Elvish translator
Look up common words in Sindarin and Quenya, or spell a name with Quenya letter conventions. Unofficial fan tool, free and private.
Unofficial fan tool. Not affiliated with or endorsed by the Tolkien Estate or Middle-earth Enterprises. Elvish phrases here are short, widely quoted examples, and anything not in the list is only respelled, not translated.
Your Elvish will appear here.What the elvish translator does
Both directions
Look up English words as Elvish, or read Elvish words and phrases back into English.
Hand-written phrasebook
A short list of widely quoted Sindarin and Quenya words, kept small on purpose.
Quenya-style name spelling
Names that are not in the phrasebook are respelled with Quenya letter conventions.
Plain Latin output
Output is ordinary text, so it pastes anywhere and works with any Tengwar font.
Live results
Results update as you type, and unknown Elvish words are listed instead of dropped.
Stays in your browser
Nothing you type leaves your device.
Translate in three steps
- 1
Pick a direction
Choose English to Elvish to look up a word or respell a name, or Elvish to English to read a phrase you already have.
- 2
Enter a word or name
Type a word like friend or star, a quoted phrase such as well met, or a name. Words in the phrasebook are replaced; other words are respelled with Quenya conventions.
- 3
Copy the result
Copy the text. For Tengwar script, paste the Latin result into a Tengwar font tool of your choice.
What people use it for
Fun, low-stakes ways people use the Elvish translator.
Names for fan art and tattoos ideas
Preview a name in Quenya-style spelling before taking it to a designer or Tengwar font.
Tabletop and larp
Add an Elvish greeting or toast to a character sheet, handout or costume.
Learning a few words
Check how mellon, aiya and namarie are spelled before you use them.
Fan fiction and worldbuilding
Name a place, a ship or an elf character with the right look and feel.
Frequently asked questions
Is this a full English to Elvish translator?
+
No. Elvish in Tolkien's work is not one language but several, mainly Sindarin and Quenya, and neither has enough vocabulary to translate arbitrary English. This tool has a short phrasebook of well-known words and greetings, and respells everything else with Quenya letter conventions. Treat the respelling as a name styler, not a translation.
What is the difference between Sindarin and Quenya?
+
Quenya is the older, formal tongue, comparable to Latin. Sindarin is the everyday language of the Elves of Middle-earth. The phrasebook mixes both, so mellon (friend) and mae govannen (well met) are Sindarin, while the respelling rules follow Quenya.
How does the name respelling work?
+
Quenya has no k, q, w, j, x or z. This tool writes k and q as c, w as v, j as y, x as cs and z as s, so Jack becomes yac. It is a simple letter swap, so the result looks Elvish but is not a form Tolkien wrote.
Does it produce Tengwar script?
+
No. Tengwar is a separate writing system that needs a special font, and this tool outputs Latin letters only. You can paste the Latin result into any Tengwar font converter.
Is any text sent to a server?
+
No. The lookup and respelling run in your browser, so what you type stays on your device.
Try the elvish translator now
Free, no account needed.