tj1, .tw2
|
active + .tj1, .tw2
|
| terminative
|
rḫt
|
| perfective3
|
rḫ
|
active + .tj1, .tw2
|
obligative1
|
rḫ.ḫr
|
active + .tj1, .tw2
|
| imperfective
|
rḫ, j.rḫ1
|
active + .tj1, .tw2
|
| prospective3
|
rḫ
|
rḫḫ
|
potentialis1
|
rḫ.kꜣ
|
active + .tj1, .tw2
|
active + .tj1, .tw2
|
| subjunctive
|
rḫ, j.rḫ1
|
active + .tj1, .tw2
|
| verbal adjectives
|
| aspect / mood
|
relative (incl. nominal / emphatic) forms
|
participles
|
| active
|
passive
|
active
|
passive
|
| perfect
|
rḫ.n
|
active + .tj1, .tw2
|
—
|
—
|
| perfective
|
rḫ
|
active + .tj1, .tw2
|
rḫ
|
rḫḫ, rḫḫj6, rḫ2, rḫw2 5, rḫy2 5
|
| imperfective
|
j.rḫ1, rḫ, rḫy, rḫw5
|
active + .tj1, .tw2
|
j.rḫ1, j.rḫw1 5, rḫ, rḫj6, rḫy6
|
rḫ, rḫw5
|
| prospective
|
rḫ, rḫtj7
|
—
|
rḫtj4, rḫt4
|
1 Used in Old Egyptian; archaic by Middle Egyptian.
2 Used mostly since Middle Egyptian.
3 Archaic or greatly restricted in usage by Middle Egyptian. The perfect has mostly taken over the functions of the perfective, and the subjunctive and periphrastic prospective have mostly replaced the prospective.
4 Declines using third-person suffix pronouns instead of adjectival endings: masculine .f/.fj, feminine .s/.sj, dual .sn/.snj, plural .sn.
5 Only in the masculine singular.
6 Only in the masculine.
7 Only in the feminine.
|
Alternative hieroglyphic writings of rḫ
Antonyms
Derived terms
Descendants
- Demotic: rḫ
- Bohairic Coptic: ⲣⲱϣ (rōš)
Noun
m
- knowledge
Noun
m
- knowledgeable or wise man, scholar, often seen as living according to Maat (virtue/truth/cosmic order)
- Antonym: wḫꜣ
Inflection
Declension of rḫ (masculine)
| singular
|
rḫ
|
| dual
|
rḫwj
|
| plural
|
rḫw
|
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 171, 192, 211, 263.
- Hoch, James (1997) Middle Egyptian Grammar, Mississauga: Benben Publications, →ISBN, pages 68, 128