Rune Translator
Turn English letters into Elder Futhark runes one by one: a style transliteration, with the full chart.
English
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Runes
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Letter-by-letter rune transliteration of English – not Old Norse.
Heads-up: a doubled s rune (ᛊᛊ or ᛋᛋ) looks like the Nazi SS insignia. For a tattoo or engraving, ask a rune specialist how else to write it, for example with a single s rune.
What changed
| Your letter | Changed to | Why |
|---|---|---|
| h | ᚺ | Hagalaz |
| e | ᛖ | Ehwaz |
| l | ᛚ | Laguz |
| o | ᛟ | Othala |
| m | ᛗ | Mannaz |
| y | ᛃ | Jera (as y) |
| f | ᚠ | Fehu |
| r | ᚱ | Raido |
| i | ᛁ | Isaz |
| n | ᚾ | Naudiz |
| d | ᛞ | Dagaz |
| u | ᚢ | Uruz |
| a | ᚨ | Ansuz |
| s | ᛊ | Sowilo |
| t | ᛏ | Tiwaz |
| ng | ᛜ | Ingwaz |
| th | ᚦ | Thurisaz |
| k | ᚲ | Kaunan |
| w | ᚹ | Wunjo |
| p | ᛈ | Perthro |
| g | ᚷ | Gebo |
| v | ᚹ | Wunjo (no v rune) |
| c | ᚲ | Kaunan (as k) |
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What Is a Rune Translator?
A rune translator writes English words in runes, letter by letter: h becomes ᚺ, e becomes ᛖ, th becomes ᚦ. The words stay English. This tool uses the Elder Futhark by default and lets you switch to the Younger Futhark or the Anglo-Saxon Futhorc. The table under the result lists every letter it converted and the name of the rune it used.
That is called transliteration: changing the alphabet, not the language. It does not translate your words into Old Norse or any other language the runes were used for.
How to Use the Rune Translator
Type a word or phrase
Names and short phrases work well.
Pick an alphabet
Elder Futhark, Younger Futhark or Anglo-Saxon Futhorc.
Check the letters
The table shows which rune stands for each letter, including the letters with no rune of their own.
Rune Chart: English Letters to Runes
One common way to match English letters to runes. Different books and sites make different choices for letters like c, q, v, x and y, so if you see another chart, it is not necessarily wrong.
| Letter | Elder Futhark | Rune name | Younger Futhark | Anglo-Saxon Futhorc |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| a | ᚨ | Ansuz | ᛅ | ᚪ |
| b | ᛒ | Berkanan | ᛒ | ᛒ |
| c | ᚲ | Kaunan (as k) | ᚴ | ᚳ |
| d | ᛞ | Dagaz | ᛏ | ᛞ |
| e | ᛖ | Ehwaz | ᛁ | ᛖ |
| f | ᚠ | Fehu | ᚠ | ᚠ |
| g | ᚷ | Gebo | ᚴ | ᚷ |
| h | ᚺ | Hagalaz | ᚼ | ᚻ |
| i | ᛁ | Isaz | ᛁ | ᛁ |
| j | ᛃ | Jera | ᛁ | ᛄ |
| k | ᚲ | Kaunan | ᚴ | ᛣ |
| l | ᛚ | Laguz | ᛚ | ᛚ |
| m | ᛗ | Mannaz | ᛘ | ᛗ |
| n | ᚾ | Naudiz | ᚾ | ᚾ |
| o | ᛟ | Othala | ᚬ | ᚩ |
| p | ᛈ | Perthro | ᛒ | ᛈ |
| q | ᚲ | Kaunan (no q rune) | ᚴ | ᛣ |
| r | ᚱ | Raido | ᚱ | ᚱ |
| s | ᛊ | Sowilo | ᛋ | ᛋ |
| t | ᛏ | Tiwaz | ᛏ | ᛏ |
| u | ᚢ | Uruz | ᚢ | ᚢ |
| v | ᚹ | Wunjo (no v rune) | ᚢ | ᚠ |
| w | ᚹ | Wunjo | ᚢ | ᚹ |
| x | ᚲᛊ | Kaunan + Sowilo (k + s) | ᚴᛋ | ᛉ |
| y | ᛃ | Jera (as y) | ᛦ | ᚣ |
| z | ᛉ | Algiz (as z) | ᛋ | ᛋ |
| th | ᚦ | Thurisaz | ᚦ | ᚦ |
| ng | ᛜ | Ingwaz | — | ᛝ |
| ea | — | Futhorc only | — | ᛠ |
| st | — | Futhorc only | — | ᛥ |
- C, Q, X: the runes had no separate letters for these sounds. This tool writes c and q with the k rune and x as k + s.
- V and W: the Elder Futhark has one rune, Wunjo, for the w sound; the tool uses it for v too.
- TH and NG: these pairs have their own runes (Thurisaz and Ingwaz), so the tool converts them as one.
- Younger Futhark: it has fewer runes than the Elder Futhark, so several letters share one rune (for example, d and t).
Rune Translator Examples
Each example below was produced by this tool. Tap Try this to load it into the box above.
- Strength and honorᛊᛏᚱᛖᛜᚦ ᚨᚾᛞ ᚺᛟᚾᛟᚱ16 letters in Elder Futhark
- Family firstᚠᚨᛗᛁᛚᛃ ᚠᛁᚱᛊᛏ11 letters in Elder Futhark
- Never give upᚾᛖᚹᛖᚱ ᚷᛁᚹᛖ ᚢᛈ11 letters in Elder Futhark
- Faith over fearᚠᚨᛁᚦ ᛟᚹᛖᚱ ᚠᛖᚨᚱ13 letters in Elder Futhark
- Love never failsᛚᛟᚹᛖ ᚾᛖᚹᛖᚱ ᚠᚨᛁᛚᛊ14 letters in Elder Futhark
- Born freeᛒᛟᚱᚾ ᚠᚱᛖᛖ8 letters in Elder Futhark
Is This Real Runic Writing?
Not in the historical sense. People who carved runes wrote their own languages, spelled by sound, with conventions that changed over the centuries. Spelling English letter by letter in runes is a modern practice.
Rune tattoos are where this matters most. In one Reddit thread, a person asking about a rune tattoo was told: “These translators are always horribly bad” (r/RuneHelp). Before anything permanent, ask someone who knows runes to check the spelling, and decide which alphabet you want on purpose.
Who the Rune Translator Is For
- Tattoo planners who want to see a name in runes before talking to a specialist.
- Gamers and fantasy fans writing names, signs and secret notes.
- Crafters carving or burning runes into wood, leather or jewelry.
Other Style Translators
Historical English
Older English, from Chaucer's spelling to Shakespeare's thou and thee to a Victorian letter.
- Old English TranslatorHail, good friend, art thou coming home ere eventide?
- Shakespeare TranslatorGood morrow, good friend, thou art ever welcome here.
- Middle English TranslatorMy freend, the knyght rood hoom thurgh the nyght.
- Victorian TranslatorGood day, I am much obliged to you for the lovely soirée.
Runes
English letters written in rune alphabets, one letter at a time.
- Rune Translatorᚺᛖᛚᛚᛟ ᛗᛃ ᚠᚱᛁᛖᚾᛞ
Slang, Dialects and Tone
Everyday slang, regional speech and the formal or silly way of saying the same thing.
- Gen Z TranslatorNgl, my new fit is lowkey fire.
- Southern Accent TranslatorHey y'all, mama is makin' supper.
- Cowboy TranslatorHowdy partner, I reckon the trail is long.
- Slang TranslatorMy ride is busted, so I have no dough.
- Formal English TranslatorHello, are you available tomorrow? Thank you very much.
- Caveman TranslatorMe big hungry and me want food.
Rune Translator FAQ
Is this an Old Norse translator?
No. It changes the alphabet, not the language. Your words stay English, written in runes.
Which rune alphabet should I use?
The Elder Futhark is the oldest and the one most rune charts show. The Younger Futhark was used in the Viking Age and has fewer runes. The Anglo-Saxon Futhorc was used in England and has extra runes.
Why is there no rune for c, q or x?
The rune alphabets were made for other languages and did not need separate letters for those sounds. The tool uses the closest runes, shown in the chart above.
Can I use this for a tattoo?
Use it to explore, not as the final word. Ask someone who knows runes to check it first, and be sure which alphabet you are using.
Why does the tool warn about a double s?
Two s runes side by side (ᛊᛊ in the Elder Futhark, ᛋᛋ in the other two alphabets) look like the SS insignia of Nazi Germany, which was based on the sowilo rune. Common names such as Jessica or Russell produce it. For a tattoo or engraving, ask a rune specialist how else to write the name, for example with a single s rune.
Does it work for names?
Yes. Names are converted letter by letter like any other word. If you would rather keep the letters and change only the look, our Old English translator page has a blackletter font preview.
Key Points
- The rune translator writes English in runes, letter by letter, with Elder Futhark as the default.
- You can switch to the Younger Futhark or the Anglo-Saxon Futhorc.
- It is a transliteration, not a translation into Old Norse.
- Letter-to-rune choices vary between charts; check any tattoo text with someone who knows runes.