How to use the ogham translator
Type your text and it appears in ogham, framed by the feather marks that begin and end an ogham inscription. Paste ogham into the box to read it back as letters. The chart below shows every letter with its traditional name.
Like the rune translator, this spells sounds rather than translating words. English letters with no ogham letter of their own are written with the nearest one: J and Y use the letter for I, K uses C, and V and W use F. P uses the later letter peith.
About ogham
Ogham is an early medieval alphabet used mainly to write the Irish language. Several hundred ogham inscriptions survive, carved along the edges of standing stones across Ireland and in parts of Wales, Scotland and the Isle of Man. Most are short memorials giving a person's name and their father's name.
The letters are made of one to five strokes or notches against a central line, which on a stone is usually the edge itself. They fall into four groups of five, called aicmí. Many of the letters have names traditionally linked to trees, such as beith, the birch, for B and dair, the oak, for D, which is why ogham is sometimes called the tree alphabet.
On stones, ogham was usually read from the bottom upwards. Here it is shown left to right so it fits on a screen.
Questions and answers
Is ogham a language?
No. It is an alphabet, mainly used to write early Irish. This tool writes English words in ogham letters.
Why do some letters look the same?
Ogham has fewer letters than English, so some English letters share one, such as I, J and Y.
Which way does ogham go?
On standing stones it usually reads upwards along an edge. In books and on screens it is often written left to right.
What are the arrow-like marks at each end?
Feather marks, which show the start and end of an inscription.