Nov 24, 2025 23:30:00

Here's how 'Hello World' is expressed in hieroglyphics:

Web developer Brian Suda talks about his experience working with Egyptology experts and museums to realize the idea of 'What would happen if we expressed the classic 'Hello World' first in programming as 'ancient Egyptian

hieroglyphs ?'

(optional.is) Welcome, the entire land
https://optional.is/required/2009/12/03/welcome-the-entire-land/

When Suda attended a web conference in the UK, he was talking with friends about an Egyptian exhibition at a British museum, and he came up with the idea of a T-shirt with the words 'Hello World' written in hieroglyphics.

However, there was a big problem with the idea of 'translating 'Hello World' into hieroglyphics.' It is believed that the letter 'L' did not exist in Ancient Egyptian. Also, even when translating the meaning, both 'Hello' and 'World' are difficult to directly translate into hieroglyphics.

So Suda contacted Egyptology experts and museums to ask them to translate 'Hello World' into hieroglyphics. If it was difficult to translate 'Hello World' directly, they also considered replacing it with 'Greetings Earth' or 'Greetings From

RA .'

The translation results in a hieroglyphic equivalent of 'Hello World': 'Welcome, the entire land,' a warm greeting rooted in ancient cultures.

Below is a pictograph of 'Welcome, the entire land'.

This hieroglyphic alphabet is made up of 12 different characters, each with their own meaning:
01: Reed with legs
02: Reeds
03: Double horizontal bar
04: Legs that show movement
05: Pestle
06: Reeds
07: Flat alluvial plain with sand grains
08: Mouth
09: Bundle of flax seeds
10: Mouth
11: Road surrounded by shrubs
12: Horned Viper

The final design, adapted for a T-shirt, is below. 'The design is in the public domain, and I think the Egyptians would want that,' Suda said. 'It's a language that's been extinct for over 3,000 years, so the copyright protection period has probably expired many times already.'