Rune translator
Turn English names and words into Elder Futhark runes, or read runes back into letters. Free, private.
Your runes will appear here.What the rune translator does
Both directions
Turn English into Elder Futhark runes, or paste runes and read a Latin approximation back.
Digraph runes
Th, ng and ei become the single runes ᚦ, ᛜ and ᛇ, as in a proper runic spelling.
Unicode Elder Futhark
Uses the standard Unicode runic characters, so the result pastes into almost any app.
Spaces stay spaces
Word spacing is kept as plain spaces, so the result pastes cleanly into any app.
Live results
The runes update as you type, with any character that has no rune listed so nothing vanishes silently.
Private by design
Everything runs in your browser. Nothing you type is uploaded.
Translate in three steps
- 1
Choose text to runes or runes to text
Pick English to runes to write a name or phrase in Elder Futhark, or runes to English to read runes you already have.
- 2
Type or paste your text
Enter a name, a word or a short sentence. Th, ng and ei turn into single runes, and spaces stay as spaces.
- 3
Copy the runes
Copy the result and paste it into a tattoo design, a game, a card or a document. If the runes look like empty boxes, your device is missing a runic font.
What people use it for
Whether you're a developer sharing a UI preview on Twitter, a founder submitting to Product Hunt, a designer building a portfolio, or a content creator making YouTube thumbnails — PixelTools turns any plain screenshot into something worth sharing.
Tattoo and jewelry ideas
See how a name or short word looks in runes before you take it to an artist or engraver. Always check the design with someone who knows runes first.
Games and worldbuilding
Write inscriptions, character names or hidden clues for tabletop games, Minecraft builds and fantasy settings.
Learning the runes
Compare Latin letters with their Elder Futhark equivalents and practise reading short words.
Cards, crafts and art
Add a runic name or message to a handmade card, wood burning, stamp or poster.
Frequently asked questions
Is this a real Old Norse or Proto-Germanic translation?
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No. It is a letter-by-letter runic translator: each Latin letter or sound is swapped for the Elder Futhark rune with the closest sound, so "Thor" becomes ᚦᛟᚱ. It does not translate English words into Old Norse or Proto-Germanic. For a name or short phrase that is usually what people want, but it is a transliteration, not a translation.
How does the translator handle letters that Elder Futhark does not have?
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Elder Futhark has 24 runes and no c, q, x, v or y. This tool uses the common conventions: c becomes ᚲ like k, q becomes ᚲᚹ (kw), x becomes ᚲᛊ (ks), v becomes ᚹ like w, and y becomes ᛁ. The sounds th (ᚦ), ng (ᛜ) and ei (ᛇ) each get their own rune. Because several letters share a rune, decoding back to English gives a close approximation rather than the exact original spelling.
Are these Norse runes, Viking runes or Elder Futhark?
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The output is Elder Futhark, the oldest runic alphabet, used from about the 2nd to the 8th century. Vikings later used the shorter Younger Futhark, which has only 16 runes. Many sites call both "Norse runes" or "Viking runes", but the runes here come from the Unicode Elder Futhark set, from ᚠ (fehu) to ᛟ (othala).
Try the rune translator now
Free, no account needed.