Sumerian Addenda · Signs
fish
| Name | HA |
|---|---|
| Reads | [ha] |
| Means | the fish pictogram (word read ku6); the wish-prefix ha- |
| Taught in | 09 · Let me eat, let me drink |
Where it comes from
A fish that kept its fins through the wedge era — the classic picture is still legible. As a word it is the fish of the ponds and offering lists; by pure sound it fronts a verb as ha-, the wish-prefix: “may it be so.”
How to remember it
A fish grants wishes in half the world’s stories — and in Sumerian it literally does: put the fish before a verb and the verb becomes a hope. Fins for swimming, sound for wishing.
In the wild
urn:nabu:etcsl:4.07.3:271 ·
license: ETCSL · non-commercial.
Piece by piece:
- šag4-zu — your heart
- ki-bi — to its place
- ha-ma-gi4-gi4 — may it return for me: the fish-wish, the “for me” ring, the homecoming verb doubled
The standard consolation, opened by a wish. The plea is read in 102’s chapter 14.