---
title: "Egyptian Hieroglyph N5: Sun disk | Kemet Vault"
description: "Learn N5 (Sun disk) in Egyptian hieroglyphs: logogram, rꜥ (‘sun’ or Re/Ra), Unicode U+131F3. Sign reading and verified sources."
url: "https://kemetvault.com/egyptian-hieroglyph-n5-sun-disk-ra/"
date_published: "2026-11-03T14:48:02+00:00"
date_modified: "2026-11-03T14:48:02+00:00"
---

# Egyptian Hieroglyph N5: Sun disk | Kemet Vault

KEMET VAULT / HIEROGLYPH REFERENCE / SOURCE-REVIEWED SIGN

Gardiner N5 is the circular sun disk, encoded at Unicode U+131F3. Unicode records a logographic value rꜥ, associated with the sun and the deity conventionally called Re or Ra. It is a useful case for understanding how the same written expression can be discussed as a celestial object and as a divine name according to the surrounding text.

𓇳

**Sun disk · N5**The sun disk sign, the solar word and the god Re

Copy authentic Unicode sign

## At-a-glance sign record

| Gardiner catalogue | N5 |
| --- | --- |
| Unicode | `U+131F3` |
| Sign family | N · Sky, earth and water |
| Common function | Logogram |
| Conventional value | rꜥ (‘sun’ or Re/Ra) |

## Recognising the sign: shape and variants

N5 is commonly represented as a disk, sometimes with a small internal dot or surface detail depending on the sign tradition and font. At small screen sizes its outline may resemble unrelated round marks, so both Gardiner classification and Unicode codepoint matter. Unicode specifically warns against confusion with other circular signs. A screenshot of an unidentified circle on an artifact is not enough to identify it as N5 with confidence.

## How the sign works in Egyptian writing

When N5 is employed as a logogram, it can write the Egyptian word rꜥ, connected with the sun or Re. It does not therefore represent a general one-letter English R, nor is it a guaranteed literal drawing of a divine body. Egyptian religious language uses names, epithets and visual arrangements that require context. In royal names and monumental texts, recognizing the solar element is helpful, but a single glyph without the remaining written composition cannot identify the complete ruler or a dated religious belief.

## A reading exercise, with its limits

Reading exercise: mark N5 as a potential logographic rꜥ, then inspect any adjoining signs, grammatical context and whether the larger expression is a personal name, divine name or ordinary solar term. Compare it with O1, the house plan pr, to see two common logograms representing different lexical units. This is a learning convention based on published sign lists, not a translation of an unseen inscription.

## Compare it with other genuine signs

The contrast between N5 and D21 is pedagogically important. Both may appear in words transliterated with r, but D21 commonly contributes the single consonant r while N5 can carry the full lexical value rꜥ. Compare also with N35, the water ripple, which commonly contributes n. Grouping all three into a generic ‘Egyptian alphabet’ would erase their actual linguistic differences.

## What this sign cannot tell us

Do not translate every disk in Egyptian art as the hieroglyphic word rꜥ. A disk may be a motif within religious iconography rather than a sign in a line of writing. Even in texts, the precise translation depends on context, dating and other signs. The English names ‘Re’ and ‘Ra’ are modern pronunciation conventions and should not be mistaken for securely recorded ancient vowels.

## A common question about N5

**Does hieroglyph N5 always mean the god Ra?**

No. The standard logographic value is rꜥ, used in solar vocabulary and the divine name Re/Ra, but whether it names the sun or the deity depends on the written context.

## Verified references and further reading

This dossier uses the official Unicode sign identification and academic explanations of Egyptian writing. It is an educational sign-level reference, not a claim to decipher a specific unexamined monument or recover a lost pronunciation.

- [Unicode Consortium, Egyptian Hieroglyphs character names and standard values (including N5)](https://www.unicode.org/Public/18.0.0/charts/nameslist/13000/)
- [UCL Digital Egypt, The System of Egyptian Hieroglyphic Writing](https://www.ucl.ac.uk/museums-static/digitalegypt/writing/system.html)
- [UCL Digital Egypt, a worked introduction to phonograms and meaning signs](https://www.ucl.ac.uk/museums-static/digitalegypt/writing/system1.html)
- [UCL Digital Egypt, Egyptian sound-sign reference](https://www.ucl.ac.uk/museums-static/digitalegypt/writing/sounds.html)

Browse the [original 136-sign Hieroglyphic Explorer](https://kemetvault.com/hieroglyphic-explorer/) or read the [source-based study of Egyptian scribes and scripts](https://kemetvault.com/ancient-egyptian-scribes-hieroglyphs-hieratic-writing-schools/) for wider historical context. The explorer is an index; individual profiles provide dedicated research guidance for the six reviewed signs.

**Evidence review:** 3 November 2026. Unicode identity and proposed standard sign value checked; actual inscriptions can have contextual or orthographic variation.