Old English TranslatorOld English Translator

Old English Translator

AI-powered Modern English to Old English — no sign-up required.

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Old English is a language, not a costume.

Old English, also called Anglo-Saxon, was spoken in England from roughly the fifth to the eleventh century. It is closely related to modern English, but it is not simply modern English with older spelling.

Use the translator as a starting point

Try a sentence, compare the result with the examples below, and use it to ask better questions about vocabulary, grammar, and tone.

Read the output critically

Language models can offer useful drafts, but historical language has dialects, manuscript traditions, and context that a short translation cannot settle on its own.

AI output can be useful for exploration and drafts. For publication, coursework, or quotation, compare it with a reliable edition or speak with a qualified Old English reader.

Open historical reference book beside handwritten study notes

How to Use Old English Translator

Translate modern English into Old English in three clear steps. Old English is the early Germanic language spoken in England from roughly 450 to 1150.

1

Enter Your Modern English

Type or paste a sentence, paragraph, or short phrase into the input box. No account is needed.

2

Get the Old English Translation

Select Translate to receive an AI-generated Old English draft. Compare the wording with the learning examples when context matters.

3

Use It or Flip the Direction

Copy the result for creative work or study. Switch the language direction whenever you want to compare an Old English passage with modern English.

Who Can Benefit from Old English Translator?

Old English Translator supports creative writing, study, research, and heritage exploration with a quick place to compare modern and early English wording.

Students & Academics

Use short examples to explore vocabulary and sentence patterns, then compare important coursework or quotations with reliable editions and course materials.

Writers & Fiction Authors

Develop period-inspired dialogue, oaths, inscriptions, and naming ideas for historical fiction, fantasy, or epic storytelling.

Historians & Researchers

Translate research notes and modern commentary into Old English for scholarly comparison, or switch direction to decode primary sources, charters, and church documents.

Language Enthusiasts & Hobbyists

Explore how modern English maps back to its Anglo-Saxon roots, experiment with Old English phrasing, and discover how the language has evolved over more than a thousand years.

Game & Film Creators

Explore language-inspired phrasing for games, screenplays, and tabletop RPGs set in Viking-age or Anglo-Saxon Britain.

Genealogists & Heritage Seekers

Explore the Old English origins of surnames, place names, and ancestral records to trace Anglo-Saxon lineage and better understand deep family roots.

Old English Phrases: Beowulf, Prayer, and Epic Lines

Learning examples for exploring Old English: Beowulf openings, lines from the Lord's Prayer, sayings about wyrd and friendship, and language for sea, hall, and sky.

Beowulf & epic poetry

Epos & lēoð

  • Listen! We have heard of the glory of the Spear-Danes in days of yore.

    Hwæt! We Gār-Dena in geārdagum, þeodcyninga, þrym gefrūnon, hū ða æþelingas ellen fremedon.

  • So ought a young man to flourish by good deeds among his people.

    Swa sceal geong mann wel gedon mid godum dædum on his folce.

  • Better it is to avenge one's friend than to mourn endlessly.

    Betre hit is freondum to wrecenne donne endelēase wepan.

  • Each of us must await the end of life in this world.

    Ælc þara þe wē sind, sceal þone ende þæs līfes on þissum middangearde wunian.

Warriors, wyrd, and honor

Cēmpan & wyrd

  • Fate goes ever as it must.

    Wyrd gæð æfre swā hit mæg.

  • Courage is the best shield in battle.

    Cen is þæt betste scyld on gefeohte.

  • I will stand firm in the hall this night.

    Ic standan fæst in healle þisre nihte.

  • Glory awaits the bold.

    Wuldor wænt þæm dyrstum.

The Lord's Prayer (opening lines)

Fæder ūre

  • Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.

    Fæder ūre þū þe eart on heofonum, Sī þīn nama gehālgod.

  • Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

    Þīn rīce cume, þīn willa geweorþe on eorðan swā swā on heofonum.

  • Give us this day our daily bread.

    Gief us tō dæge ūre dæghwāmlīcan hlāf.

  • Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.

    Forgif us ure gyltas swa swa we forgifað þæm þe wið us synnað.

Love, loyalty, and blessing

Lufu & hold

  • I love you with all my heart.

    Ic lufie þē mid eallum mīnre heortan.

  • You are a true friend to me.

    Þu eart soðfæst freond to me.

  • I will remember you always.

    Ic þec gemynde æfre.

  • May God keep you safe.

    Gode wille þē gehealdan.

Wisdom and truth

Wīsdōm & sōþ

  • The wise among us guard their words carefully.

    Þá wísan on úrum healdap heora worda sōþlīce.

  • Truth outlasts every lie in the end.

    Sōþ oferwunaþ ælce lēogan æt nēahstan.

  • Patience in hardship wins honor.

    Þolmodnes on earfoðnesse winnþ wuldor.

  • Knowledge is a treasure greater than gold.

    Wīsdōm is goldes māre goldhord.

Sea, seasons, hall, and sky

Sǣ & heall

  • The sea stretches far before our ship.

    Sǣ strecþ feor ofer ūre scip.

  • Winter has tightened its grip on the land.

    Winter hæfþ his grip on þære eorðan geþrungen.

  • At dawn the great hall stood empty.

    Æt dæges rime stōd sēo micla heall ġeondlǣċen.

  • The night sky is bright with stars.

    Þæt nihtlic heofon is beorht mid steorrum.

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