Runes Translator

How to Use the Runes Translator

1. 1. Choose a direction. Latin → Runes shows all three alphabets at once. Runes → Latin reads one alphabet, which you pick, because the same rune can mean different letters in each.
2. 2. Type or paste. Capitals and accents are folded to plain letters; þ, ð, ŋ, æ and ï are understood. Numbers and punctuation pass through unchanged.
3. 3. Set the options. They decide how ambiguous letters are spelled: which rune stands for v in the Elder Futhark, for o and e in the Younger Futhark, and whether the Futhorc uses its ea and io runes. You can also put the runic word dot ᛫ between words.
4. 4. Copy a card. Runes are ordinary Unicode characters (the Runic block), so they paste into documents, but your device needs a font that includes them.

Three Alphabets, Three Spellings

Futhark is the runic alphabet named after its first six runes, and futhorc is the Old English version of the same idea. The three are related but not interchangeable, and they differ in how many runes they have and what each one stands for:

• Elder Futhark. One rune for almost every Latin letter. It has none for c, q, v, x or y, so the tool writes c with ᚲ (k), q as ᚲᚹ, x as ᚲᛊ and y with ᛃ (j). The rune ᛇ is transliterated ï (or æ), and ᛉ is z.
• Younger Futhark. Sixteen runes for a language with more sounds, so one rune does the work of several: ᚴ for k and g, ᛏ for t and d, ᛒ for b and p, ᚢ for u, v, w, y and o, ᛁ for i and e. That is how the Viking Age spelled, and it is why a text spelled this way cannot be read back unambiguously.
• Anglo-Saxon Futhorc. Splits the old ᚨ into ᚪ (a), ᚫ (æ) and ᚩ (o), and adds ᚣ (y), ᛠ (ea) and ᛡ (io). It spells c and k with ᚳ, v with ᚠ, z with ᛋ, q with ᛢ and x with ᛉ.

What This Tool Does Not Do

It does not translate. "Hello" does not become an Old Norse greeting, and the tool has no dictionary. It spells letters, so English text written in runes follows English spelling — including silent letters, which a runic carver working from Old Norse sound would never have written. It does not reproduce a real inscription's conventions either: spelling varied between carvers, regions and centuries. If you need to render an inscription accurately, work from an edition of that inscription and cite it.

Reading Runes Back

The reverse direction uses the conventional transliteration of each rune: ᚦ is þ, ᛜ is ŋ, ᛇ is ï, ᛦ is ʀ in the Younger Futhark, and ᛠ is ea in the Futhorc. The short-twig forms of the Younger Futhark (ᚽ ᚿ ᛆ ᛌ ᛐ ᛓ ᛙ) are read like their long-branch partners. Runes that the chosen alphabet does not use are left in place and listed. The result is a transliteration, which is a step before reading the inscription as a language.

Runes in Research and Citations

Scholars cite runic inscriptions by catalogue number (for example DR 248 for a Danish stone), not by the transliteration. If you quote a transliteration, say which system you used. How to Cite a Source in Another Language shows how to handle a non-Latin original, and How to Cite a Museum Exhibit covers a runestone or object you saw on display.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this an English to runes translator?

It is a transliterator. It spells each English letter with a rune, so the result is English written in runes, not a translation into a runic language. A real translation would be into Old Norse or Old English, and then written in runes the way inscriptions were.

What is the difference between Elder Futhark and Younger Futhark?

The Elder Futhark has 24 runes and was used from about the 2nd to the 8th century. By the late 8th century the Scandinavian alphabet had been reduced to 16 runes, the Younger Futhark. It lost the distinction between voiced and voiceless consonants, which is why ᛏ stands for both t and d.

Which runes should I use for a tattoo or a name?

Check with someone who reads the language you want, and look at real inscriptions. The Elder Futhark suits Germanic names of the early period, the Younger Futhark suits Viking Age Scandinavian ones, and the Futhorc suits Old English. The converter gives you a transliteration to start from, not a verified rendering.

Why is there no rune for c, q, v, x or z?

The runic alphabets were built for sounds of Germanic languages, not for the Latin spelling of English. The Elder Futhark has ᚲ for the k sound and no c, and ᚹ is the w sound. Later alphabets added a few: the Futhorc has ᛢ for q and ᛉ for x, but Younger Futhark has no equivalents at all.

What do the dots between words mean?

In many inscriptions the carver separated words with one or more dots, which Unicode encodes as the runic single punctuation mark ᛫. The option puts a dot instead of a space between words. Many inscriptions have no word divider at all.

Can I use runes in a document?

Yes. They are Unicode characters (U+16A0 to U+16FF) and display wherever a font includes the Runic block. If you see empty boxes, install a font with Runic support, such as Noto Sans Runic, or use Segoe UI Historic on Windows.

Which Younger Futhark does the tool use?

The long-branch, or Danish, runes, which were the standard in Denmark and are the most widely known. The short-twig (Swedish-Norwegian) forms are read when you convert runes to Latin, but the tool does not write them.