VI. Demotic Determinatives
Determinatives are an integral part of the Egyptian language as already alluded to and can be found at the end of an Egyptian word. They serve the purpose to outline the general idea of a word and can also be understood as separating words. For example, the plant determinative can be used for an actual noun designating a plant, but also for verbs like 'to grow' which describe the 'action' of a plant or also a name that has etymological relations to a plant. The following overview of basic determinatives in Demotic and their hieroglyphic equivalents has been taken from Johnson's Introductory Grammar (page 5).
It can be seen that the Demotic signs are very simplified versions of their hieroglyphic predecessors. As Johnson does not give an interpretation of the hieroglyphic equivalents, they are explained here, from left to right:
First, left: divine determinative, showing the Horus falcon on a standard
Second, left: house determinative with an additional vertical stroke, showing a floor plan of a house
Third, left: book roll determinative
Fourth, left: place determinative with an additional vertical stroke, showing a crossing of a town as seen from bird's eye view
Fifth, left: determinative of man touching his mouth
Sixth, left: plural determinative
Seventh, left: determinative of the bad bird (probably a sparrow) or determinative of the dying warrior (both with negative connotation)
Eighth, left: canal determinative, showing a combination of the canal sign, piece of land and a vertical stroke
First, right: determinative of the phallus
Second, right: determinative of the sitting man
Third, right: flesh determinative
Fourth, right: determinative of the walking legs
Fifth, right: vessel determinative
Sixth, right: plant determinative
Seventh, right: determinative of the striking arm