View source for Coptic language

{{short description|Latest stage of the Egyptian language}}
{{Infobox language
| name             = Coptic
| nativename       = ϯⲙⲉⲧⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ (Bohairic Dialect)
ⲧⲙⲉⲧⲗⲉⲙⲛ̄ⲕⲏⲙⲓ (Fayyumic Dialect)
ⲧⲙⲛ̄ⲧⲣⲙ̄ⲛ̄ⲕⲏⲙⲉ (Akhmimic Dialect)
ⲧⲙⲛ̄ⲧⲣⲙ̄ⲛ̄ⲕⲏⲙⲉ (Sahidic Dialect)
| era              = *[[Literary language|Literary]]: {{circa|3rd|14th century AD}}{{sfn|Richter|2009|p=404}}
*[[First language|Spoken]]: {{circa|3rd|19th century AD}}{{sfn|Allen|2020|p=1}}
*[[Sacred language|Liturgical]]: {{circa|3rd century AD}} – present{{sfn|Allen|2020|p=1}}
| ethnicity        = [[Copts]]
| states           = [[Egypt]]
| familycolor      = Afro-Asiatic
| fam2             = [[Egyptian language|Egyptian]]
| ancestor         = [[Egyptian language#History|Archaic Egyptian]]
| ancestor2        = [[Egyptian language#Old Egyptian|Old Egyptian]]
| ancestor3        = [[Egyptian language#Middle Egyptian|Middle Egyptian]]
| ancestor4        = [[Egyptian language#Late Egyptian|Late Egyptian]]
| ancestor5        = [[Egyptian language#Demotic|Demotic]]
| script           = [[Coptic alphabet]]
| iso2             = cop
| iso3             = cop
| linglist         = cop
| notice           = IPA
| dia1             = [[Bohairic Coptic|Bohairic]]
| dia2             = Fayyumic
| dia3             = Oxyrhynchite
| dia4             = Lycopolitan
| dia5             = Akhmimic
| dia6             = Sahidic
| glotto           = copt1239
| glottorefname    = Coptic
| map              = 
| mapction         = 
}}
{{Contains special characters|Coptic}}
{{Culture of Egypt}}
{{Copts}}
'''Coptic''' ({{langx|cop|ϯⲙⲉⲧⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ|translit=Timetremənkʰēmi|label=Bohairic Coptic}}) is a [[dormant language|dormant]] [[Afroasiatic languages|Afroasiatic language]].<ref name="BritannicaC">{{citation|title=Coptic language &#124; Egyptian, Christianity & Alphabet &#124; Britannica|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Coptic-language|website=britannica.com|date=21 September 2024 }}</ref><ref name="Extinctlang">{{citation|url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2011/apr/15/language-extinct-endangered|access-date=12 October 2024 |title=Endangered languages: The full list |date=15 April 2011 }}</ref> It is a group of closely related Egyptian [[dialect]]s,{{sfn|Allen|2020|p=1}} representing the most recent developments of the [[Ancient Egyptian language|Egyptian language]],{{sfn|Allen|2020|p=1}}{{sfn|Layton|2007|p=1}} and historically spoken by the [[Copts]], starting from the third century AD in [[Roman Egypt]].{{sfn|Richter|2009|p=404}} Coptic was supplanted by [[Arabic]] as the primary [[Vernacular|spoken language]] of Egypt following the [[Arab conquest of Egypt]] and was slowly replaced over the centuries.

Coptic has no modern-day native speakers, and no fluent speakers apart from a number of priests,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Coptic |url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/cop |access-date=2022-05-17 |website=Ethnologue |language=en |archive-date=2022-07-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220701095528/https://www.ethnologue.com/language/cop |url-status=live }}</ref> although it remains in daily use as the [[Sacred language|liturgical language]] of the [[Coptic Orthodox Church]] and of the [[Coptic Catholic Church]].{{sfn|Layton|2007|p=1}} It is written with the [[Coptic alphabet]], a modified form of the [[Greek alphabet]] with seven additional letters borrowed from the [[Demotic (Egyptian)|Demotic Egyptian script]].{{sfn|Layton|2007|p=1}}

The major Coptic dialects are Sahidic, Bohairic, Akhmimic, Fayyumic, Lycopolitan (Asyutic), and Oxyrhynchite. Sahidic Coptic was spoken between the cities of [[Asyut]] and [[Oxyrhynchus]]<ref>{{cite book|last=Blasco Torres|first=Ana Isabel|title=Representing Foreign Sounds: Greek Transcriptions of Egyptian Anthroponyms from 800 BC to 800 AD|publisher=University of Salamanca|date=2017|page=613|doi=10.14201/gredos.135722|doi-broken-date=6 July 2025|quote=...four main dialects were spoken in Graeco-Roman Egypt: Bohairic in the Delta, Fayumic in the Fayum, Sahidic between approximately Oxyrhynchus and Lykopolis and Akhmimic between Panopolis and Elephantine.|url=https://gredos.usal.es/handle/10366/135722|access-date=2021-03-14|archive-date=2021-05-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210516150147/https://gredos.usal.es/handle/10366/135722}}</ref> and flourished as a [[literary language]] across Egypt in the period {{circa|325|800}} AD.{{sfn|Layton|2007|p=1}} The [[Gnosticism|Gnostic]] texts in the [[Nag Hammadi library]] are primarily written in the Sahidic dialect. However, some texts also contain elements of the Subakhmimic (Lycopolitan) dialect, which was also used in [[Upper Egypt]].{{sfn|Pearson|1989}} Bohairic, the dialect of [[Lower Egypt]], gained prominence in the 9th century and is the dialect used by the Coptic Church liturgically.{{sfn|Allen|2020|p=1}}

== Name ==
In Coptic the language is called {{Coptic|[[wiktionary:ⲙⲉⲧⲣⲉⲙⲛⲭⲏⲙⲓ|ϯⲙⲉⲧⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ]]}} ({{Transliteration|cop|timetremǹkhēmi}}) "Egyptian" or {{Coptic|[[wiktionary:ⲁⲥⲡⲓ|ϯⲁⲥⲡⲓ]] [[wiktionary:ⲣⲉⲙⲛⲭⲏⲙⲓ|ⲛ̀ⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ]]}} ({{Transliteration|cop|tiaspi ǹremǹkhēmi}}) "the Egyptian language". Coptic also possessed the term {{Coptic|{{wikt-lang|egy|ⲅⲩⲡⲧⲓⲟⲥ}}}} ({{Transliteration|cop|gyptios}}) "Egyptian", derived from [[Koine Greek|Greek]] {{wikt-lang|grc|Αἰγύπτιος}} ({{Transliteration|grc|Aigúptios}}). This was borrowed into Arabic as {{wikt-lang|ar|قبْط}} ({{Transliteration|ar|qibṭ/qubṭ}}), and from there into the languages of Europe, giving rise to words like [[French language|French]] {{lang|fr|copte}}, whence the English ''Copt''.

== Geographic distribution ==
{{More citations needed section|date=April 2024}}
Coptic is spoken liturgically in the [[Coptic Orthodox Church|Coptic Orthodox]] and [[Coptic Catholic Church]] (along with [[Modern Standard Arabic]]). The language is spoken only in Egypt and historically has had little influence outside of the territory, except for monasteries located in [[Nubia]] (which straddles modern Egypt and [[Suda]]n). Coptic's most noticeable linguistic influence has been on the various dialects of [[Egyptian Arabic]], which is characterised by a Coptic [[stratum (linguistics)#Substratum|substratum]] in [[lexicon|lexical]], [[morphology (linguistics)|morphological]], [[syntax|syntactical]], and [[phonology|phonological]] features.<ref>{{cite web|title=Coptic Language History|url=https://www.axistranslations.com/language-resources/coptic-language.html|website=www.axistranslations.com|access-date=2020-05-24|archive-date=2016-03-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160327211152/http://www.axistranslations.com/language-resources/coptic-language.html}}</ref>

=== Influence on other languages ===
In addition to influencing the grammar, vocabulary and syntax of Egyptian Arabic, Coptic has lent to both [[Arabic]] and [[Modern Hebrew]] such words as:{{Citation needed|date=May 2019}}

* {{lang|sem|timsāḥ}}<!-- cognate of Arabic and Hebrew --> ({{langx|ar|تمساح}}; {{langx|he|תמסח}}), "crocodile"; {{Transliteration|cop|emsah}} ({{Coptic|ⲉⲙⲥⲁϩ}});{{Citation needed|date=May 2019}} this subsequently entered Turkish as {{lang|tr|timsah}}. Coptic {{Coptic|ⲉⲙⲥⲁϩ}} is grammatically masculine and hence would have taken the form {{Transliteration|cop|pemsah}} (Sahidic: {{Coptic|ⲡⲉⲙⲥⲁϩ}}; Bohairic: {{Coptic|ⲡⲓⲉⲙⲥⲁϩ}}) with the definite articular prefix. Hence it is unclear why the word should have entered Arabic with an initial ''t'', which would have required the word to be grammatically feminine (i.e. Sahidic: {{Coptic|*ⲧⲉⲙⲥⲁϩ}}; Bohairic: {{Coptic|*ϯⲉⲙⲥⲁϩ}}).{{Citation needed|date=May 2019}}
* {{lang|ar|ṭūbah}}, {{langx|ar|طوبة|link=no}}, "brick";{{Citation needed|date=May 2019}} Sahidic: {{Coptic|ⲧⲱⲱⲃⲉ}}, {{Transliteration|cop|tōōbe}}; Bohairic {{Coptic|ⲧⲱⲃⲓ}}, {{Transliteration|cop|tōbi}}; this subsequently entered [[Catalan language|Catalan]] and [[Spanish language|Spanish]] (via [[Andalusian Arabic]]) as {{lang|ca|tova}} and {{lang|es|[[adobe]]}} respectively, the latter of which was borrowed by [[American English]].{{Citation needed|date=May 2019}}
* {{lang|ar|wāḥah}}, {{langx|ar|واحة|link=no}}, "oasis"; Sahidic: {{Coptic|ⲟⲩⲁϩⲉ}}, {{Transliteration|cop|ouahe}}; Bohairic: {{Coptic|ⲟⲩⲉϩⲓ}}, {{Transliteration|cop|ouehi}}; this subsequently entered Turkish as {{lang|tr|vaha}}{{Citation needed|date=May 2019}}

A few words of Coptic origin are found in the [[Greek language]]; some of the words were later lent to various European languages — such as ''[[barge]]'', from Coptic {{Transliteration|cop|baare}} ({{Coptic|ⲃⲁⲁⲣⲉ}}, "small boat").{{Citation needed|date=May 2019}}

However, most words of Egyptian origin that entered into Greek and subsequently into other European languages came directly from Ancient Egyptian, often [[Demotic (Egyptian)|Demotic]]. An example is the Greek {{Transliteration|grc|oasis}} ({{lang|grc|ὄασις}}), which comes directly from Egyptian {{wikt-lang|egy|wḥꜣt}} or Demotic {{wikt-lang|egy|wḥj}}. However, Coptic [[reborrowed]] some words of Ancient Egyptian origin into its lexicon, via Greek.{{Citation needed|date=August 2017}}

Many place names in modern Egypt are Arabic adaptations of their [[list of Coptic place names|former Coptic names]]:
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
|-
!Coptic name
!colspan=2|Modern name
|-
|{{Coptic|ⲥⲓⲱⲟⲩⲧ}} ({{Transliteration|cop|səjōwt}})
|{{lang|ar|أسيوط}} ({{Transliteration|ar|ʾasyūṭ}})
|[[Asyut]]
|-
|{{Coptic|ⲫⲓⲟⲙ}} ({{Transliteration|cop|phəyom}})
|{{lang|ar|الفيوم}} ({{Transliteration|ar|al-fayyūm}})
|[[Faiyum]]
|-
|{{Coptic|ϯⲙⲉⲛϩⲱⲣ}} ({{Transliteration|cop|təmənhōr}})
|{{lang|ar|دمنهور}} ({{Transliteration|ar|damanhūr}})
|[[Damanhur]]
|-
|{{Coptic|ⲥⲟⲩⲁⲛ}} ({{Transliteration|cop|swan}})
|{{lang|ar|أسوان}} ({{Transliteration|ar|ʾaswān}})
|[[Aswan]]
|-
|{{Coptic|ⲙⲉⲛϥ}} ({{Transliteration|cop|mənf}})
|{{lang|ar|منف}} ({{Transliteration|ar|manf}})
|[[Memphis, Egypt|Memphis]]
|}

{{Anchor|papnoute}}The Coptic name {{Coptic|ⲡⲁⲡⲛⲟⲩⲧⲉ}}, {{Transliteration|cop|papnoute}} (from Egyptian {{Transliteration|egy|pꜣy-pꜣ-nṯr}}), means "belonging to God" or "he of God".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://projetrosette.info/popup.php?Id=1012&idObjet=1780 |title=pAy, pA(n)y |website=Projet Rosette |access-date=2017-10-09 |archive-date=2017-10-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010055130/http://projetrosette.info/popup.php?Id=1012&idObjet=1780 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://projetrosette.info/popup.php?Id=1012&idObjet=2725 |title=nTr |website=Projet Rosette |access-date=2017-10-09 |archive-date=2017-10-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010054842/http://projetrosette.info/popup.php?Id=1012&idObjet=2725 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://corpling.uis.georgetown.edu/coptic-dictionary/entry.cgi?entry=1752&super=719 |title=ⲗⲁϩⲙϥ [lahmf], ⲗⲁϩⲙⲉϥ [lahmef] |website=Coptic Dictionary Online |publisher=[[Georgetown University]] |access-date=2017-10-09 |archive-date=2017-10-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010104520/https://corpling.uis.georgetown.edu/coptic-dictionary/entry.cgi?entry=1752&super=719 |url-status=live }}</ref>  It was adapted into Arabic as {{Transliteration|ar|Babnouda}}, which remains a common name among Egyptian Copts to this day. It was also borrowed into Greek as the name {{lang|grc|Παφνούτιος}} ({{Transliteration|grc|[[Paphnutius (disambiguation)|Paphnutius]]}}). That, in turn, is the source of the Russian name {{lang|ru|[[:ru:Пафнутий|Пафнутий]]}} ({{Transliteration|ru|Pafnuty}}), perhaps best known in the name of the mathematician [[Pafnuty Chebyshev]].

== History ==
[[File:Abydos graffito 74.png|thumb|A Demotic graffito in Greek letters from year 5 [[Horwennefer]] (200/201 BC).]]
The [[Egyptian language]] may have the longest documented history of any language, from [[Old Egyptian language|Old Egyptian]], which appeared just before 3200 BC,{{sfn|Allen|2010|p=1–2}} to its final phases as Coptic in the [[Middle Ages]]. Coptic belongs to the Later Egyptian phase, which started to be written in the [[New Kingdom of Egypt]]. Later Egyptian represented colloquial speech of the later periods. It had analytic features like definite and [[indefinite article]]s and [[periphrasis|periphrastic]] verb conjugation. Coptic, therefore, is a reference to both the most recent stage of Egyptian after [[Egyptian language#Demotic|Demotic]] and the new writing system that was adapted from the [[Greek alphabet]].

=== Pre-Islamic period ===
[[File:Coptic liturgic inscription.JPG|right|thumb|Coptic liturgical inscription from [[Upper Egypt]], dated to the fifth or sixth century.]]

The earliest attempts to write the Egyptian language using the Greek alphabet are Greek transcriptions of Egyptian proper names, most of which date to the [[Ptolemaic Kingdom]]. Scholars frequently refer to this phase as Pre-Coptic. However, it is clear that by the [[Late Period of ancient Egypt]], demotic scribes regularly employed a more phonetic orthography, a testament to the increasing cultural contact between [[Egyptians]] and [[Greeks]] even before [[Alexander the Great]]'s conquest of Egypt.

After Alexander the Great's conquest of Egypt and the subsequent Greek administration of the [[Ptolemaic Kingdom]] led to the widespread [[hellenization]] and Greek-Coptic bilingualism more so in [[Lower Egypt|Northern Egypt]] and especially in the [[Nile Delta]]. This led to the entrance of many Greek loanwords into Coptic, particularly in words relating to technical, legal, commercial, and technological topics.{{sfn|Lambdin|1983|pp=vii-viii}}

Coptic itself, or [[Old Coptic]], takes root in the first century. The transition from the older Egyptian scripts to the newly adapted Coptic alphabet was in part due to the decline of the traditional role played by the priestly class of [[ancient Egyptian religion]], who, unlike most ordinary Egyptians, were literate in the temple scriptoria. Old Coptic is represented mostly by non-Christian texts such as Egyptian pagan prayers and magical and astrological papyri. Many of them served as [[gloss (annotation)|glosses]] to original [[hieratic]] and demotic equivalents. The glosses may have been aimed at non-Egyptian speakers.

Under late [[Roman Egypt|Roman rule]], [[Diocletian]] persecuted many Egyptian converts to the new [[Christianity|Christian religion]], which forced new converts to flee to the Egyptian deserts. In time, the growth of these communities generated the need to write Christian Greek instructions in the Egyptian language. The early Fathers of the [[Coptic Church]], such as [[Anthony the Great]], [[Pachomius the Great]], [[Macarius of Egypt]] and [[Athanasius of Alexandria]], who otherwise usually wrote in Greek, addressed some of their works to the Egyptian monks in Egyptian. The Egyptian language, now written in the Coptic alphabet, flourished in the second and third centuries. However, it was not until [[Shenoute]] that Coptic became a fully standardised literary language based on the Sahidic dialect. Shenouda's native Egyptian tongue and knowledge of Greek and rhetoric gave him the necessary tools to elevate Coptic, in content and style, to a literary height nearly equal to the position of the Egyptian language in ancient Egypt.

=== Islamic period ===
[[File:Page from 19th century Coptic Language Grammar.png|thumb|Page from 19th-century Coptic-language grammar]]

The [[Muslim conquest of Egypt]] by [[Arabs]] came with the [[spread of Islam]] in the seventh century. At the turn of the eighth century, [[Caliph]] [[Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan]] decreed<ref>{{Cite web |title=Collections Online {{!}} British Museum |url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/term/BIOG118129 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240302065803/https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/term/biog118129 |archive-date=2024-03-02 |access-date=2025-01-22 |website=www.britishmuseum.org |language=en}}</ref> that Arabic replace [[Koine Greek]] as the sole [[administrative language]]. Literary Coptic gradually declined, and within a few hundred years, Egyptian bishop [[Severus ibn al-Muqaffa]] found it necessary to write his ''History of the Patriarchs'' in Arabic. However, ecclesiastically the language retained an important position, and many [[hagiography|hagiographic]] texts were also composed during this period. Until the 10th century, Coptic remained the spoken language of the native population outside the capital.

The Coptic language massively declined under the hands of Fatimid Caliph [[Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah]], as part of his campaigns of religious persecution.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Guirguis |first1=Fatin Morris |year=2010 |title=The Vision of Theophilus: Resistance Through Orality Among the Persecuted Copts |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eSodnQEACAAJ}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Swanson |first=Mark N. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6l-Eun-EzkkC |title=The Coptic Papacy in Islamic Egypt (641-1517) |publisher=American Univ in Cairo Press |year=2010 |isbn=978-977-416-093-6 |access-date=2023-03-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240526082128/https://books.google.com/books?id=6l-Eun-EzkkC |archive-date=2024-05-26 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{cite book |last1=Naiem |first1=Girgis |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yR9JDwAAQBAJ |title=Egypt's Identities in Conflict: The Political and Religious Landscape of Copts and Muslims |date=12 February 2018 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-1-4766-7120-8 |pages=71–72}}</ref>  Emile Maher Ishaq, a noted [[Coptology|Coptologist]], writes in the [[Coptic Encyclopedia]] that [[Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah]] issued strict orders completely prohibiting the use of Coptic anywhere whether in schools, public streets, and even within family homes. Those who did not comply were liable to have their tongues removed. Oral traditions of the Coptic Church tell of removed tongues left on the street or in a public square to intimidate and warn against speaking Coptic.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Coptic language, Spoken |encyclopedia=The Coptic Encyclopedia |url=https://ccdl.claremont.edu/digital/collection/cce/id/520/rec/1 |volume=2 |pages=604a–607a |author=Emile Maher Ishaq}}</ref>

As a written language, Coptic is thought to have completely given way to [[Arabic]] around the 13th century,<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://journals.openedition.org/ema/1920|title=The Transition from Coptic to Arabic|first=Samuel|last=Rubenson|date=December 31, 1996|journal=Égypte/Monde arabe|issue=27–28|pages=77–92|via=journals.openedition.org|doi=10.4000/ema.1920|doi-access=free|access-date=June 20, 2019|archive-date=September 2, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210902083451/https://journals.openedition.org/ema/1920|url-status=live}}</ref> though it seems to have survived as a spoken language until the 17th century{{sfn|Allen|2020|p=1}} and in some localities even longer. The language may have survived in isolated pockets in [[Upper Egypt]] as late as the 19th century.<ref>James Edward Quibell, "When did Coptic become extinct?" in ''Zeitschrift für ägyptische Sprache und Altertumskunde'', 39 (1901), p. 87.</ref> In the village of Pi-Solsel (Az-Zayniyyah, El Zenya or Al Zeniya north of [[Luxor]]), [[Passive speaker (language)|passive speakers]] over 50 years old were recorded as late as the 1930s, and traces of traditional vernacular Coptic were reported to exist in other places such as [[Abydos, Egypt|Abydos]] and [[Dendera]].<ref>Werner Vycichl, [https://copticsounds.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/pi-solsel-ein-dorf-mit-koptischer-uberlieferung1.pdf ''Pi-Solsel, ein Dorf mit koptischer Überlieferung''] in: ''Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts, Abteilung Kairo'', (MDAIK) vol. 6, 1936, pp. 169–175 (in German).</ref>

From the medieval period, there is one known example of [[Tarsh|''tarsh''-printed]] Coptic. The fragmentary [[amulet]] A.Ch. 12.145, now in the [[Austrian National Library]], contains a frame of Coptic text around an Arabic main text.{{sfnp|Schaefer|2006|p=50}}

=== Modern revitalisation attempts ===

In the early 20th century, some Copts tried to revive the Coptic language, but they were unsuccessful.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jorient/58/2/58_184/_article/-char/en|doi=10.5356/jorient.58.2_184|title=Pharaonism and the Revival of the Coptic Language among Early Twentieth-Century Coptic Christians|year=2016|last1=Miyokawa|first1=Hiroko|journal=Bulletin of the Society for Near Eastern Studies in Japan|volume=58|issue=2|pages=184–195|doi-access=free|access-date=2021-06-30|archive-date=2021-07-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210711064730/https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jorient/58/2/58_184/_article/-char/en|url-status=live}}</ref>

In the second half of the 20th century, [[Pope Cyril VI of Alexandria]] started a national Church-sponsored movement to [[Language revitalization|revive]] Coptic. Several works of grammar were published, including a more comprehensive dictionary than had been formerly available. The scholarly findings of the field of [[Egyptology]] and the inauguration of the [[Institute of Coptic Studies]] further contributed to the renaissance. Efforts at language revitalisation continue to be undertaken, and have attracted the interest of [[Copts]] and linguists in and outside of Egypt.{{Citation needed|date=May 2018}}<ref>{{Cite news |date=2022-10-06 |title=Preserving the Coptic Language |url=https://newlinesmag.com/essays/preserving-the-coptic-language/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251030053628/https://newlinesmag.com/essays/preserving-the-coptic-language/ |archive-date=2025-10-30 |access-date=2025-10-30 |work=New Lines Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=Coptic: Ancient language still spoken today |url=https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/4/16207/Coptic-Ancient-language-still-spoken-today |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251030053845/https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/4/16207/Coptic-Ancient-language-still-spoken-today |archive-date=2025-10-30 |access-date=2025-10-30 |work=EgyptToday |language=en-us}}</ref>

== Writing system ==
{{main|Coptic script}}
[[File:Papyrus Bodmer VI fol. 16.jpg|thumb|left|[[Bodmer Papyri#Coptic|Papyrus Bodmer VI]] ("Dialect P") possesses the richest of all Coptic alphabets, with 35 unique [[grapheme]]s.<ref>{{cite web|title=Dialect P (or Proto-Theban)|url=https://ccdl.claremont.edu/digital/collection/cce/id/1984/rec/1|website=Claremont Colleges Digital Library|publisher=Macmillan|via=Claremont Graduate University, School of Religion}}</ref>]]

Coptic uses a writing system almost wholly derived from the [[Greek alphabet]], with the addition of a number of letters that have their origins in [[Demotic (Egyptian)|Demotic Egyptian]]. This is comparable to the Latin-based [[Icelandic orthography|Icelandic alphabet]], which includes the runic letter [[thorn (letter)|thorn]].<ref>{{cite web |title=The Coptic Alphabet |url=https://www.suscopts.org/deacons/coptic/coptic_alphabet.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060513065527/http://www.suscopts.org/deacons/coptic/coptic_alphabet.pdf |archive-date=2006-05-13 |url-status=live |website=www.suscopts.org}}</ref> There is some variation in the number and forms of these signs depending on the dialect. Some of the letters in the Coptic alphabet that are of Greek origin were normally reserved for Greek words. Old Coptic texts used several graphemes that were not retained in the literary Coptic orthography of later centuries.

In Sahidic, [[syllable]] boundaries may have been marked by a supralinear stroke ⟨◌̄⟩, or the stroke may have tied letters together in one word, since Coptic texts did not otherwise indicate word divisions. Some scribal traditions use a [[Diaeresis (diacritic)|diaeresis]] over the letters {{Coptic|ⲓ}} and {{Coptic|ⲩ}} at the beginning of a word or to mark a diphthong. Bohairic uses a superposed point or small stroke known as {{Coptic|ϫⲓⲛⲕⲓⲙ}} ({{Transliteration|cop|jinkim}}, "movement"). When ''jinkim'' is placed over a vowel it is pronounced independently, and when it is placed over a consonant a short {{Coptic|ⲉ}} precedes it.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Coptic Lesson 5:The Rule of the JINKIM |url=https://www.suscopts.org/deacons/coptic/lesson5.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220621225841/https://www.suscopts.org/deacons/coptic/lesson5.pdf |archive-date=Jun 21, 2022 |website=Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States}}</ref>
{{clear}}

== Literature ==
{{Main|Coptic literature}}
The oldest Coptic writings date to the pre-Christian era (Old Coptic), though Coptic literature consists mostly of texts written by prominent saints of the Coptic Church such as [[Anthony the Great]], [[Pachomius the Great]], and [[Shenoute]]. Shenoute helped fully standardise the Coptic language through his many sermons, treatises and homilies, which formed the basis of early Coptic literature.

== Vocabulary ==
The core [[lexicon]] of Coptic is [[Egyptian language|Egyptian]], most closely related to the preceding [[Demotic (Egyptian)|Demotic]] phase of the language. Up to 40% of the vocabulary of literary Coptic is drawn from [[Greek language|Greek]], but borrowings are not always fully adapted to the Coptic phonological system and may have [[Semantics|semantic]] differences as well. There are instances of Coptic texts having passages that are almost entirely composed from Greek lexical roots. However, that is likely because the majority of Coptic religious texts are direct translations of Greek works.

{{blockquote|What invariably attracts the attention of the reader of a Coptic text, especially if it is written in the Sa'idic dialect, is the very liberal use which is made of Greek loan words, of which so few, indeed, are to be found in the Ancient Egyptian language. There Greek loan words occur everywhere in Coptic literature, be it Biblical, liturgical, theological, or non-literary, i.e. legal documents and personal letters. Though nouns and verbs predominate, the Greek loan words may come from any other part of speech except pronouns'<ref>Girgis, WA (1963–64). Greek loan words in Coptic. ''Bulletin de la Société d'archéologie copte'' 17:63–73.</ref>}}

The Greek loanwords in Coptic retain their original male or female gender, but Greek neuter nouns are treated as masculine in Coptic. The Greek nouns are usually inflected in the singular and in the nominative case though occasionally.{{sfn|Lambdin|1983|p=9}}

Words or concepts for which no adequate Egyptian translation existed were taken directly from Greek to avoid altering the meaning of the religious message. In addition, other Egyptian words that would have adequately translated the Greek equivalents were not used as they were perceived as having overt pagan associations. Old Coptic texts use many such words, phrases and [[epithet]]s; for example, the word {{Coptic|ⲧⲃⲁⲓⲧⲱⲩ}} '(Who is) in (His) Mountain', is an epithet of [[Anubis]].{{sfn|Gignac|1991|p=174}} There are also traces of some archaic grammatical features, such as residues of the Demotic [[relative clause]], lack of an indefinite article and possessive use of suffixes.

Thus, the transition from the old traditions to the new Christian religion also contributed to the adoption of Greek words into the Coptic religious lexicon. It is safe to assume that the everyday speech of the native population retained, to a greater extent, its indigenous Egyptian character, which is sometimes reflected in Coptic nonecclesiastical documents such as letters and contracts.

== Phonology ==
Coptic provides the clearest indication of Later Egyptian [[phonology]] from its writing system, which fully indicates vowel sounds and occasionally stress patterns. The phonological system of Later Egyptian is also better known than that of the Classical phase of the language because of a greater number of sources indicating Egyptian sounds, including [[Amarna letters|cuneiform letters]] containing transcriptions of Egyptian words and phrases, and Egyptian renderings of [[Northwest Semitic languages|Northwest Semitic]] names. Coptic sounds, in addition, are known from a variety of Coptic-Arabic papyri in which Arabic letters were used to transcribe Coptic and vice versa. They date to the medieval Islamic period, when Coptic was still spoken.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Sijpesteijn |first1=Petra |title=Papyrology and the History of Early Islamic Egypt |last2=Lennart Sundelin |publisher=Brill Academic Publishers |year=2004 |isbn=978-90-04-13886-5 |location=Leiden, Boston}}</ref>

=== Vowels ===
There are some differences of opinion among Coptic language scholars on the correct phonetic interpretation of the writing system of Coptic. Differences centre on how to interpret the pairs of letters {{Coptic|ⲉ/ⲏ}} and {{Coptic|ⲟ/ⲱ}}. In the [[Attic Greek|Attic dialect]] of [[Ancient Greek]] in the 5th century BC, the first member of each pair is a short closed vowel {{IPA|/e, o/}}, and the second member is a long open vowel {{IPA|/ɛː, ɔː/}}. In some interpretations of Coptic phonology,{{sfn|Plumley|1948}} it is assumed that the length difference is primary, with {{Coptic|ⲉ/ⲏ}} {{IPA|/e, eː/}} and {{Coptic|ⲟ/ⲱ}} is {{IPA|/o, oː/}}. Other scholars{{sfn|Greenberg|1990}} argue for a different analysis in which {{Coptic|ⲉ/ⲏ}} and {{Coptic|ⲟ/ⲱ}} are interpreted as {{IPA|/e, ɛ/}} and {{IPA|/o, ɔ/}}.

These two charts show the two theories of Coptic vowel phonology:

{{columns-start}}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+[[Monophthong]] phonemes<br />(length theory)
!
! [[Front vowel|Front]]
! [[Central vowel|Central]]
! [[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
! [[Close vowel|Close]]
| {{IPA link|iː}}
|
| {{IPA link|uː}}
|-
! [[Close-mid vowel|Close-mid]]
| {{IPA link|eː}} &nbsp; {{IPA link|e}}
|
| {{IPA link|oː}} &nbsp; {{IPA link|o}}
|-
! [[Mid vowel|Mid]]
|
| {{IPA link|ə}}
|
|-
! [[Open vowel|Open]]
|
|
| {{IPA link|ɑ}}
|}
{{column}}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+[[Monophthong]] phonemes<br />(vowel quality theory)
!
! [[Front vowel|Front]]
! [[Central vowel|Central]]
! [[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
! [[Close vowel|Close]]
| {{IPA link|iː}}
| 
| {{IPA link|uː}}
|-
! [[Close-mid vowel|Close-mid]]
| {{IPA link|e}}
| 
| {{IPA link|o}}
|-
! [[Mid vowel|Mid]]
| {{IPA link|ɛ}}
| {{IPA link|ə}}
| {{IPA link|ɔ}}
|-
! [[Open vowel|Open]]
|
|
| {{IPA link|ɑ}}
|}
{{columns-end}}

Dialects vary in their realisation. The difference between {{IPAblink|o}} and {{IPAblink|u}} seems to be allophonic. Evidence is not sufficient to demonstrate that these are distinct vowels, and if they are, the difference has a very low [[functional load]]. For dialects that use orthographic {{angbr|{{Coptic|ⲉⲓ}}}} for a single vowel, there appears to be no phonetic difference from {{angbr|{{Coptic|ⲓ}}}}.

Double orthographic vowels are presumed here to be long, but there is considerable debate as to whether these double vowels represent long vowels or [[glottal stop]]s.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Dahlgren |first1=Sonja |title=The system of Coptic vowel reduction: Evidence from L2 Greek usage |journal=Italian Journal of Linguistics |date=May 2022 |volume=32 |issue=1 |pages=211–228 |doi=10.26346/1120-2726-155}}</ref>

{{columns-start}}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+Bohairic vowels
!
! [[Front vowel|Front]]
! [[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
! [[Close vowel|Close]]
| {{Coptic|ⲉⲓ}} {{IPAslink|i}}
| {{Coptic|ⲟⲩ}} {{IPAslink|u}}
|-
! [[Close-mid vowel|Close-mid]]
| {{Coptic|ⲏ}} {{IPAslink|e}}
| {{Coptic|ⲱ}} {{IPAslink|o}}
|-
! [[Open-mid vowel|Open-mid]]
| {{Coptic|ⲉ}} {{IPAslink|ɛ}}
| {{Coptic|ⲟ}} {{IPAslink|ɔ}}
|-
! [[Open vowel|Open]]
|colspan=2| {{Coptic|ⲁ}} {{IPAslink|a}}
|}
{{column}}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+Sahidic vowels
!
! [[Front vowel|Front]]
! [[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
! [[Close vowel|Close]]
| {{Coptic|ⲉⲓ}} {{IPAslink|i}}
| {{Coptic|ⲟⲩ}} {{IPAslink|u}}
|-
! [[Close-mid vowel|Close-mid]]
| {{Coptic|ⲏ}} {{IPAslink|e}} &nbsp; {{Coptic|ⲏⲏ}} {{IPAslink|eː}}
| {{Coptic|ⲱ}} {{IPAslink|o}} &nbsp; {{Coptic|ⲱⲱ}} {{IPAslink|oː}}
|-
! [[Open-mid vowel|Open-mid]]
| {{Coptic|ⲉ}} {{IPAslink|ɛ}} &nbsp; {{Coptic|ⲉⲉ}} {{IPAslink|ɛː}}
| {{Coptic|ⲟ}} {{IPAslink|ɔ}} &nbsp; {{Coptic|ⲟⲟ}} {{IPAslink|ɔː}}
|-
! [[Open vowel|Open]]
|colspan=2| {{Coptic|ⲁ}} {{IPAslink|a}} &nbsp; {{Coptic|ⲁⲁ}} {{IPAslink|aː}}
|}
{{column}}
{| class='wikitable' style="text-align: center"
|+Lycopolitan vowels
!
! [[Front vowel|Front]]
! [[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
! [[Close vowel|Close]]
| {{Coptic|ⲉⲓ}} {{IPAslink|i}}
| {{Coptic|ⲟⲩ}} {{IPAslink|u}}
|-
! [[Close-mid vowel|Close-mid]]
| {{Coptic|ⲏ}} {{IPAslink|e}} &nbsp; {{Coptic|ⲏⲏ}} {{IPAslink|eː}}
| {{Coptic|ⲱ}} {{IPAslink|o}} &nbsp; {{Coptic|ⲱⲱ}} {{IPAslink|oː}}
|-
! [[Open-mid vowel|Open-mid]]
| {{Coptic|ⲉ}} {{IPAslink|ɛ}} &nbsp; {{Coptic|ⲉⲉ}} {{IPAslink|ɛː}}
| {{Coptic|ⲟⲟ}} {{IPAslink|ɔː}}
|-
! [[Open vowel|Open]]
|colspan=2| {{Coptic|ⲁ}} {{IPAslink|a}} &nbsp; {{Coptic|ⲁⲁ}} {{IPAslink|aː}}
|}
{{column}}
{| class='wikitable' style="text-align: center"
|+Akhmimic vowels
!
! [[Front vowel|Front]]
! [[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
! [[Close vowel|Close]]
| {{Coptic|ⲉⲓ}} {{IPAslink|i}} &nbsp; {{Coptic|ⲓⲉⲓ}} {{IPAslink|iː}}
| {{Coptic|ⲟⲩ}} {{IPAslink|u}} &nbsp; {{Coptic|ⲟⲩⲟⲩ}} {{IPAslink|uː}}
|-
! [[Close-mid vowel|Close-mid]]
| {{Coptic|ⲏ}} {{IPAslink|e}}
| {{Coptic|ⲱ}} {{IPAslink|o}}
|-
! [[Open-mid vowel|Open-mid]]
| {{Coptic|ⲉ}} {{IPAslink|ɛ}} &nbsp; {{Coptic|ⲉⲉ}} {{IPAslink|ɛː}}
| {{Coptic|ⲟⲟ}} {{IPAslink|ɔː}}{{efn|Frequent spelling of this vowel as {{Coptic|ⲱⲱ}} indicates that it is in [[free variation]] with {{IPAblink|[oː]}}.}}
|-
! [[Open vowel|Open]]
|colspan=2| {{Coptic|ⲁ}} {{IPAslink|a}} &nbsp; {{Coptic|ⲁⲁ}} {{IPAslink|aː}}
|}
{{notelist}}
{{columns-end}}

There is no length distinction in final stressed position, but only those vowels that occur long appear there: {{angbr|{{Coptic|(ⲉ)ⲓ, ⲉ, ⲁ, ⲟ~ⲱ, ⲟⲩ}}}}.

In Sahidic, the letter {{Coptic|ⲉ}} was used for short {{IPAslink|e}} before back fricatives, and also for unstressed schwa {{IPAslink|ə}}. It's possible there was also a distinction between short {{IPAslink|ɛ}} and {{IPAslink|a}}, but if so the functional load was extremely low.

Bohairic did not have long vowels. {{IPAslink|i}} was only written {{angbr|{{Coptic|ⲓ}}}}. As above, it's possible that {{IPAslink|u}} and {{IPAslink|o}} were distinct vowels rather than just allophones.

In Late Coptic (that is, Late Bohairic), the vowels were reduced to those found in Egyptian Arabic, {{IPA|/a, i, u/}}.{{dubious|date=May 2021|reason=Egyptian Arabic has more than these vowel values, only Literary Arabic based transliterations prefer to stick to these that are the conventional vowels of Classical Arabic}} {{angbr|{{Coptic|ⲱ, ⲟ}}}} became {{IPAslink|u}}, {{angbr|{{Coptic|ⲉ}}}} became {{IPAslink|æ}}, and {{angbr|{{Coptic|ⲏ}}}} became either {{IPAslink|ɪ}} or {{IPAslink|æ}}. It is difficult to explain {{angbr|{{Coptic|ⲏ}}}}. However, it generally became {{IPAslink|æ}} in stressed monosyllables, {{IPAslink|ɪ}} in unstressed monosyllables, and in polysyllables, {{IPAslink|æ}} when followed by {{IPAslink|i}}, and {{IPAslink|ɪ}} when not.

There were no doubled orthographic vowels in Mesokemic. Some representative correspondences with Sahidic are:

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
!Sahidic stressed vowels
|{{Coptic|ⲁ}}||{{Coptic|ⲁⲁ, ⲉⲉ}}||{{Coptic|ⲏ}}||{{Coptic|ⲟ}}||{{Coptic|ⲱ}}||{{Coptic|ⲱⲱ}}
|-
!Mesokemic equivalent
|{{Coptic|ⲉ}}||{{Coptic|ⲏ}}||{{Coptic|ⲏ}}||{{Coptic|ⲁ}}||{{Coptic|ⲟ}}||{{Coptic|ⲱ}}
|}

It is not clear if these correspondences reflect distinct pronunciations in Mesokemic, or if they are an imitation of the long Greek vowels {{angbr|η, ω}}.

=== Consonants ===
As with the vowels, there are differences of opinion over the correct interpretation of the Coptic consonant letters, particularly with regard to the letters {{Coptic|ϫ}} and {{Coptic|ϭ}}. {{Coptic|ϫ}} is transcribed as {{angle bracket|j}} in many older Coptic sources and {{Coptic|ϭ}} as {{angle bracket|ɡ}}{{sfn|Plumley|1948}} or {{angle bracket|č}}. {{harvtxt|Lambdin|1983}} notes that the current conventional pronunciations are different from the probable ancient pronunciations: Sahidic {{Coptic|ϫ}} was probably pronounced {{IPAblink|tʲ}} and {{Coptic|ϭ}} was probably pronounced {{IPAblink|kʲ}}. {{harvtxt|Reintges|2004|p=22}} suggests that {{Coptic|ϫ}} was pronounced {{IPAblink|tʃ}}.

Beside being found in Greek loanwords, the letters {{angle bracket|φ, θ, χ}} were used in native words for a sequence of {{IPA|/p, t, k/}} plus {{IPAslink|h}}, as in {{Coptic|ⲑⲉ}} = {{Coptic|ⲧ-ϩⲉ}} "the-way" (f.sg.) and {{Coptic|ⲫⲟϥ}} = {{Coptic|ⲡ-ϩⲟϥ}} "the-snake" (m.sg). The letters did not have this use in Bohairic, which used them for single sounds.

{| class="wikitable" style=text-align:center
|+ Coptic consonants
|-
!colspan=2|
! [[Labial consonant|Labial]]
!colspan=2| [[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
! [[Palatal consonant|Palatal]]
!colspan=2| [[Velar consonant|Velar]]
! [[Glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|-
!colspan=2| [[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
| {{IPA link|m}} ⟨{{Coptic|ⲙ}}⟩
|colspan=2| {{IPA link|n}} ⟨{{Coptic|ⲛ}}⟩
|
|colspan=2| 
|
|-
!rowspan=3| [[Obstruent]]
! <small>[[Aspirated consonant|aspirate]]</small>{{efn|The aspirate series is present only in Bohairic.}}
| {{IPA link|p}}{{IPA link|ʰ}} ⟨{{Coptic|ⲫ}}⟩
|colspan=2| {{IPA link|tʰ}} ⟨{{Coptic|ⲑ}}⟩
| {{IPA link|t͡ʃʰ}} ⟨{{Coptic|ϭ}}⟩{{efn|name=fn1|The letter {{Coptic|ϭ}} has two values: In Bohairic it represents {{IPAslink|t͡ʃʰ}}, the aspirated counterpart to {{Coptic|ϫ}} {{IPAslink|t͡ʃ}}. In the other dialects it represents {{IPAslink|kʲ}}, the [[Palatalization (phonetics)|palatalized]] counterpart to {{Coptic|ⲕ}} {{IPAslink|k}}.}}
|colspan=2| {{IPA link|kʰ}} ⟨{{Coptic|ⲭ}}⟩
| 
|-
! <small>[[Tenuis consonant|tenuis]]</small>
| {{IPA link|p}} ⟨{{Coptic|ⲡ}}⟩
|colspan=2| {{IPA link|t}} ⟨{{Coptic|ⲧ}}⟩
| {{IPA link|t͡ʃ}} ⟨{{Coptic|ϫ}}⟩
| {{IPA link|k}}{{IPA link|ʲ}} ⟨{{Coptic|ϭ}}⟩{{efn|name=fn1}}
| {{IPA link|k}} ⟨{{Coptic|ⲕ}}⟩
|
|-
! <small>[[fricative]]</small>
| {{IPA link|f}} ⟨{{Coptic|ϥ}}⟩
|colspan=2| {{IPA link|s}} ⟨{{Coptic|ⲥ}}⟩
| {{IPA link|ʃ}} ⟨{{Coptic|ϣ}}⟩
| {{IPA link|xʲ}} ⟨{{Coptic|ⳋ}} {{Coptic|ⳃ}}⟩{{efn|{{IPAslink|xʲ}} is present only in the minor Coptic dialects ''P'' and ''I'',{{explain|date=January 2022|reason=What is the meaning of ''P'' and ''I''?}} where it is written ⟨{{Coptic|ⳋ}}⟩ and ⟨{{Coptic|ⳃ}}⟩ respectively.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Funk|first=Wolf-Peter|date=1987|title=Die Zeugen des koptischen Literaturdialekts I7|url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1524/zaes.1987.114.12.117/html|journal=Zeitschrift für Ägyptische Sprache und Altertumskunde|volume=114|issue=1–2|page=129|doi=10.1524/zaes.1987.114.12.117|s2cid=192659355}}</ref>}}
| {{IPA link|x}} ⟨{{Coptic|ϧ}} {{Coptic|ⳉ}}⟩{{efn|{{IPAslink|x}} is written ⟨{{Coptic|ϧ}}⟩ in Bohairic and Dialect ''P'', and ⟨{{Coptic|ⳉ}}⟩ in Akhmimic and Dialect ''I''.}}
| {{IPA link|h}} ⟨{{Coptic|ϩ}}⟩
|-
!colspan=2| [[Approximant]]
| {{IPA link|v}} ⟨{{Coptic|ⲃ}}⟩{{efn|Coptic {{Coptic|ⲃ}} is alternatively interpreted as a [[voiced bilabial fricative]] {{IPAblink|β}}.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Takács|first=Gábor|date=2015|title=Questions of Egyptian Historical Phonology and Afro-Asiatic|url=https://poj.peeters-leuven.be/content.php?url=article&id=3139332&journal_code=BIOR|journal=Bibliotheca Orientalis|volume=72|issue=5–6|pages=565–585|doi=10.2143/BIOR.72.5.3139332|quote=Firstly, as is well-known, Coptic {{Coptic|ⲃ}} had the value {{IPAblink|v}} or less probably {{IPAblink|β}}.|quote-page=569}}</ref> Like the other [[Voice (phonetics)|voiced]] consonants, it belongs to the class of [[sonorant]]s and may occupy the syllable [[Syllable#Nucleus|nucleus]] ({{tooltip|2=Compare|''cf.''|dotted=yes}} Sahidic: {{Coptic|ⲧⲃ̄ⲧ}} {{IPA|/tv̩t/}} "fish").}}
| {{IPA link|r}} ⟨{{Coptic|ⲣ}}⟩
| {{IPA link|l}} ⟨{{Coptic|ⲗ}}⟩
| {{IPA link|j}} ⟨{{Coptic|ⲉⲓ}}⟩
|colspan=2| {{IPA link|w}} ⟨{{Coptic|ⲟⲩ}}⟩
|
|}
{{notelist}}

It is possible that Coptic has a [[glottal stop]], {{IPAblink|ʔ}}, though there is no definitive evidence. Supporters of this theory have posited that the glottal stop was represented with {{Coptic|ⲁ}} word-initially, with {{Coptic|ⲓ}} word-finally in monosyllabic words in northern dialects, and {{Coptic|ⲉ}} in monosyllabic words in Akhmimic and Assiutic. In Sahidic, it has been postulated that it represented the second of a doubled vowel.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Depuydt |first1=Leo |title=On Coptic Sounds |journal=Orientalia |date=1993 |volume=62 |issue=4 |pages=338–375 |jstor=43077997 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/43077997 |issn=0030-5367}}</ref>

In Late Coptic (ca. 14th century), Bohairic sounds that did not occur in Egyptian Arabic were lost. A possible shift from a tenuis-aspirate distinction to voiced-tenuis is only attested from the alveolars, the only place that Arabic has such a contrast.

{| class="wikitable" style=text-align:center
|+ Late Coptic consonants
|-
! Original<br />pronunciation
! Late<br />pronunciation
|-
| {{IPA link|β}} || {{IPA link|w}} (final {{IPAblink|b}})
|-
| {{IPA link|p}} || {{IPA link|b}}
|-
| {{IPA link|pʰ}} || {{IPA link|b}} ~ {{IPA link|f}}
|-
| {{IPA link|t}} || {{IPA link|d}}
|-
| {{IPA link|tʰ}} || {{IPA link|d}} 
|-
| {{IPA link|t͡ʃ}} || {{IPA link|ɟ}}{{NoteTag|{{IPAblink|ɟ}} is the local equivalent of Cairene {{IPAblink|ɡ}}.}}
|-
| {{IPA link|t͡ʃʰ}} || {{IPA link|ʃ}}
|-
| {{IPA link|k}} || {{IPA link|k}}
|-
| {{IPA link|kʰ}} || {{IPA link|k}}
|}

Earlier phases of Egyptian may have contrasted voiceless and voiced bilabial plosives, but the distinction seems to have been lost. Late Egyptian, Demotic and Coptic all interchangeably use their respective graphemes to indicate either sound; for example, Coptic for 'iron' appears alternately as {{Coptic|ⲡⲉⲛⲓⲡⲉ}}, {{Coptic|ⲃⲉⲛⲓⲡⲉ}} and {{Coptic|ⲃⲓⲛⲓⲃⲉ}}. That probably reflects dialect variation. Both letters were interchanged with {{Coptic|ⲫ}} and {{Coptic|ϥ}} to indicate {{IPAslink|f}}, and {{Coptic|ⲃ}} was also used in many texts to indicate the bilabial approximant {{IPAslink|w}}. [[Coptology|Coptologists]] believe that Coptic {{Coptic|ⲃ}} was articulated as a [[voiced bilabial fricative]] {{IPAblink|β}}. In the present-day Coptic Church services, this letter is realised as {{IPAslink|v}}, but it is almost certainly a result of the [[Coptic pronunciation reform|pronunciation reforms]] instituted in the 19th century.

Whereas Old Egyptian contrasts {{IPAslink|s}} and {{IPAslink|z}}, the two sounds appear to be in [[free variation]] in Coptic, as they were since the Middle Egyptian period. However, they are contrasted only in Greek loans; for example, native Coptic {{Coptic|ⲁⲛⲍⲏⲃ}} (''anzēb'') and {{Coptic|ⲁⲛⲥⲏⲃⲉ}} (''ansēbə'') 'school' are homophonous. Other consonants that sometimes appear to be either in free variation or to have different distributions across dialects are {{IPAblink|t}} and {{IPAblink|d}}, {{IPAblink|ɾ}} and {{IPAblink|l}} (especially in the Fayyumic dialect, a feature of earlier Egyptian) and {{IPAblink|k}} and {{IPAblink|ɡ}}, with the voiceless [[stop consonant]]s being more common in Coptic words and the voiced ones in Greek borrowings. Apart from the [[liquid consonant]]s, this pattern may indicate a [[sound change]] in Later Egyptian, leading to a neutralisation of voiced alveolar and velar plosives. When the voiced plosives are realised, it is usually the result of [[Consonant voicing and devoicing|consonant voicing]] in proximity to {{IPAslink|n}}.

A few early manuscripts have a letter {{coptic|ⳋ}} or {{coptic|ⳃ}} ''ç'' where Sahidic and Bohairic have {{coptic|ϣ}} ''š''. and Akhmimic has {{coptic|ⳉ}} ''x''. This sound seems to have been lost early on.

== Grammar ==
Coptic is primarily a [[Fusional language|fusional (inflectional) language]], though some scholars, such as {{harvp|Loprieno|1995}}, have suggested it has [[Agglutinative language|agglutinative]] or even polysynthetic tendencies. Its morphology relies heavily on prefixation and [[clitic]]s, but these forms frequently encode multiple grammatical functions.{{sfn|Zeldes|Abrams|2018}} Its standard word order is [[subject–verb–object]], though it can shift to [[verb–subject–object]] with the appropriate preposition before the subject. Number, gender, tense, and mood are marked by prefixes and clitics, which evolved from [[Late Egyptian]]. While earlier stages of Egyptian used suffixation for verb conjugation, Coptic largely replaced these with periphrastic constructions and prefix-based inflection, though vestiges of suffix inflection survive in certain verbs and possessive structures. For example, the [[Middle Egyptian]] form ''*satāpafa'' ('he chooses', written ''stp.f'' in hieroglyphs) corresponds to the Coptic (Sahidic) ''f.sotp'' ({{Coptic|ϥⲥⲱⲧⲡ̅}}, 'he chooses'), where the prefix "f-" encodes multiple grammatical functions simultaneously, characteristic of fusional morphology rather than agglutination.{{sfn|Zeldes|Abrams|2018}}

=== Nouns ===
All Coptic nouns carry [[grammatical gender]], either masculine or feminine, usually marked through a definite article as in the [[Romance languages]], though Coptic articles are prefixes rather than separate words. Masculine nouns are marked with the article {{IPA|/pə, peː/}} and feminine nouns with the article {{IPA|/tə, teː/}}{{sfn|Lambdin|1983|p=2}} in the Sahidic dialect and {{IPA|/pi, əp/}} and {{IPA|/ti, ət/}} in the Bohairic dialect.

: Bohairic: {{Coptic|ⲡⲓⲣⲱⲙⲓ}} {{IPA|/piˈɾomi/}} – 'the man' / {{Coptic|ϯϫⲓϫ}} {{IPA|/tiˈt͡ʃit͡ʃ/}} – 'the hand'
: Sahidic: {{Coptic|ⲡⲉⲣⲱⲙⲉ}} {{IPA|/pəˈɾomə/}} – 'the man' / {{Coptic|ⲧⲉϫⲓϫ}} {{IPA|/təˈt͡ʃit͡ʃ/}} – 'the hand'

The definite and indefinite articles also indicate [[Grammatical number|number]]; however, only definite articles mark gender. Coptic has a number of [[broken plural]]s, a vestige of Older Egyptian, but in the majority of cases, the article marks number. Generally, nouns [[inflection|inflected]] for plurality end in {{IPA|/wə/}}, but there are some irregularities. The dual was another feature of earlier Egyptian that survives in Coptic in only few words, such as {{Coptic|ⲥⲛⲁⲩ}} (''snau'') 'two'.

Words of Greek origin keep their original grammatical gender, except for neuter nouns, which become masculine in Coptic.

[[Possession (linguistics)|Possession]] of definite nouns is expressed with a series of [[Possessive determiner|possessive articles]] which are prefixed to the noun. These articles agree with the [[Grammatical person|person]], [[Grammatical number|number]], and [[Grammatical gender|gender]] of the possessor and the number and gender of the possessed noun. The forms of the possessive article vary according to dialect.

<div style="display: inline-block; vertical-align: top; margin-right: 1em;">
{|class="wikitable mw-collapsible" style=text-align:center
|+Coptic possessive articles
!colspan=2|{{small|Person/Number/Gender}}
!colspan=6|Dialect
|-
!{{small|Possessor}}
!{{small|Possessed}}
!{{small|Bohairic}}
!{{small|Fayyumic}}
!{{small|Oxyrhynchite}}
!{{small|Sahidic}}
!{{small|Lycopolitan}}
!{{small|Akhmimic}}
|-
!rowspan=3|{{gcl|1SG}}
!{{gcl|M}}
|colspan=6|{{Coptic|ⲡⲁ}}-
|-
!{{gcl|F}}
|colspan=6|{{Coptic|ⲧⲁ}}-
|-
!{{gcl|PL}}
|colspan=6|{{Coptic|ⲛⲁ}}-
|-
!rowspan=3|{{gcl|2SG}}.{{gcl|M}}
!{{gcl|M}}
|colspan=6|{{Coptic|ⲡⲉⲕ}}-
|-
!{{gcl|F}}
|colspan=6|{{Coptic|ⲧⲉⲕ}}-
|-
!{{gcl|PL}}
|colspan=6|{{Coptic|ⲛⲉⲕ}}-
|-
!rowspan=3|{{gcl|2SG}}.{{gcl|F}}
!{{gcl|M}}
|colspan=3|{{Coptic|ⲡⲉ}}-
|{{Coptic|ⲡⲟⲩ}}-
|colspan=2|{{Coptic|ⲡⲉ}}-
|-
!{{gcl|F}}
|colspan=3|{{Coptic|ⲧⲉ}}-
|{{Coptic|ⲧⲟⲩ}}-
|colspan=2|{{Coptic|ⲧⲉ}}-
|-
!{{gcl|PL}}
|colspan=3|{{Coptic|ⲛⲉ}}-
|{{Coptic|ⲛⲟⲩ}}-
|colspan=2|{{Coptic|ⲛⲉ}}-
|-
!rowspan=3|{{gcl|3SG}}.{{gcl|M}}
!{{gcl|M}}
|colspan=6|{{Coptic|ⲡⲉϥ}}-
|-
!{{gcl|F}}
|colspan=6|{{Coptic|ⲧⲉϥ}}-
|-
!{{gcl|PL}}
|colspan=6|{{Coptic|ⲛⲉϥ}}-
|-
!rowspan=3|{{gcl|3SG}}.{{gcl|F}}
!{{gcl|M}}
|colspan=6|{{Coptic|ⲡⲉⲥ}}-
|-
!{{gcl|F}}
|colspan=6|{{Coptic|ⲧⲉⲥ}}-
|-
!{{gcl|PL}}
|colspan=6|{{Coptic|ⲛⲉⲥ}}-
|-
!rowspan=3|{{gcl|1PL}}
!{{gcl|M}}
|colspan=6|{{Coptic|ⲡⲉⲛ}}-
|-
!{{gcl|F}}
|colspan=6|{{Coptic|ⲧⲉⲛ}}-
|-
!{{gcl|PL}}
|colspan=6|{{Coptic|ⲛⲉⲛ}}-
|-
!rowspan=3|{{gcl|2PL}}
!{{gcl|M}}
|colspan=2|{{Coptic|ⲡⲉⲧⲉⲛ}}-
|colspan=4|{{Coptic|ⲡⲉⲧⲛ̄}}-
|-
!{{gcl|F}}
|colspan=2|{{Coptic|ⲧⲉⲧⲉⲛ}}-
|colspan=4|{{Coptic|ⲧⲉⲧⲛ̄}}-
|-
!{{gcl|PL}}
|colspan=2|{{Coptic|ⲛⲉⲧⲉⲛ}}-
|colspan=4|{{Coptic|ⲛⲉⲧⲛ̄}}-
|-
!rowspan=3|{{gcl|3PL}}
!{{gcl|M}}
|{{Coptic|ⲡⲟⲩ}}-
|colspan=3|{{Coptic|ⲡⲉⲩ}}-
|colspan=2|{{Coptic|ⲡⲟⲩ}}-
|-
!{{gcl|F}}
|{{Coptic|ⲧⲟⲩ}}-
|colspan=3|{{Coptic|ⲧⲉⲩ}}-
|colspan=2|{{Coptic|ⲧⲟⲩ}}-
|-
!{{gcl|PL}}
|{{Coptic|ⲛⲟⲩ}}-
|colspan=3|{{Coptic|ⲛⲉⲩ}}-
|colspan=2|{{Coptic|ⲛⲟⲩ}}-
|}
</div>
<div style="display: inline-block; vertical-align: top; margin-right: 1em;">
{|class="wikitable mw-collapsible" style=text-align:center
|+Examples
!rowspan=2|Translation
!colspan=6|Dialect
|-
!{{small|Bohairic}}
!{{small|Fayyumic}}
!{{small|Oxyrhynchite}}
!{{small|Sahidic}}
!{{small|Lycopolitan}}
!{{small|Akhmimic}}
|-
|"my brother"
|{{Coptic|ⲡⲁ-ⲥⲟⲛ}}
|colspan=2|{{Coptic|ⲡⲁ-ⲥⲁⲛ}}
|{{Coptic|ⲡⲁ-ⲥⲟⲛ}}
|colspan=2|{{Coptic|ⲡⲁ-ⲥⲁⲛ}}
|-
|"my sister"
|colspan=2|{{Coptic|ⲧⲁ-ⲥⲱⲛⲓ}}
|{{Coptic|ⲧⲁ-ⲥⲟⲛⲉ}}
|colspan=3|{{Coptic|ⲧⲁ-ⲥⲱⲛⲉ}}
|-
|"my siblings"
|colspan=2|{{Coptic|ⲛⲁ-ⲥⲛⲏⲟⲩ}}
|colspan=4|{{Coptic|ⲛⲁ-ⲥⲛⲏⲩ}}
|-
|"your ({{gcl|SG}}.{{gcl|M}}) brother"
|{{Coptic|ⲡⲉⲕ-ⲥⲟⲛ}}
|colspan=2|{{Coptic|ⲡⲉⲕ-ⲥⲁⲛ}}
|{{Coptic|ⲡⲉⲕ-ⲥⲟⲛ}}
|colspan=2|{{Coptic|ⲡⲉⲕ-ⲥⲁⲛ}}
|-
|"your ({{gcl|SG}}.{{gcl|M}}) sister"
|colspan=2|{{Coptic|ⲧⲉⲕ-ⲥⲱⲛⲓ}}
|{{Coptic|ⲧⲉⲕ-ⲥⲟⲛⲉ}}
|colspan=3|{{Coptic|ⲧⲉⲕ-ⲥⲱⲛⲉ}}
|-
|"your ({{gcl|SG}}.{{gcl|M}}) siblings"
|colspan=2|{{Coptic|ⲛⲉⲕ-ⲥⲛⲏⲟⲩ}}
|colspan=4|{{Coptic|ⲛⲉⲕ-ⲥⲛⲏⲩ}}
|-
|"your ({{gcl|SG}}.{{gcl|F}}) brother"
|{{Coptic|ⲡⲉ-ⲥⲟⲛ}}
|colspan=2|{{Coptic|ⲡⲉ-ⲥⲁⲛ}}
|{{Coptic|ⲡⲟⲩ-ⲥⲟⲛ}}
|colspan=2|{{Coptic|ⲡⲉ-ⲥⲁⲛ}}
|-
|"your ({{gcl|SG}}.{{gcl|F}}) sister"
|colspan=2|{{Coptic|ⲧⲉ-ⲥⲱⲛⲓ}}
|{{Coptic|ⲧⲉ-ⲥⲟⲛⲉ}}
|{{Coptic|ⲧⲟⲩ-ⲥⲱⲛⲉ}}
|colspan=2|{{Coptic|ⲧⲉ-ⲥⲱⲛⲉ}}
|-
|"your ({{gcl|SG}}.{{gcl|F}}) siblings"
|colspan=2|{{Coptic|ⲛⲉ-ⲥⲛⲏⲟⲩ}}
|{{Coptic|ⲛⲉ-ⲥⲛⲏⲩ}}
|{{Coptic|ⲛⲟⲩ-ⲥⲛⲏⲩ}}
|colspan=2|{{Coptic|ⲛⲉ-ⲥⲛⲏⲩ}}
|-
|"his brother"
|{{Coptic|ⲡⲉϥ-ⲥⲟⲛ}}
|colspan=2|{{Coptic|ⲡⲉϥ-ⲥⲁⲛ}}
|{{Coptic|ⲡⲉϥ-ⲥⲟⲛ}}
|colspan=2|{{Coptic|ⲡⲉϥ-ⲥⲁⲛ}}
|-
|"his sister"
|colspan=2|{{Coptic|ⲧⲉϥ-ⲥⲱⲛⲓ}}
|{{Coptic|ⲧⲉϥ-ⲥⲟⲛⲉ}}
|colspan=3|{{Coptic|ⲧⲉϥ-ⲥⲱⲛⲉ}}
|-
|"his siblings"
|colspan=2|{{Coptic|ⲛⲉϥ-ⲥⲛⲏⲟⲩ}}
|colspan=4|{{Coptic|ⲛⲉϥ-ⲥⲛⲏⲩ}}
|-
|"her brother"
|{{Coptic|ⲡⲉⲥ-ⲥⲟⲛ}}
|colspan=2|{{Coptic|ⲡⲉⲥ-ⲥⲁⲛ}}
|{{Coptic|ⲡⲉⲥ-ⲥⲟⲛ}}
|colspan=2|{{Coptic|ⲡⲉⲥ-ⲥⲁⲛ}}
|-
|"her sister"
|colspan=2|{{Coptic|ⲧⲉⲥ-ⲥⲱⲛⲓ}}
|{{Coptic|ⲧⲉⲥ-ⲥⲟⲛⲉ}}
|colspan=3|{{Coptic|ⲧⲉⲥ-ⲥⲱⲛⲉ}}
|-
|"her siblings"
|colspan=2|{{Coptic|ⲛⲉⲥ-ⲥⲛⲏⲟⲩ}}
|colspan=4|{{Coptic|ⲛⲉⲥ-ⲥⲛⲏⲩ}}
|-
|"our brother"
|{{Coptic|ⲡⲉⲛ-ⲥⲟⲛ}}
|colspan=2|{{Coptic|ⲡⲉⲛ-ⲥⲁⲛ}}
|{{Coptic|ⲡⲉⲛ-ⲥⲟⲛ}}
|colspan=2|{{Coptic|ⲡⲉⲛ-ⲥⲁⲛ}}
|-
|"our sister"
|colspan=2|{{Coptic|ⲧⲉⲛ-ⲥⲱⲛⲓ}}
|{{Coptic|ⲧⲉⲛ-ⲥⲟⲛⲉ}}
|colspan=3|{{Coptic|ⲧⲉⲛ-ⲥⲱⲛⲉ}}
|-
|"our siblings"
|colspan=2|{{Coptic|ⲛⲉⲛ-ⲥⲛⲏⲟⲩ}}
|colspan=4|{{Coptic|ⲛⲉⲛ-ⲥⲛⲏⲩ}}
|-
|"your ({{gcl|PL}}) brother" 
|{{Coptic|ⲡⲉⲧⲉⲛ-ⲥⲟⲛ}}
|{{Coptic|ⲡⲉⲧⲉⲛ-ⲥⲁⲛ}}
|{{Coptic|ⲡⲉⲧⲛ̄-ⲥⲁⲛ}}
|{{Coptic|ⲡⲉⲧⲛ̄-ⲥⲟⲛ}}
|colspan=2|{{Coptic|ⲡⲉⲧⲛ̄-ⲥⲁⲛ}}
|-
|"your ({{gcl|PL}}) sister"
|colspan=2|{{Coptic|ⲧⲉⲧⲉⲛ-ⲥⲱⲛⲓ}}
|{{Coptic|ⲧⲉⲧⲛ̄-ⲥⲟⲛⲉ}}
|colspan=3|{{Coptic|ⲧⲉⲧⲛ̄-ⲥⲱⲛⲉ}}
|-
|"your ({{gcl|PL}}) siblings"
|colspan=2|{{Coptic|ⲛⲉⲧⲉⲛ-ⲥⲛⲏⲟⲩ}}
|colspan=4|{{Coptic|ⲛⲉⲧⲛ̄-ⲥⲛⲏⲩ}}
|-
|"their brother"
|{{Coptic|ⲡⲟⲩ-ⲥⲟⲛ}}
|colspan=2|{{Coptic|ⲡⲉⲩ-ⲥⲁⲛ}}
|{{Coptic|ⲡⲉⲩ-ⲥⲟⲛ}}
|colspan=2|{{Coptic|ⲡⲟⲩ-ⲥⲁⲛ}}
|-
|"their sister"
|{{Coptic|ⲧⲟⲩ-ⲥⲱⲛⲓ}}
|{{Coptic|ⲧⲉⲩ-ⲥⲱⲛⲓ}}
|{{Coptic|ⲧⲉⲩ-ⲥⲟⲛⲉ}}
|{{Coptic|ⲧⲉⲩ-ⲥⲱⲛⲉ}}
|colspan=2|{{Coptic|ⲧⲟⲩ-ⲥⲱⲛⲉ}}
|-
|"their siblings"
|{{Coptic|ⲛⲟⲩ-ⲥⲛⲏⲟⲩ}}
|{{Coptic|ⲛⲉⲩ-ⲥⲛⲏⲟⲩ}}
|colspan=2|{{Coptic|ⲛⲉⲩ-ⲥⲛⲏⲩ}}
|colspan=2|{{Coptic|ⲛⲟⲩ-ⲥⲛⲏⲩ}}
|}
</div>

===Pronouns===
Coptic pronouns are of two kinds, dependent and independent. Independent pronouns are used when the pronoun is acting as the subject of a sentence, as the object of a verb, or with a preposition. Dependent pronouns are a series of prefixes and suffixes that can attach to verbs and other nouns. Coptic verbs can therefore be said to inflect for the person, number and gender of the subject and the object: a pronominal prefix marks the subject, and a pronominal suffix marks the object, e.g. "I I'have'it the ball." When (as in this case) the subject is a pronoun, it normally is not also expressed independently, unless for emphasis.

As in other Afroasiatic languages, gender of pronouns differ only in the second and third person singular.

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Pronouns of the Bohairic dialect
! rowspan="2" colspan="3" |
! colspan="2" | Independent
! rowspan="2" | Proclitic
! rowspan="2" | As suffix
|-
! Stressed
! Unstressed
|-
! rowspan="2" | 1st<br />person
! colspan="2" | singular
| {{Coptic|ⲁⲛⲟⲕ}}<br />{{Transliteration|cop|anok}}
| {{Coptic|ⲁⲛ̀ⲕ-}}<br />{{Transliteration|cop|anək-}}
| {{Coptic|ϯ-}}<br />{{Transliteration|cop|ti-}}
| {{Coptic|⸗ⲓ}}<br />{{Transliteration|cop|{{=}}i}}
|-
! colspan="2" | plural
| {{Coptic|ⲁⲛⲟⲛ}}<br />{{Transliteration|cop|anon}}
| {{Coptic|ⲁⲛ-}}<br />{{Transliteration|cop|an-}}
| {{Coptic|ⲧⲉⲛ-}}<br />{{Transliteration|cop|ten-}}
| {{Coptic|⸗ⲛ}}<br />{{Transliteration|cop|{{=}}n}}
|-
! rowspan="3" | 2nd<br />person
! rowspan="2" | singular
! masc.
| {{Coptic|ⲛ̀ⲑⲟⲕ}}<br />{{Transliteration|cop|əntʰok}}
| {{Coptic|ⲛ̀ⲧⲉⲕ-}}<br />{{Transliteration|cop|əntek-}}
| {{Coptic|ⲕ̀-}}<br />{{Transliteration|cop|ək-}}
| {{Coptic|⸗ⲕ}}<br />{{Transliteration|cop|{{=}}k}}
|-
! fem.
| {{Coptic|ⲛ̀ⲑⲟ}}<br />{{Transliteration|cop|əntʰo}}
| {{Coptic|ⲛ̀ⲧⲉ-}}<br />{{Transliteration|cop|ənte-}}
| {{Coptic|ⲧⲉ- ⲧⲣ-}}<br />{{Transliteration|cop|te-, tr-}}
| {{Coptic|⸗ ⸗ⲉ ⸗ⲣ ⸗ⲣⲉ ⸗ⲧⲉ}}<br />{{Transliteration|cop|{{=}}∅, {{=}}e, {{=}}r(e), {{=}}te}}
|-
! colspan="2" | plural
| {{Coptic|ⲛ̀ⲑⲱⲧⲉⲛ}}<br />{{Transliteration|cop|əntʰōten}}
| {{Coptic|ⲛ̀ⲧⲉⲛ-}}<br />{{Transliteration|cop|ənten-}}
| {{Coptic|ⲧⲉⲧⲉⲛ-}}<br />{{Transliteration|cop|teten-}}
| {{Coptic|⸗ⲧⲉⲛ ⸗ⲧⲉⲧⲉⲛ}}<br />{{Transliteration|cop|{{=}}ten, {{=}}teten}}
|-
! rowspan="3" | 3rd<br />person
! rowspan="2" | singular
! masc.
| {{Coptic|ⲛ̀ⲑⲟϥ}}<br />{{Transliteration|cop|əntʰof}}
| 
| {{Coptic|ϥ̀-}}<br />{{Transliteration|cop|əf-}}
| {{Coptic|⸗ϥ}}<br />{{Transliteration|cop|{{=}}f}}
|-
! fem.
| {{Coptic|ⲛ̀ⲑⲟⲥ}}<br />{{Transliteration|cop|əntʰos}}
| 
| {{Coptic|ⲥ̀-}}<br />{{Transliteration|cop|əs-}}
| {{Coptic|⸗ⲥ}}<br />{{Transliteration|cop|{{=}}s}}
|-
! colspan="2" | plural
| {{Coptic|ⲛ̀ⲑⲱⲟⲩ}}<br />{{Transliteration|cop|əntʰōou}}
| 
| {{Coptic|ⲥⲉ-}}<br />{{Transliteration|cop|se-}}
| {{Coptic|⸗ⲟⲩ}}<br />{{Transliteration|cop|{{=}}ou}}
|}

=== Adjectives ===
Most Coptic adjectives are actually nouns that have the attributive particle ''n'' to make them adjectival. In all stages of Egyptian, this morpheme is also used to express the [[Genitive case|genitive]]; for example, the Bohairic word for 'Egyptian', {{Coptic|ⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ}} {{IPA|/remənkʰeːmə/}}, is a combination of the nominal prefix {{Coptic|ⲣⲉⲙ-}} ''rem-'' (the reduced form of {{Coptic|ⲣⲱⲙⲓ}} ''rōmi'' 'man'), followed by the genitive morpheme {{Coptic|ⲛ̀}} ''ən'' ('of') and finally the word for Egypt, {{Coptic|ⲭⲏⲙⲓ}} ''kʰēmi''.

=== Verbs ===

==== Verbal grade system ====
Coptic, like Ancient Egyptian and Semitic languages, has root-and-pattern or templatic morphology, and the basic meaning of a verb is contained in a root and various derived forms of root are obtained by varying the vowel pattern. For example, the root for 'build' is ''kt''.  It has four derived forms:
# {{Coptic|ⲕⲟⲧ}} {{IPA|kɔt}} (the absolute state grade)
# {{Coptic|ⲕⲉⲧ-}} ket- (the nominal state grade)
# {{Coptic|ⲕⲟⲧ⸗}} kot= (the pronominal state grade)
# {{Coptic|ⲕⲉⲧ}} {{IPA|kɛt}} (the stative grade)
(The nominal state grade is also called the construct state in some grammars of Coptic.)

The absolute, nominal, and pronominal state grades are used in different syntactic contexts. The absolute state grade of a transitive verb is used before a direct object with the accusative preposition {{IPA|/ən, əm/}}, and the nominal state grade is used before a direct object with no case-marking.  The pronominal state grade is used before a pronominal direct object enclitic. In addition, many verbs also have a neutral state grade, used to express a state resulting from the action of the verb. Compare the following forms:{{sfn|Lambdin|1983|p=39}}

<section begin="list-of-glossing-abbreviations"/><div style="display:none;">
ABS:absolute state grade
NOM:nominal state grade
PRONOM:pronominal state grade
</div><section end="list-of-glossing-abbreviations"/>

{{fs interlinear |lang=cop |indent=2 |italics3=yes |glossing4=yes
|top='''Absolute state grade'''
|{{Coptic|ⲁⲓϫⲓⲙⲓ}} {{Coptic|ⲙ̀ⲡⲁⲓⲱⲧ}}
|Aijimi əmpaiōt
|a-i-jimi əm-p-a-iōt
|PFV-1SG-find.ABS PREP-DEF:MASC:SG-1SG-father
|'I found my father.'}}

{{fs interlinear |lang=cop |indent=2 |italics3=yes |glossing4=yes
|top='''Nominal state grade'''
|{{Coptic|ⲁⲓϫⲉⲙ}} {{Coptic|ⲡⲁⲓⲱⲧ}}
|Aijem paiōt
|a-i-jem p-a-iōt
|PFV-1SG-find.NOM DEF:MASC:SG-1SG-father
|'I found my father.'}}

{{fs interlinear |lang=cop |indent=2 |italics3=yes |glossing4=yes
|top='''Pronominal state grade'''
|{{Coptic|ⲁⲓϭⲉⲛⲧϥ}}
|Aijəntf
|a-i-jənt{{=}}f
|PFV-1SG-find.PRONOM{{=}}3MSG
|'I found him.'}}

For most transitive verbs, both absolute and nominal state grade verbs are available for non-pronominal objects. However, there is one important restriction, known as ''Jernstedt's rule'' (or the ''Stern-Jernstedt rule'') {{Harv|Jernstedt|1927}}: present-tense sentences cannot be used in the nominal state grade. Thus sentences in the present tense always show a pattern like the first example above (absolute state), never the second pattern (nominal state).

In general, the four grades of Coptic verb are not predictable from the root, and are listed in the lexicon for each verb. The following chart shows some typical patterns of correspondence:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Gloss
! colspan="2"| Absolute state
! colspan="2"| Nominal state
! colspan="2"| Pronominal state
! colspan="2"| Neutral state
|-
| Spread || {{Coptic|ⲡⲱⲣϣ̀}} || {{IPA|poːrəʃ}} || {{Coptic|ⲡⲣ̀ϣ}} || {{IPA|pərʃ}} || {{Coptic|ⲡⲱⲣϣ}} || {{IPA|poːrʃ}} || {{Coptic|ⲡⲟⲣϣ̀}} || {{IPA|poʔrəʃ}}
|-
| Dig || {{Coptic|ϣⲓⲕⲉ}} || {{IPA|ʃiːkə}} || {{Coptic|ϣⲉⲕⲧ}} || {{IPA|ʃekt}} || {{Coptic|ϣⲁⲕⲧ}} || {{IPA|ʃakt}} || {{Coptic|ϣⲟⲕⲉ}} || {{IPA|ʃoʔkə}}
|-
| Comfort || {{Coptic|ⲥⲟⲗⲥⲗ̀}} || {{IPA|solsəl}} || {{Coptic|ⲥⲗ̀ⲥⲗ̀}} || {{IPA|səlsəl}} || {{Coptic|ⲥⲗ̀ⲥⲱⲗ}} || {{IPA|səlsoːl}} || {{Coptic|ⲥⲗ̀ⲥⲱⲗ}} || {{IPA|səlsoːl}}
|-
| Roll || {{Coptic|ⲥⲕⲟⲣⲕⲣ̀}} || {{IPA|skorkər}} || {{Coptic|ⲥⲕⲣ̀ⲕⲣ̀}} || {{IPA|skərkər}} || {{Coptic|ⲥⲕⲣ̀ⲕⲱⲣ}} || {{IPA|skərkoːr}} || {{Coptic|ⲥⲕⲣ̀ⲕⲱⲣ}} || {{IPA|skərkoːr}}
|-
| Build || {{Coptic|ⲕⲱⲧ}} || {{IPA|koːt}} || {{Coptic|ⲕⲉⲧ}} || {{IPA|ket}} || {{Coptic|ⲕⲟⲧ}} || {{IPA|kot}} || {{Coptic|ⲕⲏⲧ}} || {{IPA|keːt}}
|}

It is hazardous to make firm generalisations about the relationships between these grade forms, but the nominal state is usually shorter than the corresponding absolute and neutral forms. Absolute and neutral state forms are usually bisyllabic or contain a long vowel; the corresponding nominal state forms are monosyllabic or have short vowels.

==== Tense/aspect/mood inflection ====
Coptic has a very large number of distinct [[tense-aspect-mood]] categories, expressed by particles which are either before the verb or before the subject. The future {{IPA|/na/}} is a preverbal particle and follows the subject:{{sfn|Reintges|2010|p=210}}

{{fs interlinear |lang=cop |indent=2 |italics3=yes |glossing4=yes
|{{Coptic|Ⲡⲉϫⲟⲉⲓⲥ}} {{Coptic|ⲛⲁⲕⲣⲓⲛⲉ}} {{Coptic|ⲛ̀ⲛⲉⲗⲁⲟⲥ}}
|Pecoeis nakrine ənnelaos
|pe-joeis '''na'''-krine ən-ne-laos
|DEF:MASC:SG-lord FUT-judge PREP-DEF:PL-people
|'The lord will judge the nations.'}}

In contrast, the perfective {{IPAslink|a}} is a pre-subject particle:

{{fs interlinear |lang=cop |indent=2 |italics3=yes |glossing4=yes
|{{Coptic|Ⲁ}} {{Coptic|ⲧⲉϥⲥⲱⲛⲉ}} {{Coptic|ⲇⲉ}} {{Coptic|ⲟⲗ}} {{Coptic|ⲛ̀ⲛⲉϥⲕⲏⲥ}}
|A tefsōne de ol ənnefkēs
|'''a''' te-f-sōne de ol ən-ne-f-kēs
|PFV DEF:F:SG-3MSG-sister {{gcl|PART|particle}} carry.ABS PREP-DEF:PL-3MSG-bone
|'His sister carried his bones.'}}

There is some variation in the labels for the tense/aspect/mood categories. The chart below shows the labels from {{harvtxt|Reintges|2004}}, {{harvtxt|Lambdin|1983}}, {{harvtxt|Plumley|1948}}. (Where they agree, only one label is shown.) Each form lists the morphology found with a nonpronominal subject (Marked with an underscore in Coptic) and a third person singular masculine pronominal subject ('he'):

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! colspan="3"| Tense name
! colspan="2" rowspan="2"| Nominal subject
! colspan="2" rowspan="2"| 3rd M. Sg.<br />Pronominal subject
|-
! Reintges !! Lambdin !! Plumley
|-
| First Present || || Present I || {{Coptic|_}} || NP || {{Coptic|ϥ}}- || {{IPA|f}}-
|-
| Second Present<br />Circumstantial || || || {{Coptic|ⲉⲣⲉ _}} || {{IPA|ere}} NP || {{Coptic|ⲉϥ}}- || {{IPA|ef}}-
|-
| Relative of First Present || || || {{Coptic|ⲉⲧⲉⲣⲉ _}} || {{IPA|etere}} NP || {{Coptic|ⲉⲧϥ̀}}- || {{IPA|etəf}}-
|-
| Preterite Present || Imperfect || Imperfect || {{Coptic|ⲛⲉⲣⲉ _}} || {{IPA|nere}} NP || {{Coptic|ⲛⲉϥ}}- || {{IPA|nef}}-
|-
| Preterite Past || || || {{Coptic|ⲛⲉⲁ _}} || {{IPA|nea}} NP || {{Coptic|ⲛⲉⲁϥ}}- || {{IPA|neaf}}-
|-
| Future I
| || || {{Coptic|_ ⲛⲁ}}- || NP {{IPA|na}}- || {{Coptic|ϥⲛⲁ}}- || {{IPA|fna}}-
|-
| Future II
| || || {{Coptic|ⲉⲣⲉ _ ⲛⲁ}}- || {{IPA|ere}} NP {{IPA|na}}- || {{Coptic|ⲉϥⲛⲁ}}- || {{IPA|efna}}-
|-
| Future III ||
| || {{Coptic|ⲉⲣⲉ _}} || {{IPA|ere}} NP || {{Coptic|ⲉϥⲉ}}- || {{IPA|efe}}-
|-
| || Negative Future III || Negative Future II || {{Coptic|ⲛ̀ⲛⲉ _}} || {{IPA|ənne}} NP || {{Coptic|ⲛ̀ⲛⲉϥ}}- || {{IPA|ənnef}}-
|-
| || Imperfect of Future ||Future Imperfect || {{Coptic|ⲛⲉⲣⲉ _ ⲛⲁ}}- || {{IPA|nere}} NP {{IPA|na}}- || {{Coptic|ⲛⲉϥⲛⲁ}}- || {{IPA|nefna}}-
|-
| Perfect I || || || {{Coptic|ⲁ _}} || {{IPA|a}} NP || {{Coptic|ⲁϥ}}- || {{IPA|af}}-
|-
| Negative Perfect I || ||  || {{Coptic|ⲙ̀ⲡⲉ _}} || {{IPA|əmpe}} NP || {{Coptic|ⲙ̀ⲡⲉϥ}}- || {{IPA|əmpef}}-
|-
| Perfect II || || || {{Coptic|ⲛ̀ⲧⲉ _}} || {{IPA|ənta}} NP || {{Coptic|ⲛ̀ⲧⲉϥ}}- || {{IPA|əntaf}}-
|-
| Habitual  ||
| || {{Coptic|ϣⲁⲣⲉ _}} || {{IPA|ʃare}} NP || {{Coptic|ϣⲁϥ}}- || {{IPA|ʃaf}}-
|-
| Habitual I
| || || {{Coptic|ⲉϣⲁⲣⲉ _}} || {{IPA|eʃare}} NP || {{Coptic|ⲉϣⲁϥ}}- || {{IPA|eʃaf}}-
|-
| Negative Habitual || || || {{Coptic|ⲙⲉⲣⲉ _}} || {{IPA|mere}} NP || {{Coptic|ⲙⲉϥ}}- || {{IPA|mef}}-
|-
| [[Jussive]] || [[Injunctive mood|Injunctive]] || [[Optative]] || {{Coptic|ⲙⲁⲣⲉ _}} || {{IPA|mare}} NP || {{Coptic|ⲙⲁⲣⲉϥ}}- || {{IPA|maref}}-
|-
| Conditional || || || {{Coptic|ⲉⲣϣⲁⲛ _}} || {{IPA|erʃan}} NP || {{Coptic|ⲉϥϣⲁⲛ}}- || {{IPA|efʃan}}-
|-
| Conjunctive || || || {{Coptic|ⲛ̀ⲧⲉ _}} || {{IPA|ənte}} NP || {{Coptic|ⲛϥ̀}}- || {{IPA|nəf}}-
|-
| Inferential || Future Conjunctive of Result ||Future I || {{Coptic|ⲧⲁⲣⲉ _}} || {{IPA|tare}} NP || {{Coptic|ⲧⲁⲣⲉϥ}}- || {{IPA|taref}}-
|-
| Temporal || || || {{Coptic|ⲛ̀ⲧⲉⲣⲉ _}} || {{IPA|əntere}} NP || {{Coptic|ⲛ̀ⲧⲉⲣⲉϥ}}- || {{IPA|ənteref}}-
|-
| Terminative ||"Until" || "Unfulfilled action || {{Coptic|ϣⲁⲛⲧⲉ _}} || {{IPA|ʃante}} NP || {{Coptic|ϣⲁⲛⲧϥ̀}}- || {{IPA|ʃantəf}}-
|-
| ||"Not yet" ||"Unfulfilled action || {{Coptic|ⲙ̀ⲡⲁⲧⲉ _}} || {{IPA|əmpate}} NP || {{Coptic|ⲙ̀ⲡⲁⲧϥ̀}}- || {{IPA|əmpatəf}}-
|}

An approximate range of use for most of the tense/aspect/mood categories is shown in the following table:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Tense name (Lambdin) !! Approximate range of use
|-
| Present I || Present time in narrative (predicate focus)
|-
| Relative of Present I || Non-subject relative clause in present tense
|-
| Circumstantial || Background clauses; relative clauses with indefinite heads
|-
| Imperfect || Action in progress in the past
|-
|  Future I || Simple future tense (predicate focus)
|-
| Future II || Simple future tense (adverbial focus)
|-
| Future III || Future tense conveyed as necessary, inevitable, or obligatory
|-
| Perfect I || Primary narrative tense (predicate focus)
|-
| Negative Perfect I  || Negative of Perfect I
|-
| Perfect II || Primary narrative tense (adverbial focus); relative clause form of Perfect I
|-
| Habitual || Characteristic or habitual action
|-
| Negative Habitual || Negative of Habitual
|-
| Injunctive || Imperative for first and third persons ('let me', 'let him', etc.)
|-
| Conditional || Protasis (if-clause) of a conditional (if-then) statement
|-
| Conjunctive || Event shares the TAM of a preceding initial verb
|-
| Future Conjunctive of Result || Used in clauses that express a resultant action
|-
| Temporal || Past action in a subordinate temporal clause ("when NP V-ed, ...")
|}

==== Second tenses ====
An unusual feature of Coptic is the extensive use of a set of "second tenses", which are required in certain syntactic contexts.  "Second tenses" are also called "relative tenses" in some work.{{sfn|Reintges|2004}}

=== Prepositions ===
Coptic has prepositions, rather than postpositions:

{{fs interlinear |lang=cop |indent=2 |italics3=yes |glossing4=yes
|{{Coptic|ϩⲓ}} {{Coptic|ⲡ̀ϫⲟⲓ}}
|hi pjoi
|hi p-joi
|on DEF:M:SG-ship
|'on the ship'}}

Pronominal objects of prepositions are indicated with enclitic pronouns:

{{columns-start}}
{{fs interlinear|indent=2|ipa2=yes
|{{Coptic|ⲉⲣⲟⲕ}}
|erok
|on-2MSG
|'to you'}}
{{column}}
{{fs interlinear|indent=2|ipa2=yes
|{{Coptic|ⲛⲁⲛ}}
|nan
|for-1PL
|'for us'}}
{{columns-end}}

Many prepositions have different forms before the enclitic pronouns.{{sfn|Lambdin|1983|pp=30–31}}  Compare:

{{columns-start}}
{{fs interlinear|indent=2|ipa2=yes
|{{Coptic|ⲉ̀ⲡ̀ϫⲟⲓ}}
|e-p-joi
|to-DEF:SG:M-ship
|'to the ship'}}
{{column}}
{{fs interlinear|indent=2|ipa2=yes
|{{Coptic|ⲉⲣⲟϥ}}
|erof
|on-3MSG
|'to him'}}
{{columns-end}}

== Syntax ==

=== Sentential syntax ===
Coptic typically shows subject–verb–object (SVO) word order, as in the following examples:{{sfn|Reintges|2010|p=211}}{{sfn|Lambdin|1983|p=39}}

{{fs interlinear |lang=cop |indent=2 |italics3=yes |glossing4=yes
|{{Coptic|ⲁ}} {{Coptic|ⲧⲉϭⲁⲙⲁⲩⲗⲉ}} {{Coptic|ⲙⲓⲥⲉ}} {{Coptic|ⲛ̀ⲟⲩϣⲏⲣⲉ}} {{Coptic|ⲛ̀ϣⲓⲙⲉ}}
|A tecamaule mise ənoušēre ənšime
|a te-camaule mise ən-ou-šēre ən-šime
|PFV DEF:F:SG-camel deliver.ABS PREP-INDEF:SG-girl link-woman
|'The she-camel delivered a daughter.'}}

{{fs interlinear |lang=cop |indent=2 |italics3=yes |glossing4=yes
|{{Coptic|ⲡⲉϫⲟⲉⲓⲥ}} {{Coptic|ⲛⲁⲕⲣⲓⲛⲉ}} {{Coptic|ⲛ̀ⲛⲉⲗⲁⲟⲥ}}
|Pejoeis nakrine ənnelaos
|pe-joeis na-krine ən-ne-laos
|DEF:M:SG-lord FUT-judge PREP-DEF:PL-people
|'The Lord will judge the people.'}}

{{fs interlinear |lang=cop |indent=2 |italics3=yes |glossing4=yes
|{{Coptic|ⲁⲓϭⲓⲛⲉ}} {{Coptic|ⲙ̀ⲡⲁⲉⲓⲱⲧ}}
|Aicine əmpaeiōt
|a-i-cine əm-p-a-eiōt
|PFV-1sg-find.ABS PREP-DEF:MASC:SG-1SG-father
|'I found my father.'}}

The verbs in these sentences are in the {{em|absolute state grade}},{{sfn|Reintges|2010|p=208}} which requires that its direct object be introduced with the preposition {{IPA|/ən, əm/}}. This preposition functions like [[accusative case]].

There is also an alternative {{em|nominal state grade}} of the verb in which the direct object of the verb follows with no preposition:

{{fs interlinear |lang=cop |indent=2 |italics3=yes |glossing4=yes
|{{Coptic|Ⲁⲓϭⲉⲛ}} {{Coptic|ⲡⲁⲉⲓⲱⲧ}}
|Aicen paeiōt
|a-i-cen p-a-eiōt
|PFV-1SG-find.NOM DEF:M:SG-1SG-father
|'I found my father.'}}

== Dialects ==
{{More citations needed section|date=April 2025}}
[[File:Historical Map of the Coptic Dialects.png|thumb|300px|Historical Coptic dialects in Egypt<ref>The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 8 by Aziz Suryal Atiya</ref><ref>Coptic: A Grammar of Its Six Major Dialects by James Peter Allen</ref><ref>
The Rise of Coptic: Egyptian versus Greek in Late Antiquity by Jean-Luc Fournet</ref>]]
[[File:Sandstone stela, inscribed with Coptic text. The names Phoibammon and Abraham appear. From Egypt, find spot unknown, date known. The British Museum, London.jpg|thumb|left|Sandstone [[stela]], inscribed with Coptic text. The names Phoibammon and Abraham appear. From Egypt, unknown finding place. The British Museum, London]]
[[File:Coptic and Arabic inscriptions in an Old Cairo church.jpg|thumb|300px|right|Coptic and Arabic inscriptions in an Old Cairo church]]

There is little written evidence of dialectal differences in the pre-Coptic phases of the Egyptian language due to the centralised nature of the political and cultural institutions of ancient Egyptian society. However, literary Old and Middle (Classical) Egyptian represent the spoken dialect of Lower Egypt around the city of [[Memphis, Egypt|Memphis]], the capital of Egypt in the [[Old Kingdom of Egypt|Old Kingdom]]. Later Egyptian is more representative of the dialects spoken in Upper Egypt, especially around the area of [[Thebes, Egypt|Thebes]] as it became the cultural and religious center of the New Kingdom.

Coptic more obviously displays a number of regional dialects that were in use from the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in northern Egypt, south into [[Nubia]], and in the western oases. However, while many of these dialects reflect actual regional linguistic (namely phonological and some lexical) variation, they mostly reflect localized orthographic traditions with very little grammatical differences.

=== Lower Egyptian dialects ===
==== Bohairic ====
[[File:Papyrus Bodmer III p. 142.png|thumb|[[Papyrus Bodmer III]] is an early Bohairic [[manuscript]] containing the [[Gospel of John]] and parts of [[Book of Genesis|Genesis]]]]
The [[Bohairic Coptic|Bohairic]] (also known as Memphitic){{Citation needed|reason=According to the map shown on this page, Memphis appears to have been within the Sahidic area.|date=July 2024}} dialect originated in the western [[Nile Delta]]. The earliest Bohairic manuscripts date to the 4th century, but most texts come from the 9th century and later; this may be due to poor preservation conditions for texts in the humid regions of northern Egypt. It shows several conservative features in [[lexicon]] and [[phonology]] not found in other dialects. Bohairic is the dialect used as the liturgical language of the modern Coptic Orthodox Church, replacing Sahidic some time in the eleventh century. In contemporary liturgical use, there are two traditions of pronunciation, arising from successive reforms in the 19th and 20th centuries (see [[Coptic pronunciation reform]]). Modern revitalisation efforts are based on this dialect.

'''Bashmuric''' (also known as Mansurian, Dialect G, and Bashmurian) was a sub-dialect of Bohairic most likely spoken in Eastern Delta. Its main characteristic is using solely Greek letters to represent Coptic phonemes.

=== Upper Egyptian dialects ===
==== Sahidic ====
[[File:Shred of a pottery vessel inscribed with 5 lines, Coptic Sahidic language. Byzantine period, 6th century CE. From Thebes, Egypt. The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, London.jpg|left|thumb|Pottery shard inscribed with 5 lines in Coptic Sahidic. Byzantine period, 6th century AD. From Thebes, Egypt. The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, London]]
Sahidic (also known as Thebaic or Theban) is the dialect in which most known Coptic texts are written, and was the leading dialect in the pre-[[Islam]]ic period. Where it was spoken is a matter of debate; it name which comes from an Arabic term ''Aṣ-ṣa'id'' meaning Upper [Southern] Egypt would imply it was spoken there, but Sahidic's features seem to suggest it was spoken in the north. It is also possible that Sahidic was the urban dialect spoken in the major urban centers of Thebes and Memphis differentiating it from the other rural dialects.{{sfn|Lambdin|1983|pp=vii-viii}} Around 300 it began to be written in literary form, including translations of major portions of the [[Bible]] (see [[Coptic versions of the Bible]]). By the 6th century, a standardised spelling had been attained throughout Egypt. Almost all native authors wrote in this dialect of Coptic. Sahidic was, beginning in the 9th century, challenged by Bohairic, but is attested as late as the 14th.

While texts in other Coptic dialects are primarily translations of Greek literary and religious texts, Sahidic is the only dialect with a considerable body of original literature and non-literary texts. Because Sahidic shares most of its features with other dialects of Coptic with few peculiarities specific to itself, and has an extensive corpus of known texts, it is generally the dialect studied by learners of Coptic, particularly by scholars outside of the Coptic Church.

==== Proto-Theban ====
Proto-Theban is a dialect of Coptic only attested in a single source, as such information on it is limited but; Proto-Theban closely resembles what reconstructed Proto-Sahidic dialect would have looked like. The variant of the Coptic script used in its singular attestation is also distinct as it contains 10 letters from the Demotic Script which is significantly higher than other dialects.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dialect P (or Proto-Theban) |url=https://ccdl.claremont.edu/digital/collection/cce/id/1984/ }}</ref>

==== Fayyumic ====
Fayyumic (also known as Crocodilopolic; in older works it is often called Bashmuric) was spoken primarily in the [[Faiyum]] west of the Nile Valley. It is attested from the 3rd to the 10th centuries. It is most notable for writing {{coptic|ⲗ}} (which corresponds to {{IPAslink|l}}), where other dialects generally use {{coptic|ⲣ}} {{IPAslink|r}} (probably corresponding to a [[Flap consonant|flap]] {{IPAblink|ɾ}}). In earlier stages of Egyptian, the [[Liquid consonant|liquids]] were not distinguished in writing until the New Kingdom, when Late Egyptian became the administrative language. Late Egyptian orthography utilised a [[grapheme]] that combined the graphemes for {{IPAslink|r}} and {{IPAslink|n}} in order to express {{IPAslink|l}}. Demotic for its part indicated {{IPAslink|l}} using a diacritic variety of {{IPAslink|r}}.

==== South Fayyumic ====
South Fayyumic (also called Dialect V) was spoken around modern towns of [[Beni Suef]] and [[Nasser, Egypt|Bush]] and is distinguished from central Fayyumic by not having [[lambdacism]].

==== Ashmuninic ====
Ashmuninic (also known as Hermopolic or Dialect H) was spoken around the city of [[Hermopolis|Shmun]] and shares South Fayyumic features like vowel gemination and absence of lambdacism.{{Citation needed|reason=What are the differences between this dialect and South Fayyumic?|date=July 2024}}

==== Oxyrhynchite ====
Oxyrhynchite (also known as Mesokemic or, confusingly, Middle Egyptian) is the dialect of [[Oxyrhynchus]] and surrounding areas. It shows similarities with Fayyumic and is attested in manuscripts from the fourth and fifth centuries.

==== Lycopolitan ====
Lycopolitan (also known as Subakhmimic and Assiutic) is a dialect closely related to Akhmimic in terms of when and where it was attested, but manuscripts written in Lycopolitan tend to be from the area of [[Asyut]]. The main differences between the two dialects seem to be graphic in nature. The Lycopolitan variety was used extensively for translations of [[Gnostic]] and [[Manichaean]] works, including the texts of the [[Nag Hammadi library]].

==== Akhmimic ====
Akhmimic (also called Chemmic or Panopolic) was the dialect of the area around the town of [[Akhmim]] ({{langx|grc|Πανὸς πόλις|translit=Panopolis}}). It flourished during the fourth and fifth centuries, after which no writings are attested. Akhmimic is phonologically the most archaic of the Coptic dialects. One characteristic feature is the retention of the [[phoneme]] {{IPAslink|x}}, which is realised as {{IPAslink|ʃ}} in most other dialects.

==== Aswanic ====
Aswanic (also known as Syenic) was the dialect of the area around the town of [[Aswan]]. It is very close to Akhmimic, and sometimes considered a sub-dialect, although, what makes it different is that "ϩ" is written before pronouns, for example in normal Coptic it is said ''Afso'', which means drank, but in the Aswanic dialect it is said ''Hafso''. It also has a distinctive way of writing; so the letter "{{Coptic|ⲃ}}" is written instead of the letter "ϥ".

== Sample text ==
Coptic: ⲥⲟⲩⲙⲟⲥⲉ ⲣⲱⲙⲉ ⲛⲓⲙ ⲉⲩϣⲏϣ ⲉ ⲛⲉⲩⲉⲣⲏⲩ ϩⲛ ⲟⲩⲇⲓⲕⲁⲓⲟⲥⲩⲛⲏ. ⲟⲩⲛ ϭⲟⲙ ⲙⲙⲟⲩ ⲉⲧⲣⲉⲩⲙⲉⲉⲩⲉ ⲁⲩⲱ ϣϣⲉ ⲉⲧⲣⲉⲩⲣ-ⲙⲛⲧⲙⲁⲓⲥⲟⲛ.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |first=Simon |last=Ager |title=Coptic language and alphabet |url=https://www.omniglot.com/writing/coptic.htm |access-date=2025-02-17 |website=www.omniglot.com}} Translation and transliteration provided by William Murray.</ref>{{self-published source|date=February 2025}}

Bohairic Coptic: Ⲉ̀ⲫ̀ⲟⲩⲁⲓ ⲥⲉⲙⲓⲥⲓ ⲣⲉⲙϩⲉⲩ ⲛⲉⲙ ⲉⲧϣⲱϣ ⲉ̀ ⲁⲝⲓⲁ ⲛⲉⲙ ⲇⲓⲕⲁⲓⲟⲥⲩⲛⲏ. Ⲛ̀ⲑⲱⲟⲩ ⲥⲉⲉⲣϩ̀ⲙⲟⲧ ⲅⲛⲱⲙⲏ ⲛⲉⲙ ⲥⲩⲛⲏⲇⲏⲥⲓⲥ ⲟⲩⲟϩ ⲙ̀ⲡⲉⲛⲑⲣⲉⲩⲁⲣϣⲏⲧ ⲙ̀ⲙⲉⲧⲣⲱⲙⲓ ϩⲓⲛⲁ ⲛ̀ⲑⲱⲟⲩ ⲙ̀ⲫ̀ⲣⲏϯ ⲛ̀ⲥ̀ⲛⲏⲟⲩ.<ref name=":1" />

Bohairic Coptic Transliteration: Ephouai semisi remheu nem etshōsh e axia nem dikaiosunē. Enthōou se’erehmot gnōmē nem sunēdēsis ouoh empenthreuarshēt em’metrōmi hina enthōou emephrēti enesnēou.<ref name=":1" />

English: All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.<ref name=":1" />

== See also ==
* [[British Library Coptic Language Collection]]
* [[List of Coptic place names]]
* [[Rosetta Stone]]

==Notes==
{{NoteFoot}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|20em}}

=== Works cited ===
* {{cite book
 |last = Allen |first = James P. |author-link = James Peter Allen
 |date = 2010
 |title = Middle Egyptian: An Introduction to the Language and Culture of Hieroglyphs
 |edition = 2nd
 |publisher = Cambridge University Press
 |isbn = 978-1-139-48635-4
 |url = {{google books URL|lF78Max-h8MC}}
}}
* {{cite book
 |last = Allen |first = James P. 
 |date = 2020 <!--Nov 2020-->
 |title = Coptic: A Grammar of Its Six Major Dialects
 |publisher = Eisenbrauns
 |isbn = 978-1-64602-064-5
 |url = {{google books URL|DerDEAAAQBAJ}}
}}
* {{cite book|last=Gignac|first=Francis Thomas|date=1991|chapter=Old Coptic|title=The Coptic Encyclopedia|editor=Aziz Suryal Atiya|volume=8|location=New York and Toronto|publisher=Macmillan Publishing Company and Collier Macmillan Canada|pages=169–188}}
* {{cite book |last=Greenberg |first=Joseph H. |orig-year=1962 |chapter=The interpretation of the Coptic vowel system |title=On Language: Selected Writings of Joseph H. Greenberg |editor1-first=K. |editor1-last=Denning |editor2-first=S. |editor2-last=Kemmer |place=Palo Alto |publisher=Stanford University Press |year=1990 |pages=428–38}}
* {{cite journal
 |last = Jernstedt |first = Peter V
 |date = 1927
 |title = Das koptische Präsens und die Anknüpfungsarten des näheren Objekts
 |journal = [[Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Sciences de l'URSS]]
 |volume = 2
 |pages = 69–74
}}
* {{Cite book |last=Lambdin |first=Thomas Oden |title=Introduction to Sahidic Coptic |date=1983 |publisher=Mercer University Press |location=Macon |author-link=Thomas Oden Lambdin}}
* {{cite book
 |last = Layton |first = Bentley
 |date = 2007
 |title = Coptic in 20 Lessons: Introduction to Sahidic Coptic with Exercises & Vocabularies
 |publisher = Peeters Publishers
 |isbn = 978-90-429-1810-8
 |url = {{google books URL|Y83UUpkdOMMC}}
}}
* {{cite book | last = Loprieno | first = Antonio | title = Ancient Egyptian: A Linguistic Introduction | year = 1995 | publisher = Cambridge University Press | location = Cambridge | url = https://archive.org/details/ancientegyptianl0000lopr |url-access=registration |isbn=978-0-521-44384-5}}
* {{cite journal |last=Pearson |first=Birger A. |title=Review of The Nag Hammadi Library |journal=Journal of the American Academy of Religion |volume=57 |number=1 |date=1989 |pages=178–181}}
* {{Cite book |last=Plumley |first=John Martin |url=http://freelyreceive.net/metalogos/files/plumley/html/home.htm |title=Introductory Coptic Grammar |publisher=Home & Van Thal |year=1948 |location=London }}
* {{Cite book |last=Reintges |first=Chris H. |title=Coptic Egyptian (Sahidic dialect): a learner's grammar |date=2004 |publisher=Rüdiger Köppe Verlag |isbn=978-3-89645-570-3 |location=Cologne }}
* {{Cite book |last=Reintges |first=Chris H. |title=Clause linking and clause hierarchy |date=2010 |publisher=John Benjamins |isbn=978-90-272-0588-9 |editor-last=Bril |editor-first=Isabelle |series=Studies in Language Companion Series |volume=128 |location=Amsterdam |chapter=Coordination, converbs, and clause-chaining in Coptic Egyptian typology }}
* {{cite book
 |last=Richter |first=Tonio Sebastian
 |date=2009
 |chapter=Greek, Coptic and the 'language of the Hijra': the rise and decline of the Coptic language in late antique and medieval Egypt
 |title=Hellenism to Islam: Cultural and Linguistic Change in the Roman Near East
 |publisher=Cambridge University Press
 |chapter-url=http://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/propylaeumdok/4212/1/Richter_Greek_Coptic_2009.pdf
}}
* {{Cite book |last=Schaefer |first=K. R. |title=Enigmatic Charms: Medieval Arabic Block Printed Amulets in American and European Libraries and Museums |publisher=E. J. Brill |year=2006 |location=Leiden |doi=10.1163/9789047408529|isbn=978-90-474-0852-9 }}
* {{cite journal | last1 = Zeldes | first1 = Amir | last2 = Abrams | first2 = Mitchell | title = The Coptic Universal Dependency Treebank | journal = Proceedings of the Second Workshop on Universal Dependencies (UDW 2018) | pages = 171–179 | year = 2018 | publisher = Association for Computational Linguistics | url = https://aclanthology.org/W18-6022.pdf | access-date = February 17, 2025 }}

== Further reading ==
=== General studies ===
* {{Cite journal |last=Abel |first=Carl |author-link=Carl Abel |year=1855 |title=On the Coptic Language |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b3924121;view=1up;seq=61 |journal=Transactions of the Philological Society |issue=5 |ref=none}}
* Emmel, Stephen. 1992. "Languages (Coptic)". In ''The Anchor Bible Dictionary'', edited by David Noel Freedman. Vol. 4 of 6 vols. New York: Doubleday. 180–188.
* {{Cite journal |last=Gessman |first=A. M. |year=1976 |title=The Birth of the Coptic Script |journal=University of South Florida Language Quarterly 14 |volume=2–3 |ref=none}}
* [[Rodolphe Kasser|Kasser, Radolphe]]. 1991. "Dialects". In ''[[The Coptic Encyclopedia]]'', edited by [[Aziz Suryal Atiya]]. Vol. 8 of 8 vols. New York and Toronto: Macmillan Publishing Company and Collier Macmillan Canada. 87–96.
* Wolfgang Kosack. Lehrbuch des Koptischen.Teil I:Koptische Grammatik.Teil II:Koptische Lesestücke, Graz 1974.
* [[Hans Jakob Polotsky|Polotsky, Hans Jakob]]. 1971. "Coptic". In ''Afroasiatic: A Survey'', edited by Carleton Taylor Hodge. (Jana Linguarum: Series Practica; 163). 's Gravenhage and Paris: Mouton. 67–79.

=== Grammars and grammatical studies ===
* [[Marius Chaîne|Chaîne, Marius]]. 1933. ''Éléments de grammaire dialectale copte: bohairique, sahidique, achmimique, fayoumique''. Paris: Paul Geuthner.
* Eberle, Andrea, & Regine Schulz. 2004. ''Koptisch – Ein Leitfaden durch das Saïdische''. LINCOM Languages of the World/Materials 07. Munich: LINCOM Europa.
* Layton, Bentley. 2000. ''A Coptic Grammar (Sahidic Dialect): With a Chrestomathy and Glossary''. (Porta linguarum orientalium; N.S., 20). Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz.
* Mallon, Alexis. 1956. ''Grammaire copte: bibliographie, chrestomathie et vocabulaire''. 4th edition. Beyrouth.
* Mattar, Nabil. 1990. ''A Study in Bohairic Coptic''. Pasadena: Hope Publishing House.
* [[Hans Jakob Polotsky|Polotsky, Hans Jakob]]. 1987. ''Grundlagen des koptischen Satzbaus''. American Studies in Papyrology 28. Decatur, Ga.: Scholars Press.
* Shisha-Halevy, Ariel. 1988. ''Coptic Grammatical Chrestomathy: a course for academic and private study''. Orientalia lovaniensia analecta 30. Leuven: Peeters.
* Shisha-Halevy, Ariel. 1986. ''Coptic Grammatical Categories: Structural Studies in the Syntax of Shenoutean Sahidic''. Analecta Orientalia 53. Roma: Pontificium Institutum Biblicum. {{ISBN|88-7653-255-2}}.
* Shisha-Halevy, Ariel. 2007. ''Topics in Coptic Syntax: Structural Studies in the Bohairic Dialect''. Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta 160. Leuven – Paris – Dudley, MA: Peeters. {{ISBN|978-90-429-1875-7}}.
* [[Henry Tattam|Tattam, Henry]], [https://archive.org/details/compendiousgramm00tatt_728 ''A compendious grammar of the Egyptian language as contained in the Coptic, Sahidic, and Bashmuric Dialects'' (London 1863)]
* Till, Walter C. 1994. ''Koptische Dialektgrammatik''. Berlin: Walter De Gruyter.
* Vergote, Jozef. 1973–1983. ''Grammaire copte''. Leuven: Peeters.
* Younan, Sameh. 2005. ''So, you want to learn Coptic? A guide to Bohairic Grammar''. Sydney: St.Mary, St.Bakhomious and St.Shenouda Coptic Orthodox Church.

=== Dictionaries ===
* [[Jaroslav Černý (Egyptologist)|Černý, Jaroslav]]. 1976. ''Coptic Etymological Dictionary''. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press.
* [[Walter Ewing Crum|Crum, Walter Ewing]]. 1939. [http://freelyreceive.net/metalogos/files/crum.html]''A Coptic Dictionary'']. Oxford: Clarendon Press. Reprinted by Sandpiper Books Ltd, London & Powells Books, Chicago, 2000.
* Wolfgang Kosack: ''Koptisches Handlexikon des Bohairischen.'' Koptisch – Deutsch – Arabisch. Verlag Christoph Brunner, Basel 2013, {{ISBN|978-3-9524018-9-7}}.
* Vycichl, Werner. 1983. ''Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue copte''. Leuven: Éditions Peeters.
* Westendorf, Wolfhart. 1965/1977. ''Koptisches Handwörterbuch''. Heidelberg: Carl Winter.

=== Phonology ===
* {{cite book
 |last = Allen |first = James P. |author-link = James Peter Allen
 |date = 2020 <!--March 2020-->
 |chapter = Coptic
 |title = Ancient Egyptian Phonology
 |pages = 3–22 |publisher = Cambridge University Press
 |isbn = 978-1-108-48555-5
 |doi = 10.1017/9781108751827.003
 |ref = none
}}
* Depuydt, Leo. 1993. "On Coptic Sounds", ''Orientalia'' 62 (new series): 338–75.
* Grossman, Eitan and Martin Haspelmath. 2015. "The Leipzig-Jerusalem Transliteration of Coptic", ''Egyptian-Coptic Linguistics in Typological Perspective'', eds., Eitan Grossman, Martin Haspelmath & Tonio Sebastian Richter. Berlin/Munich/Boston: Walter de Gruyter. 145–56.
*Isḥāḳ, Emile Māher. 1975. "The phonetics and phonology of the Boḥairic dialect of Coptic and the Survival of Coptic Word in the Colloquial and Classical Arabic of Egypt and of Coptic Grammatical Constructions in Colloquial Egyptian Arabic". University of Oxford. 32-671.
* Loprieno, Antonio. 1997. "Egyptian and Coptic Phonology", ''Phonologies of Asia and Africa (Including the Caucasus)'', vol. 1, ed., Alan S. Kaye. Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns. 431–60.
* {{cite book|last=Peust|first=Carsten|title=Egyptian Phonology: An Introduction to the Phonology of a Dead Language|date=1999|url=https://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/peust1999 |via=Heidelberg University Library |publisher=Peust & Gutschmidt|isbn=3-933043-02-6|ref=none}}

=== Bibliographies ===
* Kammerer, Winifred (compiler), ''A Coptic Bibliography'', Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1950. (Reprint New York: Kraus Reprint Co., 1969)
* Wolfgang Kosack: ''Der koptische Heiligenkalender. Deutsch – Koptisch – Arabisch nach den besten Quellen neu bearbeitet und vollständig herausgegeben mit Index Sanctorum koptischer Heiliger, Index der Namen auf Koptisch, Koptische Patriarchenliste, Geografische Liste''. Christoph Brunner, Berlin 2012, {{ISBN|978-3-9524018-4-2}}.
* Wolfgang Kosack: ''Schenute von Atripe De judicio finale.'' Papyruskodex 63000.IV im Museo Egizio di Torino. Einleitung, Textbearbeitung und Übersetzung herausgegeben von Wolfgang Kosack. Christoph Brunner, Berlin 2013, {{ISBN|978-3-9524018-5-9}}.
* Wolfgang Kosack: ''Basilios "De archangelo Michael": sahidice Pseudo – Euhodios "De resurrectione": sahidice Pseudo – Euhodios "De dormitione Mariae virginis": sahidice & bohairice : < Papyruskodex Turin, Mus. Egizio Cat. 63000 XI. > nebst Varianten und Fragmente. In Parallelzeilen ediert, kommentiert und übersetzt von Wolfgang Kosack.'' Christoph Brunner, Berlin 2014. {{ISBN|978-3-906206-02-8}}.
* Wolfgang Kosack: ''Novum Testamentum Coptice. Neues Testament, Bohairisch, ediert von Wolfgang Kosack. Novum Testamentum, Bohairice, curavit Wolfgang Kosack. / Wolfgang Kosack.'' neue Ausgabe, Christoph Brunner, Basel 2014. {{ISBN|978-3-906206-04-2}}.

== External links ==
{{Incubator|code=cop}}
{{wikisourceWiki|Coptic}}
{{wiktionary category}}
* [http://alinsuciu.com/ By Alin Suciu, a blog on Coptic literature and manuscripts]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100407092011/http://www.france-copte.net/ France-copte.net] By Mikhail David, French coptic site.
* [http://copticsounds.wordpress.com/ Copticsounds – a resource for the study of Coptic phonology]
* [http://sites.google.com/site/pisakho/Home {{Coptic|ⲡⲓⲥⲁϧⲟ}}] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308023606/http://sites.google.com/site/pisakho/Home |date=2021-03-08 }}: Coptic language [http://sites.google.com/site/pisakho/resources internet links] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210307213341/http://sites.google.com/site/pisakho/resources |date=2021-03-07 }} and [http://sites.google.com/site/pisakho/bibliography bibliography] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308065509/http://sites.google.com/site/pisakho/bibliography |date=2021-03-08 }}
* [http://www.coptica.ch/ Coptica.ch] Online library of Coptic texts at University of Geneva (site text in French)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100202033727/http://socrates.berkeley.edu/~pinax/greekkeys/NAUdownload.html New Athena Unicode font]; includes the new Coptic range
* [http://st-takla.org/Learn_Languages/01_Learn_Coptic-ta3leem-2ebty/Learn-Coptic_00-index_El-Fehres.html Online Coptic tutorial]
* [http://www.remenkimi.com/ A comprehensive Coptic language resource] (Remenkimi) ([https://web.archive.org/web/20170521125230/http://remenkimi.com/ Internet Archive])
* [https://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U2C80.pdf Coptic block in the Unicode 4.1 standard]
* Heike Behlmer, [https://web.archive.org/web/20060819071419/http://online.mq.edu.au/pub/AHPG897/biblio.html Selected Bibliography on the Coptic Language]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20071011121552/http://bc.ub.leidenuniv.nl/bc/tentoonstelling/Coptic_manuscript/index.html Coptic texts and manuscripts at Leiden University Library]
* [http://www.ifao.egnet.net/publications/outils/polices/ Ifao N Copte] – A professional Coptic font for researchers.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100408075557/http://www.typographies.fr/ a set of Coptic fonts]
* [http://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/freefont/ GNU FreeFont]—FreeSerif face includes a Coptic range.

{{Languages of Egypt}}
{{Afro-Asiatic languages}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Coptic language| ]]
[[Category:Afroasiatic languages|Afro-Asiatic Languages]]
[[Category:Byzantine Egypt]]
[[Category:Christian liturgical languages]]
[[Category:Coptic Orthodox Church]]
[[Category:Egyptian languages]]
[[Category:Extinct languages of Africa]]
[[Category:Greek alphabet]]
[[Category:Languages of Africa]]
[[Category:Languages attested from the 2nd century]]
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[[Category:Languages of Egypt]]
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[[Category:Roman Egypt]]
[[Category:Subject–verb–object languages]]
[[Category:Fusional languages]]