Hieroglyphics were written in either rows or columns. They can be read from either right to left or left to right. That would make it hard to read. Actually, you can tell which way to read because the animal or human figures always face forward, towards the beginning of the line. Hieroglyphics can be divided into four categories.
Alphabetic symbols are use to represent a single sound.
They did not, however, have symbols for vowels. Syllabic signs can show a combination of 2 or 3 different consonants. Word-signs were pictures representing different objects. They were used for the word of the object. They put an upright line after the picture to show that it was a complete word.