Representing a building with no precise identification, sometimes called a courtyard, but possibly a plan of a rudimentary or temporary house, with an L-shaped corridor affording privacy for the interior. Old Kingdom forms generally show the sign taller than it is wide, but in later times it could vary greatly in proportions to fit the space available. This glyph was conventionally colored blue or black, likely representing mud brick, with the interior spaces filled in with white. Compare the Chinese character 广. The phonogrammatic value of h is derived by the rebus principle from its use as a logogram for h(“courtyard?”).
Gardiner, Alan (1957) Egyptian Grammar: Being an Introduction to the Study of Hieroglyphs, third edition, Oxford: Griffith Institute, →ISBN, page 493
Henry George Fischer (1988) Ancient Egyptian Calligraphy: A Beginner’s Guide to Writing Hieroglyphs, New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, →ISBN, page 11
Betrò, Maria Carmela (1995) Geroglifici: 580 Segni per Capire l'Antico Egitto, Milan: Arnoldo Mondadori Editore S.p.A., →ISBN
Peust, Carsten (1999) Egyptian Phonology: An Introduction to the Phonology of a Dead Language[1], Göttingen: Peust und Gutschmidt Verlag GbR, page 48
