These
Coptic Lessons are courtesy of Raymond Wadie from St Mina Fleming Church in
Alexandria.
Significant Additions were also made, based on the book
Ten acpi ` Nsoumenritc by Drs Kamal Farid Issac and Bassem Habib Guirguis.
They are mainly designed as self-taught Lessons for beginners who would like
to learn Coptic.
If you cannot view the Coptic letters, please download Coptic Fonts: 
The Font used on this page is Cs New Athanasius.
Lesson
1: Definite and Indefinite Articles
Lesson 2: Demonstrative Pronouns
Lesson 3: Personal Pronouns and verb to be
Lesson 4: Possessive Pronouns
Lesson 5: The pronoun Of
Lesson 6: Adjectives
Lesson 7: The pronouns With and In
Lesson 8: The present tense
Lesson 9: The past tense
Lesson 10: The future tense
Lesson 11: Relative Pronouns
Lesson 12: The Object
Lesson 13: Conjugating verbs
Lesson
1: Definite
and Indefinite Articles
1.1. Indefinite Articles:
.
Indefinite articles in Coptic are attached to the respective nouns they define.
.
The indefinite article for singular (both masculine and feminine) is ou
.
The indefinite article for plural
(both masculine and feminine) is han
ourwmi |
a
man |
hanrwmi |
men |
ou`chimi |
a
woman |
hanhiomi |
women |
oucon |
a
brother |
han`cnyou |
brothers |
oucwni |
a
sister |
hancwni |
sisters |
ousyri |
a
son |
hansyri |
sons |
ouseri |
a
daughter |
hanseri |
daughters |
ouiwt |
a
father |
hanio] |
fathers |
oumau |
a
mother |
hanmau |
mothers |
1.2.
Definite Articles:
.
Definite articles, just like indefinite ones, are attached to the respective
nouns they define.
.
The definite articles for singular masculine are pi
`p `v
.
The definite articles for singular feminine are ]
`t `;
.
The definite article for plural
(both masculine and feminine) is ni
..
pi (masculine) and ]
(feminine) are used for generalization; ie: when talking about people or things
in general.
..
`p
(masculine)
and `t
(feminine) are used for specification. For example, when
we talk about The Father (= the First Hypostasis of God)
or The Son (= our Lord Jesus Christ).
..
`p
becomes `v (masculine),
and `t
becomes `;
(feminine) if they come before one of the following letters: birnlom
in order to facilitate pronunciation.
| pirwmi |
the
man |
nirwmi |
the
men |
]`chimi |
the
woman |
nihiom |
the
women |
picon |
the
brother |
ni`cnyou |
the
brothers |
]cwni |
the
sister |
nicwni |
the
sisters |
`Psyri |
the
Son (= Christ) |
nisyri |
the
sons |
`tseri |
the
Daughter |
niseri |
the
daughters |
`Viwt |
the
Father (= God the Father) |
niio] |
the
fathers |
`:mau |
the
Mother (= Virgin Mary) |
nimau |
the
mothers |
. Note that some Coptic words start naturally with letters that resemble the definite articles
`trapeza (Greek) |
table |
]`trapeza (Greek) |
the
table |
pictoc |
believer
|
pipictoc |
the
believer |
`placma |
creation |
pi`placma |
the
creation |
1.3.
Notes on the Word Gender in Coptic:
.
Some words can be either masculine or feminine, depending on the article
]`provytyc (Greek) |
the
prophet (fem.) |
pi`provytyc (Greek) |
the
prophet (masc.) |
]par;enoc (Greek) |
the
virgin (fem.) |
pipar;enoc (Greek) |
the
virgin (masc.) |
. Some words change their meaning with the change of their gendre
]ave |
the
head |
piave |
the
president |
]byt |
the
rib |
pibyt |
the
palm |
]joi |
the
wall |
pijoi |
the
ship, the boat |
. Some words are interchangeably masculine or feminine, without any change of meaning
]jebc |
the
coal |
pijebc |
the
coal |
1.4.
Irregular Plurals:
.
Most Coptic words reatin their singular form in the plural. However, some
are irregular and require the alteration of their singular form
pisafe |
the
desert |
nisafeu |
the
deserts |
piiaro |
the
river |
niiarwou |
the
rivers |
pi`steko |
the
prison |
ni`stekwou |
the
prisons |
picon |
the
brother |
ni`cnyou |
the
brothers |
pi`mkah |
the
pain |
ni`mkauh |
the
pains |
piouhor |
the
dog |
niouhwr |
the
dogs |
pi`h;o |
the
horse |
ni`h;wr |
the
horses |
pimenrit |
the
beloved one |
nimenra] |
the
beloved ones |
piabwk |
the
craw |
niabwki |
the
craws |
pialou |
the
boy |
nialwou`i |
the
boys |
]ave |
the
head |
niavyoui |
the
heads |
]`chimi |
the
woman |
nihiomi |
the
women |
`tve |
the
sky |
nivyoui |
the
skies |
piiom |
the
sea |
niamaiou |
the
seas |
pihwb |
the
deed |
ni`hbyou`i |
the
deeds |
pirw |
the
mouth |
nirwou |
the
mouths |
piouro |
the
king |
niourwou |
the
kings |
piaho |
the
treasure |
niahwr |
the
treasures |
pihalyt |
the
bird |
nihala] |
the
birds |
][loj |
the
foot |
ni[alauj |
the
feet |
piiwt |
the
father |
niio] |
the
fathers |
Lesson
2: Demonstrative
Pronouns
2.1. Unattached Demonstrative Pronouns
2.1.1. With Definite Articles:
that |
+ |
is
(verb to be) |
+ |
the... |
|
Masculine
Singular |
vai |
pe |
pi... |
||
Feminine
Singular |
;ai |
te |
]... |
||
Plural
(both Masculine and Feminine) |
nai |
ne |
ni... |
2.1.2. With Indefinite Articles
that |
+ |
(noun)
|
+ |
is
(verb to be) |
|
Masculine
Singular |
vai |
ou... |
pe |
||
Feminine
Singular |
;ai |
ou... |
te |
||
Plural
(both Masculine and Feminine) |
nai |
han... |
ne |
Examples:
| Vai pe pijwm |
that
is the book |
Vai
oujwm pe |
that
is a book |
Vai pe pi`ehoou |
that
is the day |
Vai
ou`ehoou pe |
that
is a day |
:ai te ]ajp |
that
is the hour |
:ai
ouajp te |
that
is an hour |
Nai ne nijwm |
these
are the books |
Nai
hanjwm ne |
these
are some books |
Vai pe piiwt |
that
is the father |
Vai ouiwt
pe |
that
is a father |
:ai te ]mau |
that
is the mother |
:ai oumau
te |
that
is a mother |
Nai ne nisyri |
these
are the sons |
Nai hansyri
ne |
these
are some sons |
2.2.
Attached Demonstrative Pronouns
.
The attached demonstrative pronoun for singular masculine is pai
.
The attached demonstrative pronoun for singular feminine are tai
.
The attached demonstrative pronoun for plural
(both masculine and feminine) is nai
Examples:
| Pairwmi |
that
man |
Pai pe pirwmi |
that
is the man |
Pai ourwmi
pe |
that
is a man |
Tai`chimi |
that
woman |
:ai te ]`chimi
|
that
is the woman |
:ai ou`chimi
te |
that
is a woman |
Nairwmi |
those
men |
Nai ne nirwmi |
those
are the men |
Nai hanrwmi
ne |
those
are some men |
Nai`alowoui |
these
children |
Pairwmi
pe `viwt |
that
man is the father |
Tai`chimi
te `;mau |
that
woman is the mother |
Nai`alowoui
ne nisyri |
these
children are the sons |
Vai pe `viwt |
this
is the father |
Lesson
3: Personal
Pronouns and verb to be
3.1.Personal
Pronouns
| anok |
I |
`n;ok |
You
(masculine) |
`n;o |
You
(feminine) |
`n;of |
He |
`n;oc |
She |
anon |
We |
`n;oten |
You
(plural) |
`n;wou |
They |
3.2.Verb to be
| anok pe |
I
am (masculine) |
| anok te |
I
am (feminine) |
`n;ok pe |
You
are (masculine) |
`n;o te |
You
are (feminine) |
`n;of pe |
He
is |
`n;oc te |
She
is |
anon ne |
We
are |
`n;oten
ne |
You
are (plural) |
`n;wou ne |
They
are |
Examples:
| Anok ousyri pe |
I
am a son |
Anok pe
`psyri |
I
am the Son |
` N;ok oucon
pe |
You
are a brother |
`
N;ok pe picon |
You
are the brother |
`
N;o oucwni te |
You
are a sister |
`
N;o te ]cwni |
You
are the sister |
`
N;of ouiwt pe |
He
is a father |
`
N;of pe piiwt |
He
is the father |
`
N;oc oumau te |
She
is a mother |
`
N;oc te ]mau |
She
is the mother |
Anon
han`cnyou
ne |
We
are brothers |
Anon
ne Ni`cnyou |
We
are the brothers |
`
N;oten hanio] ne |
You
are fathers |
`
N;oten ne niio] |
You
are the fathers |
`
N;wou hanrwmi ne |
They
are men |
`
N;wou ne nirwmi |
They
are the men |
Lesson
4: Possessive
Pronouns
4.1.Attached
Possessive Pronouns
Masculine
Singular |
Feminine
Singular |
Plural
(Masculine and Feminine) |
|
My |
pa... |
ta... |
na... |
|
Your
(masculine) |
pek... |
tek... |
nek... |
Your
(feminine) |
pe... |
te... |
ne... |
His |
pef... |
tef... |
nef... |
|
Her |
pec... |
tec... |
nec... |
|
Our |
pen... |
ten... |
nen... |
Your
(plural) |
peten... |
teten... |
neten... |
Their |
pou... |
tou... |
nou... |
Examples:
| Pacon |
My
brother |
Tacwni |
My
sister |
Na`cnyou |
My
brothers |
Nacwni |
My
sisters |
Peccon |
Her
brother |
Tefcwni |
His
sister |
Nou`cnyou |
Their
brothers |
Noucwni |
Their
sisters |
Nenio]
nem nenmau |
Our
fathers and mothers |
Pajwm>
pakas nem taajp |
My
book, my pen and my watch |
Peksyri
nem tefseri |
Your
son and his daughter |
Netensyri
nem nouseri |
Your
sons and their daughters |
Necsyri
nem netenseri |
Her
sons and your daughters |
4.2. Unattached Possessive Pronouns
Masculine
Singular |
Feminine
Singular |
Plural
(Masculine and Feminine) |
|
Belongs
to... |
va |
;a |
na |
Mine |
vwi |
;wi |
noui |
| Yours
(masculine) |
vwk |
;wk |
nouk |
Yours
(feminine) |
vw |
;w |
nou |
His |
vwf |
;wf |
nouf |
| Hers |
vwc |
;wc |
nouc |
| Ours |
vwn |
;wn |
noun |
Yours
(plural) |
vwten |
;wten |
nouten |
Theirs |
vwou |
;wou |
nouou |
Examples:
| Paijwm pe pajwm |
That
book is my book |
Paijwm vwi
pe |
That
book is mine |
Vwk pe pi`wou |
Yours
is the glory |
Pi`wou va
pennou] pe |
The
glory belongs to our god (note: god here is written with a small G, because it denotes any god) |
Taiajp
te taajp |
That
watch is my watch |
Taiajp
;wi te |
That
watch is mine |
:wk te ]jom |
Yours
is the power |
}metnis]
;a ` V] te |
The
greatness belongs to God |
Naijwm
ne najwm |
These
books are my books |
Naijwm
noui ne |
These
books are mine |
Nouk ne
nivyou`i |
Yours
are the skies |
Nipe;naneu
na ` V] ne |
The
good-things belong to God |
Lesson
5: The
pronoun Of
To
add two words using the pronoun Of, there are two possibilities:
.
The word `nte is used.
.
The letters `n... or `m...
can be also used under the following rule:
1. `m is used before labial
letters (b, m,
p, v,
')
2. `n is used before all other
letters
Examples:
| ` Pouro `nte ]hiryny |
King
of the peace |
` Pouro
`n]hiryny |
King
of the peace |
` Pouro
`nte `p`wou |
King
of the glory |
| `
Pouro `m`p`wou |
King
of the glory |
`
Vnou] `nte `tve |
God
of the sky |
`
Vnou] `n`tve |
God
of the sky |
` P¡ `nte nijom |
Lord
of the powers |
` P¡
`nnijom |
Lord
of the powers |
` Pyi `nte
niaggeloc (Greek) |
House
of the angels |
`
Pyi `nniaggeloc (Greek) |
House
of the angels |
Lessons
6 through 10
Lessons
11 through 15
This Site is
best viewed using a 1024 x 768 pixels Monitor,
Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 or later
and Macromedia Flash Plugin
© 2003 Andrew Fanous,
all rights reserved
