The Egyptian hieroglyph for "perfect, complete" (with the extended meanings of "good, pleasant, well, beautiful") in Gardiner's sign list is numbered F35; its phonetic value is nfr, with a reconstructed pronunciation of and a conventional Egyptological vocalization of nefer.

Hieroglyphs and symbolism

The triliteral Egyptian hieroglyph F35 ('nfr') has sometimes been explained as a representation of a lute; however, Egyptologists today no longer consider this hypothesis likely. Rather than a lute, the hieroglyph is actually a representation of the heart and trachea. It originally may have been the esophagus and heart. The striations of the windpipe only appear in the hieroglyph following the Old Kingdom of Egypt. The lower part of the sign has always clearly been the heart, for the markings clearly follow the form of a sheep's heart.

Use

The term nfr has been incorporated into many names in Ancient Egypt. Examples include Nefertiti, Nefertari, and Neferhotep. Some scholars suggest that it was used in ancient Egyptian construction where 'nfrw' was used to denote 'level zero' of a building and in accounting where 'nfr' would refer to a zero balance.