This page hosts an archive of learning resources previously posted on this website (please see the New Resources page for the newest Coptic activity). All resources are in the Sahidic dialect of Coptic. If you would like to receive email notifications when new resources are added, as well as other news, please join the mailing list.
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New learners
The Coptic Alphabet
Sahidic Coptic is written in the Greek alphabet plus six extra letters, which are borrowed from the demotic Egyptian script (demotic is the youngest of the Egyptian hieroglyphic scripts).
This game of pairs helps you familiarise yourself with the conventional pronunciation of the six extra letters.
Vocabulary - Egyptian or Greek?
The Coptic stage of the Egyptian language uses many Greek loan words. This can present a challenge to new students of Coptic, who may be unsure whether to look up a word in the Greek or the Coptic dictionary! Soon, however, you will start to recognise the Greek or Egyptian 'sound' of many words.
All of the words in this game commonly occur in Coptic texts. Can you tell whether they originally come from Coptic (Egyptian) or Greek?
Coptic
Basic vocabulary 1 - words for people
(with picture clues and pronunciation help, complete beginner)
You can use these flashcards to help you learn some Coptic words for people.
There are picture hints and, for those who are still learning the alphabet, the approximate pronunciation of each word is given in inverted commas.
Students of hieroglyphs might like to see if they can work out the Middle Egyptian versions of any of these words.
Vocabulary - numbers
Use this quiz to practise Coptic cardinal numbers (1-10)
More experienced learners
Vocabulary (Set 1)
Practise key Coptic vocabulary by matching each word with the picture that best represents it meaning.
Vocabulary (Set 2)
In this quiz you're asked to choose the picture that best represents each Coptic word.
If you get stuck, look the word up in your textbook or vocab list.
Grammar - The First Perfect
The 'First Perfect' is often the first tense you learn in Coptic. It's used to narrate events in the past (e.g 'I ran', 'you said'). You can change the person doing the verb (the 'I', 'you' and so on) by changing the prefix. Use this simple matching exercise to see how many of the prefixes you can recognise.
Grammar - Directional Adverbs
In this game you practise using Coptic directional adverbs (words with meanings like 'up', 'down', 'out'). It is suitable for experienced beginners or intermediate students.
You will be shown English sentences containing directional adverbs (in bold). Choose the best Coptic translation for the words in bold.
These activities do not form a continuous course of tuition: they are a selection of standalone exercises that I have created to help my students, and that you may like to use to support your learning. They are intended for use alongside a course of study (independent or taught).
The resources pages are a work in progress, and I welcome constructive comments and requests for particularly activity types/ topics - please email me at drthomas@principiaparva.co.uk
