Tenaspi 8nrem8n<hmi
Our Coptic (Egyptian) language
References
1. 2012 ‫مسابقات مھرجان الكرازة‬
2. (ISBN 977-241-162-2) 2003 ‫"قواعد اللغة القبطية – الجزء األول" دير القديس أنبا مقار برية شيھيت‬
3. “The Divine Liturgy: The Anaphoras of Saints Basil, Gregory and Cyril” (Coptic
Euchologion) Second Edition, November 2007. (ISBN 977-17-5865-9)
4. “Holy Pascha Order of Holy Week Services in the Coptic Orthodox Church”, Coptic
Orthodox Church of Saint Mark, Jersey City, NJ, First Edition 2004 (ISBN 0-9709685-2-3)
5. “Psalterium in Dialectum Copticae linguae Memphiticam translatum (1843)”,
Moritz Gotthilf Schwartze, ISBN-10: 1166180611
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Table of Contents
REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................................................................. 1
TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................................................................................. 2
LESSON (1) THE COPTIC ALPHABET .................................................................................................................................. 3
LESSON (2) DEFINITE AND INDEFINITE ARTICLES ..................................................................................................... 11
LESSON (3) THE PREPOSITION ‘OF’ .................................................................................................................................. 14
LESSON (4) PERSONAL PRONOUNS AND POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES ...................................................................... 15
LESSON (5) DEMONSTRATIVE ADJECTIVES AND PRONOUNS .................. ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
PROXIMAL DEMONSTRATIVES IN COPTIC: ........................................................................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
DISTAL DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS IN COPTIC: ................................................................ ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
LESSON (6) THE SIMPLE PAST TENSE .............................................................. ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
LESSON (7) THE SIMPLE PRESENT AND FUTURE TENSES.......................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
LESSON (8) THE OBJECT........................................................................................ ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
LESSON (9) ADJECTIVES OF QUALITY.............................................................. ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
LESSON (10) THE CONJUGATION OF SOME PREPOSITIONS ...................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
LESSON (11) POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS................................................................ ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
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Lesson (1) The Coptic Alphabet
Learn the Coptic letters and their sounds by learning as many of the corresponding words
as you can.
The legend of the table:
p: A masculine noun, t: A feminine noun, n: A plural noun, v: a verb
Letter
1
Aa
Name
Alpha
Sound
A
Example
Ajp (t)
Asai (v)
Amhn
Axo (p)
Laos (p)
Las (p)
Kas (p)
Bal (p)
Baki (p)
V if it precedes a
Basanos (p)
vowel
Kibotos (t)
Bai (p)
Bwk (p)
2
3
Bb
Gg
Beta
Gamma
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B otherwise
Anzhb (t)
Lwbs (p)
4hbs (p)
Twbx (v)
Noub (p)
Hebsw (p)
0wbs (p)
G if it precedes
the vowels e, h,
i, u
Agios (p)
Genesis (t)
Genos (p)
Gh (t)
Meaning
Hour
Increase - multipy
Amen
Treasure
People
Tongue
Pen
Eye
City
Torture
Ark (of covenant)
Palm branch
Slave
School
Interpretation
Lantern
Ask
Gold
Garment
Arm
Holy
Genesis (Book)
Race
Earth
3
Letter
Name
Sound
Dd
N if it precedes
the letters g, k,
,, x
‫ غ‬otherwise
Agaph (t)
Argos (p)
Tagma (p)
Gar
Agacos (p)
Logos (p)
Hermit
Hermitism
trumpet
Angel
Kin
Bible
Love
Lazy
Order (rank)
Because
Good
Word (Son of God)
Dauid
"almodia (t)
Ioudas
Danihl
David
Psalmody
Judas
Daniel
Th (like in the)
otherwise
Dipnon (p)
Demwn (p)
Dunatos (p)
Doxa (t)
Supper
Demon
Courage
Glory (Greek)
Day
Night
Ever
Sleep
Oil
Fit (be fit)
Heaven
6 pens
Delta
5
Ee
E
E
Exoou (p)
Ejwrx (p)
Enex (p)
Enkot (p)
Nex (p)
Er8prepi (v)
Ve (t)
6
^
So’ou
So’ou means six
^ 8nkas
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Meaning
Egkraths (p)
Egkratia (t)
Calpiggos (p)
Aggelos (p)
Cuggenis (p,t)
Euaggelion (p)
D in names
4
Example
4
Letter
7
8
9
10
11
Zz
Yh
:c
Ii
Kk
Name
Zeta
Eta
Sound
Kappa
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Meaning
Z
Zwnh (t)
Zwh (t)
Lazaros
Trapeza (t)
belt
Life
Lazarus
Table
Double I (ii)
0hri (p)
Yi (p)
You (n)
Hht (p)
Rh+ (p)
4hbs (p)
T if it is
preceded with s
or s
Ccoi (p)
0cam (v)
0com (p)
Ccerter (v)
0cex (p)
Th (like in
through)
otherwise
:ebio (p)
:ronos (p)
:eos
:elhl (v)
:axem (v)
:mhi (p)
I
Ierosalhm
Ihsous
Taio (p)
Nis+ (p)
Iom (p)
K
Kouji (p)
Kacaros
Jwkem (v)
Khtos (p)
Ekklhsia (t)
Son
House
Houses
Heart
Situation
Lantern
Smell
Close
Gate
Fear
Street
Humbleness
Throne (Greek)
God (Greek)
Rejoice
Call
Pious
Jerusalem
Jesus
Dignity
Great
Sea
Small
Pure
Bath
Whale
Church
Theta
Iota
Example
5
Letter
12
13
14
Ll
Mm
Nn
Name
Lavla
Mi
Ni
Sound
Sleep
L
Alou (p)
Las (p)
Molx (p)
Laos (p)
Ioulios
Lwm (p)
M
Mwit (p)
Lampas (p)
Moumi (t)
Mbon (v)
N
Nexsi (v)
Nex (p)
Noub (p)
Nous (p)
Nai (v)
Ouwini (p)
Boy
Tongue
Candle
People
Julius
Piece of bread
Way
Lamp
Spring (of water)
Anger
Wake up
Oil
Gold
Mind
Have mercy
Light
Scale (ruler)
Orthodox
Acts (of the Apostles)
Body
Brother
Door
King
Strength
Candle
3x
Xi
X
16
Oo
O
O
Pp
Pi
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Meaning
Enkot (v)
15
17
Example
P
3omh (t)
Orcodoxos (p)
Praxis (p)
Carx (t)
Con (p)
Ro (p)
Ouro (p)
Jom (p)
Molx (p)
Ajpia (t)
Petra (t)
Pistos (p)
Kap (p)
The Agpia
Rock (Greek)
Believer
String (of a musical instrument)
6
Letter
18
19
Rr
Cs
Name
Ro
Sima
20
Tt
Tav
21
Uu
Epsilon
Sound
R
S
Vv
Fi
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Ph
Meaning
Parcenos (t)
Virgin
Ro (p)
Rwmi (p)
Cwthr (p)
Cwrem (v)
Rasi (v)
<rwm (p)
Cmh (t)
Cini (v)
Hws (p)
Cmou (v)
Door
Man
Savior
Jwit (p)
Tenx (p)
Avot (p)
T
Thb (p)
Tots (p)
Ctauros (p)
V if it is
Pneuma (p)
preceded by a or
Aulhou (n)
e
Mau (t)
0ourh (t)
Ouwn (v)
‘Ou’ if it is
preceded with o Ouws (v)
Mounxwou (p)
I otherwise
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Example
Vulh (t)
Kumillion (p)
Marturos (p)
Kucara (t)
Kurios (p)
Mwou (p)
Vwrs (v)
Lose the way – go astray
Be happy
Fire
Voice
Cross (the street)
Praise
Bless
Olive
Wing
Cup
Finger
Chair
Cross
Spirit (Greek)
Courts
Mother
Censor
Open
Want
Rain
Tribe
Container
Martyr
Harp
Lord (Greek)
Water
Spread – unfold
7
Letter
Name
Sound
Example
Ve (t)
Vhou8i (n)
Vasi (v)
Vaqri (p)
Avot (p)
Vwq (v)
23
<,
Ki
In Coptic words
always K
<aki (p)
<rwm (p)
<lom (p)
<ro (p)
<hmi
<wp (v)
Heaven
Heavens
Half
Medicine
Cup
Tear
Darkness
Fire
Crown
Beach
Egypt
Hide
In Greek words
sounds like sh if
it precedes one
of the vowels e,
i, h or u
<eroubim (n)
<ere
Is,uros
<iwn (p)
Cherubim
Hail
Strong (Greek)
Snow
<rhstos (p)
(Pi),ristos
Lu,nia (t)
<arisma (p)
<oros (p)
"almos (p)
"althrion (p)
"u,h (p)
:lu2is (t)
Good (Greek)
Christ
Lampstand
Grace
Choir
Psalm
Psalter
Soul
Hardship
Glory
Life
Lover of Mankind
Depth
Read
Lesson
‫ خ‬otherwise
24
25
"2
Ww
Psi
W
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Meaning
Ps
W
Wou (p)
Wnq (p)
Mairwmi (p)
0wk (p)
Ws (v)
Ws (p)
8
Letter
26
27
28
29
30
0s
Ff
4q
Hx
Jj
Name
Shai
Sound
Sh
Example
Wp (v)
0vhri (t)
0ousou (p)
Ouwst (v)
0asni (v)
0w (p)
0afe (p)
F
Fai (v)
Chfi (t)
Nofri 0ai
Fwi (p)
0afe (p)
‫خ‬
4omqem (v)
Vaqri (p)
Tanqo (v)
4otqet (v)
4isi (v)
4re (t)
Hori
H
Hemsi (v)
Hiomi (n)
Hmou (p)
Hht (p)
Hisenoufi (v)
Iox (p)
Janja
J if it precedes
one of the
vowels e, i, h or
u
Fai
Khai
G otherwise
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Caji (v)
Jem+pi
Jebs (p)
Jij (t)
Jom (t)
Jwm
Jwri
Meaning
Count
Miracle
Pride
Bow down (worship)
Win – Earn
Sand
Desert
Carry – Lift
Sword
Happy Feast
Hair
Desert
Ruin - destroy
Medication
Give life
Test - examine
Get tired
Food
Sit
Women
Salt
Heart
Preach
Moon
Talk
Taste
Charcoal
Hand
Strength
Book
Strong
9
Letter
31
32
q[
}+
Name
Tshima
Ti
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Sound
Tsh
Ti
Example
Jamh (t)
Jwr (v)
qi (v)
qrompi (t)
qisi (v)
qiwms (v)
qois (p, t)
Hw+ (v)
}xo 8e (v)
Nom+ (t)
}ma+ (p)
}aso 8e (v)
Nax+ (v)
Nou+ (p)
Meaning
Calmness
Split Take
Pigeon
Raise - lift
Be baptized
Lord
Ought to - should
ask
Condolence
be pleased with
spare
Believe
God
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Lesson (2) Definite and Indefinite Articles
The articles are words that combine with a noun to indicate the degree of
definiteness (specificity) of the noun. The articles in English include the definite article the
and the indefinite articles a and an. The use of the definite article indicates that the speaker
assumes the listener knows the identity of the noun. The use of an indefinite article
indicates that the speaker assumes the listener does not know the identity of the noun.
In Coptic, there are two indefinite articles, ou for singular nouns (the equivalent of
‘a’ or ‘an’) and xan for plural nouns (doesn’t have an equivalent in English. For example,
the plural of ‘a boy’ is just ‘boys’ without an article). Unlike English, ou and xan are not
separated from the nouns but rather attached to its beginning.
Definite articles on the other hand, have three kinds: singular masculine, singular
feminine and plural.
1. Singular masculine: There is a general definite article that can be used with all
singular masculine nouns. This article is pi (pi). In addition to that, all the singular
masculine nouns that start with one of the letters b, i, l, m, n, o, r can also have the
definite article 8v (ef). All the singular masculine nouns that DO NOT start with one
of the letters b, i, l, m, n, o, r can also have the definite article 8p (ep).
2. Singular feminine: There is a general definite article that can be used with all
singular feminine nouns. This article is +. In addition to that, all the singular
feminine nouns that start with one of the letters b, i, l, m, n, o, r can also have the
definite article 8c. All the singular feminine nouns that DO NOT start with one of the
letters b, i, l, m, n, o, r can also have the definite article 8t.
3. Plural: The definite article for plural nouns is ni. There is another article which is
nen, the use of which will be explained when we learn the prepositions n
8 te, n
8 and
8m which are the Coptic equivalent of the preposition ‘of’.
These rules are summarized in the following table.
Singular
Singular
Plural
Explanation
masculine
feminine
General definite articles
pi
+
ni
Articles used with nouns that start with
8v
8c
one of the letters b, i, l, m, n, o, r
Articles used with nouns that do not
8p
8t
start with one of the letters b, i, l, m,
n, o, r
Used with the preposition ‘of’.
nen
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Study the following examples. Can you tell the gender of each noun from the definite
article? Why do some masculine nouns take the article 8v and some others take 8p?
Similarly, why do some feminine nouns take the article 8c and some others take 8t?
Indefinite Singular
Indefinite Plural
1
ouseri
a daughter
xanseri
daughters
2
oushri
a son
xanshri
sons
3
ouswni
a sister
xanswni
sisters
4
ouson
a brother
xan8snhou
brothers
5
oumau
a mother
xanmau
mothers
6
ouiwt
a father
xanio+
fathers
7
ouran
a name
xanran
names
8
ouve
a heaven
xanvhou8i
heaven
9
Ou8sximi
a woman
xanxiomi
women
10
oubaki
a city
xanbaki
cities
11
ouiaro
a river
xaniarwou
rivers
Definite Singular
+seri
the daughter
8tseri
pishri
the son
8pshri
+swni
the sister
8tswni
pison
the brother
8pson
+mau
the mother
8cmau
piiwt
the father
8viwt
piran
the name
8vran
+ve
the heaven
8tve
+8sximi
the woman
8t8sximi
+baki
the city
8cbaki
piiaro
the river
8viaro
Definite Plural
niseri
the
daughters
nishri
the sons
niswni
the sisters
ni8snhou
the brothers
nimau
the mothers
niio+
the fathers
niran
the names
nivhou8i
the heavens
nixiomi
the women
nibaki
the cities
niiarwou
the rivers
Observe from the table the way the plural is obtained from the singular. The rule in Coptic
is that the plural is obtained simply by replacing the singular article with the plural article
(+seri → niseri). However, there are some exceptions in which the form of the noun
itself changes in the plural (iwt → io+, etc …). The following list contains the popular
exceptions that are commonly used in the Coptic liturgies and prayer books.
The noun
Its meaning
Its plural
The house – the home Nihou
1
8phi
The father
2
8viwt
Niio+
The brother
3
8pson
Ni8snhou
The slave
4
8vbwk
Ni8ebiaik
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The heaven
5
8tve
Nivhou8i
The head
6
8t8ave
Ni8avhou8i
The woman
7
+8sximi
Nixiomi
The river
8
8viaro
Niiarwou
The king
9
8pouro
Niourwou
The boy
10
Pialou
Nialwou8i
The bird
11
Pixalht
Nixala+
The beloved one
12
Pimenrit
Nimenra+
The elder
13
Piqello
Niqelloi
The sea
14
8viom
Niamaiou
The work
15
Pixwb
Ni8xbhou8i
The foot
16
+[aloj
Ni[alauj
The desert
17
8psafe
Nisafeu
Practice using the articles with the nouns in the table of lesson (1).
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Lesson (3) The Preposition ‘Of’
In English, the preposition ‘of’ comes between two nouns to indicate possession of the
second to the first. For example, “the book of Mark” → Mark owns the book, or “the house
of the man” → the man owns the house. There are also other uses of the preposition ‘of’
like expressing the so-called ‘objective genitive’ such as “the love of God” (God doesn’t
own the love. He is actually the loved one not the lover in this context) or expressing
quality or quantity “A man of action”, “a woman of considerable knowledge” and “a speed
of 40 mph”. In Coptic, 8nte serves the same function of ‘of’ in English. It is not attached to
either the noun before it or after it. Check examples 1 to 4 in the table below.
Further details:
1. n
8 te can be shortened to 8n and attached to the beginning of the second noun as in
examples 5 to 7 in the table below.
2. In front of nouns that start with one of the letters b, m, p, v and 2, n
8 is converted to
8m as in examples 8 to 12 below.
3. If the first noun is plural definite and 8n or 8m are used as the preposition instead of
8nte, the definite article of the first noun is changed from ni to nen as in examples 13
to 15 in the table below.
Study the following examples:
The house of the angels (from the verses of cymbals)
1
8phi 8nte niaggelos
2
8p[ois 8nte nijom
The Lord of the powers (from the ainax+ ecbe vai psali)
The book of Mark
3
pijwm 8nte Mark
The crown (beginning) of the year
4
Pi,lom 8nte +rompi
The mother of Jesus
5
8cmau 8nIhsous
The daughter of Zion
6
8tseri 8nCiwn
The head of John
7
8t8ave 8nIwannhs
The son of God
8
8pshri 8mVnou+
The name of the Father
9
8vran 8m8viwt
The book of Petros
10 8pjwm 8mPetros
The Father of our Lord
11 Viwt 8mPen[ois
The feast of the Cross.
12 Pisai 8mpi8stauros
The sons of Israel
13 Nenshri 8mpiIsrahl
The men of God
14 Nenrwmi 8mVnou+
The book of the church.
15 Nenjwm 8n+ekklhsia
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Lesson (4) Personal Pronouns and Possessive Adjectives
1.
Personal Prononuns:
The following table displays the personal pronoun in the Coptic language when they come
as subjects. The last column also shows the conjugation of the verb ‘be’. The only
difference in the conjugation is whether the subject is singular masculine (pe), singular
feminine (te) or plural (ne). The first person singular (I) can take either pe or te according
to the gender of the speaker.
Pronoun The verb ‘be’
I
Anok
pe or te
First
person We
Anon
ne
You (masculine singular) 8ncok
pe
Second You (feminine singular)
8nco
te
person
You (Plural)
8ncwten
ne
He
8ncof
pe
Third
She
8ncos
te
person
They
8ncwou
ne
There is no equivalent of the pronoun ‘it’ in Coptic. ‘it’ is translated as either 8ncof or
8ncos. Study the following examples. Note that when the object is indefinite as in 6, 7 and
9, the verb ‘be’ comes at the end of the sentence.
1
2
Anok pe 8vouwini 8mpikosmos.
Ncok pe Pi,ristos 8pshri 8mVnou+.
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Nco te +souri 8nnoub.
Ncof pe pirh 8nte +dikeosunh.
Ncos te 8cmau 8nIhsous.
Anon xan8snhou ne.
Ncwten xanio+ ne.
Ncwou ne niqelloi 8nte 8psafe.
Ncos ouref+8sbw te.
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I am the light of the world. (John 8:12)
You are the Christ, the Son of God (John
11:27)
You are the golden censor (hymn)
He is the sun of righteousness.
She is the mother of Jesus.
We are brothers.
You are fathers.
They are the elders of the desert.
She is a teacher.
15
2.
Possessive Adjectives:
Next, we learn about the possessive adjectives. Possessive adjectives in English do not
reflect the gender or the plurality of the noun. They only describe who owns. For example,
the adjective ‘my’ remains the same if one says ‘my book’ or ‘my books’. It only tells that
the owner is the first person singular ‘I’. In Coptic on the other hand, possessive adjectives
consist of two parts. The first part is one of the letters p, t or n to tell whether the noun
they describe is singular masculine, singular feminine or plural. The second part explains
who possesses. Take peniwt (our father) for example. pen means ‘our’. The p is used
because the noun iwt (father) is singular masculine and en signifies that the possessor is
the first person plural (we). Another difference between Coptic and English possessive
adjectives is the in Coptic, they are attached to the noun they, not separate like English.
The following table summarizes all the possessive adjectives.
First
person
Second
person
My
Our
Your
(singular
masculine)
Your
(singular
feminine)
Your
(Plural)
His
Third
person
Her
Their
Masculine
Paiwt
My father
Peniwt
Our father
Feminine
Taswni
My sister
Tenswni
Our sister
Nenkas Our pens
Pekiwt
Tekswni
Nekkas
Peiwt
Your
father
Peteniwt
Pefiwt
Pesiwt
Pouiwt
Your sister
His father
Her father
Their
father
Tefswni
Tesswni
His sister
Her sister
Touswni
Their sister
2
4
6
8
10
12
Nekas
Your pens
Netenk
as
Tetenswni
Here are some other examples:
My God
1 Panou+
Our Lord
3 Pen[ois
Your head
5 Tek8ave
Her hands
7 Nesjij
His eyes
9 Nefbal
Your glory
11 Pekwou
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Teswni
Plural
Nakas My pens
Toumau
Pououro
Na8snhou
Penlas
Netenran
Tesuggenhs
Nefkas His pens
Neskas Her pens
Their pens
Noukas
Their mother
Their king
My brothers
Our tongue
Your names
Your relative
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