Cuneiform Sign Nagar

Its main reading is the Sumerian word _nagar_, “carpenter.”

The sign appears in administrative records and in ED Lu A, a standard list of professions. These records use it for a trade.

Proto-cuneiform inventories record NAGAR-a and NAGAR-b, earlier forms in the sign’s history. The carpenter reading is attested in Early Dynastic IIIa, Ebla, Old Akkadian, Lagash II, Ur III, Old Babylonian, Neo-Assyrian, and Neo-Babylonian records. The sign also has values transliterated as _bulug₄_ (“needle” or “sew”) and _alla_ (“oak”), as well as uses in divine names; context selects the reading.

Someone sent me 𒉄—what should I read?

Treat it as a cuneiform sign; one glyph alone does not settle its reading.

Alone, it may refer to the sign or to the word “carpenter”; it does not choose among those, the alternate values, or its use in a divine name. Treat it as a cuneiform reference, not a complete statement about you.

In scholarly transliteration, uppercase _NAGAR_ is the Latin-letter sign name for this glyph; the surrounding signs and the text’s language determine the reading. If the sender expects a translation, ask whether they mean the sign name or the word “carpenter.”

Why does 𒉄 look different in another font?

Cuneiform styles reflect different periods and scribal traditions.

The Unicode character identifies a sign; a font draws it in a particular style. A tablet photo, an Old Babylonian font, and a Neo-Assyrian font can show related NAGAR forms with different outlines. A font without cuneiform support may display a box.

For Unicode input, use your editor’s hexadecimal entry for 12244; the steps depend on the program. Typing the Latin word _NAGAR_ by itself produces letters, not this cuneiform character.