Rune Translator
Write your name or a message in runes. Type English letters to get Elder Futhark runes, the oldest runic alphabet, used by Germanic peoples from about the 2nd to the 8th century. Paste runes to turn them back into letters.
Runes don’t match modern letters one to one: C, K and Q share the rune ᚲ, V and W share ᚹ, and TH and NG each have a rune of their own. This is a letter-by-letter transliteration, the way runes are used today for names, art and games.
Type or paste in either box: it translates both ways.
Rune alphabet (Elder Futhark)
Click any character to copy its code.
Questions
Is this how the Vikings wrote?
The Vikings used the Younger Futhark, a shorter alphabet of 16 runes that grew out of the Elder Futhark. The Elder Futhark has 24 runes, close to one for each sound, which makes it the easier choice for modern names.
How do you separate words in runes?
Old inscriptions often put a dot ᛫ or a double dot ᛬ between words. Spaces work too, and the translator reads all three.
Will runes show on every phone?
Runic letters are part of Unicode and show on current iPhones, Android phones, Windows and Mac. Some older devices may show boxes instead.