Rune Translator

For a decorative name or puzzle, you may want the letters you already know written with runic characters. For a historical quotation, you need the language and the script used by its source. These are separate jobs. This page handles the first: transliteration of supplied spelling. The result keeps your message’s wording rather than changing English grammar or selecting historical vocabulary.

Use the Rune Translator for a clear modern spelling convention. If you want an actual Old Norse sentence, settle the language wording first; do not assume that a change of script supplies the translation.

The alphabet desk gives each rune its table reading. Two-letter groups th and ng each become one rune when they appear together. The character ï provides the table’s eihwaz option; it is not an automatic substitute for every modern i. The table also accepts þ for th and ŋ for ng. These visible choices help you compare a source with a result instead of treating a rune as a mysterious ornament.

The Rune Translator processes spelling, not spoken sound. An English th can be pronounced differently in different words, while this table writes the same rune for that letter group.

A 24-letter inventory cannot give every modern English letter a unique counterpart. Here c and q use k, v uses u, y uses i, and x becomes ks. These are the page’s declared spelling choices. They make a modern name possible to display, but they lose some distinctions in the original Latin spelling. Keep your original name written beside the rune result when comparing alternatives.

The Rune Translator also converts capital and lowercase input to the same runes. It does not recover a name’s original capital letters in reverse mode. Choose the form deliberately before using it in a profile or inscription.

Swap to Elder Futhark as the source when you have a line from this table. The reading expands each rune into its declared Latin label. A rune used for k may have come from k, c or q in the modern source; the reverse result uses k. An x returns as ks. The original choices cannot be recovered from the glyphs alone, even when every rune is recognised.

The Rune Translator accepts the single runic separator as a space. Keep word boundaries where possible, especially in a puzzle where the reader has no other context. The alphabet desk previews the same label reading before you submit it.

Two runes from different systems may look related while having different roles. A character not in the displayed table is rejected rather than silently converted into a guessed letter. If you copied a line from a historical inscription, identify its script and date before using a modern spelling tool. A damaged carving also needs the image and its context; a typed guess discards that evidence.

The Rune Translator does not recognise rune photographs, bindrunes or every Unicode runic character. It accepts the table shown here. If a character is rejected, check the source system instead of choosing the closest-looking button.

Preview the result at the size and in the font you plan to use. Unicode runes can appear with slightly different shapes across fonts, and a font without runic support may show boxes. Keep a text copy of the inscription as well as the visual design. For a permanent mark, check every character and word boundary against your chosen table before committing to the final artwork.

The Rune Translator leaves digits and basic punctuation as ordinary characters; it does not turn a date into a historical rune-number system. Keep these mixed-script choices visible when designing a nameplate, caption or puzzle clue.