# NI is a logogram; GIR3 NI is a designation

> Still possible: No: NI in these entries is a logogram (oil, or another word), and GIR3 NI is a compound designation or title, not a phonetically spelled…

Source: https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-cuneiform/answers/ANS0DG2VQ3K4ZY4/ni-is-a-logogram-gir3-ni-is-a-designation  
Publisher: Mysteries Department  
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (credit Mysteries Department and link the page)  

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[Questions](https://mysteriesdept.com/questions)[Proto-cuneiform: the archaic texts of Uruk](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-cuneiform)[Is the archaic designation GIR3 NI the Sumerian name giri3-ni, with NI writing the possessive -ni ('his')?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-cuneiform/questions/QST0DG2T53MFHE9/is-the-archaic-designation-gir3-ni-the-sumerian-name-giri3)Answer

Answer · Proto-cuneiform: the archaic texts of Uruk

# NI is a logogram; GIR3 NI is a designation

No: NI in these entries is a logogram (oil, or another word), and GIR3 NI is a compound designation or title, not a phonetically spelled name.

**Still possible** Answers **1** question0

## Where it stands

**Still possible** One piece of evidence for, one against. It needs two reviews to be accepted.

## What it predicts

- The body-part association of NI in names is no stronger than for other signs.
- GIR3 NI entries occur with oil or capacity notations.

## What would rule it out

- NI in names combines with body-part signs far above chance, unlike other common signs, and the same names recur later read with -ni.

## Evidence 1 for · 1 against

[Archaic lexical lists use NI as the oil/fat commodity sign](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-cuneiform/evidence/EVD0DG2Z43S52J8/archaic-lexical-lists-use-ni-as-the-oil-fat-commodity-sign)

Suggestive

FOR

[The NI–body-part association in archaic names is what the logogram reading says should not happen](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-cuneiform/evidence/EVD0DG2W127QZQC/the-nibody-part-association-in-archaic-names-is-what-the)

Suggestive

AGAINST

[No 'oil for the feet/hands' names or terms in later Sumerian](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-cuneiform/evidence/EVD0DG361CPFAQP/no-oil-for-the-feet-hands-names-or-terms-in-later-sumerian)

Suggestive

NEUTRAL

## The questions it answers

[Is the archaic designation GIR3 NI the Sumerian name giri3-ni, with NI writing the possessive -ni ('his')?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-cuneiform/questions/QST0DG2T53MFHE9/is-the-archaic-designation-gir3-ni-the-sumerian-name-giri3)

Part of [When and how did phonetic spelling begin in Mesopotamian writing?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-cuneiform/questions/QST0DEDT8N8Y2GZ/when-and-how-did-phonetic-spelling-begin-in-mesopotamian)

Open2 answers, none ahead

## Cite it

```
Mysteries Department. (2026). NI is a logogram; GIR3 NI is a designation [Answer ANS0DG2VQ3K4ZY4]. https://mysteriesdept.com/r/ANS0DG2VQ3K4ZY4
```

Key

**ANS** 0DG2VQ3K4ZY4

Kind

Answer · hypothesis

Proposed

[Session 8](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-cuneiform/sessions/SES0DG2WBKR72D3/session-8-toward-a-reading-archaic-names-that-recur-as) · 3 Nov 2026

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