nfrt

Egyptian

Pronunciation

 

• (reconstructed) IPA^(key): /ˈnafɾat/ → /ˈnafɾaʔ/ → /ˈnafɾa/ → /ˈnafɾə/

• (Old Egyptian, c. 2350 BCE) IPA^(key): /ˈnafɾat/
• (Middle Egyptian, c. 1700 BCE) IPA^(key): /ˈnafɾaʔ/
• (Amarna-period Late Egyptian, c. 1350 BCE) IPA^(key): /ˈnafɾa/
• (Late Egyptian, c. 800 BCE) IPA^(key): /ˈnafɾə/

• (modern Egyptological) IPA^(key): /nɛfɛrɛt/
  • Conventional anglicization: neferet

Adjective

 f

1. feminine singular of nfr
   • 12th Dynasty, coffin of Nakhtankh, British Museum EA 35285:

     […] qrst nfrt m jz.f nfr n ẖrt-nṯr […]

     […] a good burial in his wonderful tomb of the necropolis […]

Noun

 f

1. something pleasing, beautiful, or good; good thing, fine thing
   • c. 2000 BCE – 1900 BCE, Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor (pHermitage/pPetersburg 1115) lines 115–116:

     nn ntt nn st m ẖnw.f jw.f mḥ(.w) ẖr nfrwt nbt

     There isn’t a thing that isn’t inside it, and it is full of all fine things.

   • c. 1900 BCE, The Instructions of Kagemni (pPrisse/pBN 183) line 1.6:

     jw nfrt jdn bw nfr jw nh(j) n(j) ktt jdn wr

     For a good thing serves for goodness, for a bit of a little thing serves for a big thing.

Inflection

Declension of nfrt (feminine)

singular	nfrt
dual	nfrtj
plural	nfrwt

Alternative forms

Alternative hieroglyphic writings of nfrt  

nfrt	nfrt	nfrt
		[Old Kingdom]

Descendants

• Akhmimic Coptic: ⲛⲟϥⲣⲉ (nofre)
• Bohairic Coptic: ⲛⲟϥⲣⲓ (nofri)
• Sahidic Coptic: ⲛⲟϥⲣⲉ (nofre)

Noun

 f

1. beautiful, fine, or good woman
2. epithet for various goddesses
3. maiden, lass; nubile or marriageable young woman

Inflection

Declension of nfrt (feminine)

singular	nfrt
dual	nfrtj
plural	nfrwt

Alternative forms

Alternative hieroglyphic writings of nfrt  

nfrt	nfrt	nfrt	nfrt	nfrt
		[Old Kingdom]	[New Kingdom]	[Greco-Roman Period]

Derived terms

• nfrt-jꜣbt
• nfrt-jj.tj
• nfrt-jrj
• nfrt-ḥnwt
• nfrt-kꜣw

Proper noun

 f

1. a female given name, Nofret

Alternative forms

Alternative hieroglyphic writings of nfrt  

nfrt	nfrt

References

• “nfr.t (lemma ID 83680)”, “nfr.t (lemma ID 83660)”, and “nfr.t (lemma ID 83670)”, in Thesaurus Linguae Aegyptiae‎^[1], Corpus issue 20, Web app version 2.5.0, ed. by Tonio Sebastian Richter & Daniel A. Werning […] and Hans-Werner Fischer-Elfert & Peter Dils […], 2004–23 April 2026
• Erman, Adolf; Grapow, Hermann (1928), Wörterbuch der ägyptischen Sprache‎^[2], volume 2, Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, →ISBN, pages 258.4–258.10, 259.3–259.9
• Faulkner, Raymond Oliver (1962), A Concise Dictionary of Middle Egyptian, Oxford: Griffith Institute, →ISBN, pages 131–132
• Ranke, Hermann (1935), Die ägyptischen Personennamen‎^[3], volume 1, Glückstadt: Verlag von J. J. Augustin, page 201.10
• Hoch, James (1997), Middle Egyptian Grammar, Mississauga: Benben Publications, →ISBN, page 42