rḫ

See also: Rh, RH, and rh

Egyptian

Pronunciation

• (modern Egyptological) IPA^(key): /rɛx/
  • Conventional anglicization: rekh

Verb

 2-lit.

1. (transitive) to learn, to come to know or experience
2. (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.

3. (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.

4. (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 forms

Alternative hieroglyphic writings of rḫ  

rḫ	rḫ

Antonyms

• ḫm

Derived terms

• srḫ

Descendants

• Demotic: rḫ
  • Bohairic Coptic: ⲣⲱϣ (rōš)

Noun

 m

1. knowledge

Noun

 m

1. 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