Old English Translator
Type or paste any modern English text below and this old English translator will rewrite it in authentic Anglo-Saxon style.
Old English Translator Examples
My brother borrowed money from me six months ago and every time I bring it up he changes the subject like it never happened.
Mīn brōðor me feoh borgode siex mōnaðum ǣr, ond ǣlce sīðe þonne ic hit gemyne, hē þæt word onƿende sƿā hit næfre ne geƿearð.
We used to talk every single day, knew everything about each other, and now we pass each other in the street like complete strangers without even making eye contact.
Ƿē spræcon ælce dæge, ƿiston eall be ūrum ælcum, and nū ƿē gāð forð on strǣte gelīce uncuðum mannum būtan ūre ēagan tō metenne.
How Does This Tool Work?
Paste your text into the box above and hit translate. The AI reads your sentence, identifies the meaning and structure, then rewrites it using Old English vocabulary and grammatical patterns. The output draws from the West Saxon dialect, which was the standard literary form of Anglo-Saxon used by scholars and scribes during the reign of Alfred the Great. Results are generated instantly and you can copy them straight from the tool.
When to Use an Old English Generator
Add authentic period dialogue to historical fiction, fantasy novels, or short stories set in medieval Britain without spending hours researching grammar.
Explore how modern words connect to their Anglo-Saxon roots. A great companion tool for anyone studying English literature, linguistics, or British history.
Build immersive worlds with period-accurate NPC dialogue, item names, place names, and lore texts that feel genuinely rooted in the Anglo-Saxon world.
Script authentic-sounding archaic English for stage productions, short films, or video content set in early medieval Britain without a linguistics degree.
History and Origins of Old English
Old English, also called Anglo-Saxon, arrived in Britain during the 5th century AD when three Germanic tribes crossed the North Sea from what is now Germany and Denmark. The Angles, Saxons, and Jutes settled across the island and their closely related West Germanic dialects gradually merged into what we now call Old English. The language had strong ties to Frisian, and you can still spot similarities between Old English words and modern German or Dutch today.
For roughly 600 years, Old English was the living language of everyday life in Britain. It was used in law, literature, church sermons, and royal decrees. Alfred the Great, King of Wessex from 871 to 899, played a major role in standardising the written form of the language and promoted literacy across his kingdom. His court produced translations of Latin texts into the West Saxon dialect, which became the dominant literary standard.
The end of Old English came with the Norman Conquest of 1066. When William the Conqueror took the English throne, French became the language of the royal court and ruling class. Over the next two centuries, Old English absorbed thousands of French and Latin words and gradually transformed into Middle English, the language of Geoffrey Chaucer. By 1200, Old English as a distinct language was essentially gone.
Old English Writing System and Alphabet
Old English was first written using Runes, specifically the Futhorc alphabet, an adaptation of the older Elder Futhark used across Germanic Europe. Runes were carved into objects like weapons, jewellery, and stone monuments. After the Christianization of England in the 7th century, monks began writing Old English using the Latin alphabet, which gradually replaced runic writing for manuscripts.
Several letters in Old English look unfamiliar to modern readers because they represent sounds that Latin did not have. The most common ones you will see are:
| Letter | Name | Sound | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Þ, þ | Thorn | “th” as in think | þe (the) |
| Ð, ð | Eth | “th” as in this | ðis (this) |
| Æ, æ | Ash | “a” as in cat | æt (at) |
| Ƿ, ƿ | Wynn | “w” as in win | ƿater (water) |
These letters were not random inventions. They solved a real problem: the Latin alphabet simply did not have letters for sounds that English speakers used every day. Thorn and Eth both covered “th” sounds, and scribes used them somewhat interchangeably across different manuscripts and regions.
Famous Old English Texts and Literature
Beowulf is the most famous work in Old English and one of the oldest surviving epic poems in any Germanic language. The manuscript dates to around 1000 AD but the poem itself was likely composed centuries earlier. It tells the story of a warrior who battles three monsters including the creature Grendel and a fire-breathing dragon. The poem is remarkable for its use of alliteration, where each line pairs stressed syllables beginning with the same sound, a defining feature of Old English poetry.
Beyond Beowulf, the period produced a rich body of writing. The Exeter Book, compiled around 970 AD, is the largest surviving collection of Old English poetry and includes works like The Wanderer and The Seafarer, two poems that explore themes of exile and the hardships of life at sea. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is a series of annals that recorded English history year by year from the reign of Alfred the Great onward. Cædmon’s Hymn, composed in the 7th century, is considered the earliest surviving example of Old English religious poetry.
Old English vs Middle English vs Shakespeare
These three stages of English are often confused, partly because they all sound archaic to modern ears. The differences between them are significant.
Old English (450 to 1150 AD) is essentially a foreign language to modern speakers. It has a completely different grammar system with four grammatical cases, three genders for nouns, and complex verb conjugations. A modern English speaker cannot read Beowulf in the original without years of study. It looks and sounds nothing like what we speak today.
Middle English (1150 to 1500 AD) is the language of Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. After the Norman Conquest, Old English absorbed enormous amounts of French and Latin vocabulary and shed much of its complex grammar. Middle English is still very difficult to read without training, but a determined modern reader can work through a passage with some effort.
Shakespeare’s English (Early Modern English, 1500 to 1700 AD) is much closer to what we speak today. Thee, thou, dost, and hath are the most obvious differences. Most people can follow Shakespeare with a bit of practice. Calling Shakespeare’s English “Old English” is one of the most common misconceptions about the history of the language. It is not Old English at all.
Common Old English Words and Phrases
If you are wondering how to say everyday words in Old English, here is a translation table of common Anglo-Saxon phrases.
| Modern English | Old English | Pronunciation guide |
|---|---|---|
| Hello / Greetings | Hāl wes þū | Hahl wes thoo |
| Goodbye | Fare well | Fah-reh well |
| Thank you | Ic þancie þē | Ick than-kee-eh thay |
| Yes | Gēa | Yeh-ah |
| No | Nā | Nah |
| Friend | Frēond | Fray-ond |
| King | Cyning | Koo-ning |
| God / Lord | Drihten | Drikh-ten |
| Water | Wæter | Wah-ter |
| House / Home | Hūs | Hoos |
| Day | Dæg | Dah-yeh |
| Night | Niht | Nikht |
The Cultural Legacy of Old English
Old English did not disappear without leaving deep marks on the language we speak today. The most common words in modern English, the ones we use in almost every sentence, come directly from Anglo-Saxon roots. Words like water, earth, house, mother, father, child, love, death, come, go, eat, and drink are all Old English in origin. The Norman Conquest added French and Latin vocabulary on top, but the skeleton of English remains Anglo-Saxon.
J.R.R. Tolkien, who was a professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford University, drew heavily on Old English when building the world of Middle-earth. The language of the Rohirrim in The Lord of the Rings is directly based on Old English, and many place names and character names across his work have Old English roots. Tolkien’s deep knowledge of the language shaped the entire fantasy genre that followed him.
Old English also left its mark on place names across Britain. Suffixes like -ton (settlement), -ham (village), -ley (woodland clearing), and -wick (dairy farm) appear in thousands of English towns and cities. Every time you say Birmingham, Northampton, or Gatwick, you are speaking a fragment of Old English.
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The Context Behind Old English
Old English was spoken across Britain from roughly 450 AD to 1150 AD, brought to the island by the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes from the coastal regions of what is now Germany and Denmark. It was a fully inflected language with grammatical gender, noun cases, and complex verb forms that bear little resemblance to modern English. The Norman Conquest of 1066 began its decline as French became the language of power, and by 1200 the language had evolved into Middle English. Despite disappearing as a spoken language nearly a thousand years ago, Old English forms the grammatical and vocabulary foundation of the language spoken by over 1.5 billion people today.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Old English the same as Shakespeare’s English?
No. Shakespeare wrote in Early Modern English, which dates from roughly 1500 to 1700 AD. Old English, also called Anglo-Saxon, was spoken from 450 to 1150 AD and looks almost nothing like modern English. A native English speaker can follow Shakespeare with some effort, but Old English reads like a completely foreign language without years of study. Calling Shakespeare’s English “Old English” is one of the most common misconceptions about the history of the language.
What is the difference between Old English and Middle English?
Old English (450 to 1150 AD) is the Anglo-Saxon language brought to Britain by Germanic tribes. It has complex grammar with four noun cases, three genders, and extensive verb conjugations. Middle English (1150 to 1500 AD) emerged after the Norman Conquest as Old English absorbed thousands of French and Latin words and lost much of its grammatical complexity. Chaucer wrote in Middle English. Old English is essentially a foreign language to modern readers, while Middle English is very difficult but possible to decipher with effort.
Can modern English speakers understand Old English?
Not without training. Old English looks and sounds so different from modern English that most native speakers cannot read a single sentence without help. The grammar system, spelling, and much of the vocabulary are entirely unfamiliar. Some individual words are recognisable, like God, and, or is, but they are scattered within sentences that are otherwise unreadable. Scholars typically spend years studying Old English before they can read Beowulf in the original.
How do you say hello in Old English?
The closest Old English equivalent to “hello” is Hāl wes þū, pronounced roughly as “hahl wes thoo.” It literally means “be healthy” or “be well” and was used as a greeting. You might also see Wes hāl, which carries the same meaning. The modern word “hello” did not exist in Old English. Greetings in Anglo-Saxon were more like wishes of good health than the casual hello we use today.
What are the weird letters in Old English?
Old English used several letters that do not appear in the modern Latin alphabet. The most common are Thorn (Þ, þ), which makes a “th” sound as in think, and Eth (Ð, ð), which makes a softer “th” sound as in this. Ash (Æ, æ) represents a short “a” sound like in cat, and Wynn (Ƿ, ƿ) makes a “w” sound. These letters were borrowed from the runic Futhorc alphabet and adapted for use in manuscript writing when monks began recording Old English in the Latin alphabet after Christianization.
What is the oldest surviving text in Old English?
Cædmon’s Hymn is generally considered the oldest surviving example of Old English poetry. It was composed by a cowherd named Cædmon at the monastery of Whitby sometime around 658 to 680 AD, making it over 1,300 years old. The hymn is a short religious poem of nine lines praising God as the creator of the world. It survives in multiple manuscript copies. Beowulf, while more famous, was written down later, around 1000 AD, though the poem itself is thought to be centuries older.
What language was Beowulf originally written in?
Beowulf was written in Old English, specifically in a West Saxon dialect with some Anglian features mixed in. The surviving manuscript was copied by two scribes around 1000 AD and is now held in the British Library in London. The poem itself is believed to have been composed much earlier, possibly between the 8th and 10th centuries, though scholars debate the exact date. It is the longest surviving Old English poem at 3,182 lines and is the central text in the study of Anglo-Saxon literature.
Is this old English translator free to use?
Yes, completely free. You can translate as much text as you want without creating an account or paying any fees. The tool is available on any device including mobile, tablet, and desktop. There are no hidden limits or premium tiers. Just paste your text, hit translate, and copy the result.