Paste the original
Use Old English letters such as þ, ð, æ, and ƿ when your source includes them.
Anglo-Saxon English → English today
Old English to
Modern English
Turn common Old English words and short passages into a readable Modern English draft. Paste Anglo-Saxon text, inspect the gloss, and verify important wording with a specialist source.
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Read across a thousand years
Translate Old English into Modern English
Old English text
c. 450–1100
0 / 800
Modern English draft
Today
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Readable gloss
Best with common words and one short passage at a time. This is a glossary-based learning aid, not a complete Old English grammar engine.
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Private by designYour text stays on-device
Honest by defaultA draft with clear limits
From manuscript to meaning
A readable gloss, not a guessed costume.
Old English has cases, grammatical gender, inflected endings, several dialects, and a vocabulary that changed across centuries. A word can have different Modern English meanings depending on its form and context.
This translator recognizes a curated set of common words and phrases, preserves unmatched terms for inspection, and tells you when it cannot find a useful glossary match.
Three transparent steps
How this Old English to Modern English translator works
The browser checks complete phrases first, then common word forms. It produces a plain-English draft without sending your text to a server.
Read the draft
Known phrases receive natural translations; common words receive concise glosses.
Check the context
For study, publication, inscriptions, or tattoos, confirm the result in a scholarly edition or dictionary.
Start with the familiar
Old English to Modern English examples
These short translations show how Old English vocabulary and inflection differ from English today.
| Old English | Modern English |
|---|---|
| Wes hāl. | Be well. / Hello. |
| Hū eart þū? | How are you? |
| Ic þancie þē. | I thank you. |
| Mīn nama is… | My name is… |
| Se cyning healdeþ þā healle. | The king guards the hall. |
| God þē gehealde. | May God keep you safe. |
Read the letterforms
Four letters you may meet
Old English manuscripts and modern editions use characters that are uncommon in English today.
Thorn
Usually read as a “th” sound; modern transcriptions may represent it with the letters th.
Eth
Another letter for “th,” appearing alongside thorn in Old English texts.
Ash
A distinct vowel letter found in many common Old English words and forms.
Wynn
An early “w” letter. Modern editions sometimes replace it with the familiar w.
Choose the right direction
Reading Old English or writing it?
These are separate search goals, so the site provides a focused tool for each direction.
Old → Modern
Stay on this page to gloss an Anglo-Saxon word, phrase, or short passage.
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Use the companion tool to create an Old English–inspired learning draft.
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Old English to Modern English FAQ
Can this translate Old English to Modern English?
It can translate a curated set of common words, phrases, and short passages into a readable Modern English draft. Because Old English meaning depends on grammar, dialect, and context, longer or important texts still need expert verification.
Is Old English the same as Anglo-Saxon?
Anglo-Saxon is a common alternative name for Old English, the earliest recorded stage of English. The term may also refer more broadly to the people and culture of early medieval England.
Can I translate Beowulf with this tool?
You can explore common words and short lines, but a poem such as Beowulf depends on inflection, compounds, poetic vocabulary, syntax, and manuscript context. Use a scholarly edition for a complete translation.
Why are some words left unchanged?
An unchanged word is not in the compact glossary or may be an inflected form the tool does not recognize. Keeping it visible is safer than inventing a confident but unsupported meaning.
Does this page send or store my text?
No. Translation runs locally in your browser, requires no account, and does not send your text to a translation server.
Turn the page both ways
Need to write in Old English instead?
Use the companion tool for a Modern English to Old English learning draft.
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