Writing system
The Old English Alphabet
Old English adapted the Latin alphabet with letters such as ash (æ), eth (ð), thorn (þ), and wynn (ƿ). Early texts also used Anglo-Saxon runes, while modern learning editions often add macrons and dotted letters to clarify vowel length and pronunciation.
A
a · /ɑ/
A with macron
ā · /ɑː/
Ash
æ · /æ/
Ash with macron
ǣ · /æː/
B
b · /b/
C
c · /k ~ tʃ/
D
d · /d/
Eth
ð · /θ ~ ð/
E
e · /e/
E with macron
ē · /eː/
F
f · /f ~ v/
G
g · /ɡ ~ j ~ ɣ/
H
h · /h ~ x ~ ç/
I
i · /i/
I with macron
ī · /iː/
L
l · /l/
M
m · /m/
N
n · /n/
O
o · /o/
O with macron
ō · /oː/
P
p · /p/
R
r · /r/
S
s · /s ~ z/
T
t · /t/
Thorn
þ · /θ ~ ð/
U
u · /u/
U with macron
ū · /uː/
Wynn
w · /w/
X
x · /ks/
Y
y · /y/
Y with macron
ȳ · /yː/
Counting
Old English Numbers
Compare normalized Roman numerals with representative Old English cardinal forms. Number words can vary by gender, case, dialect, manuscript, and modern edition.
How it works
How Old English Grammar Works
Old English used inflectional endings to mark a word's role, so nouns, adjectives, pronouns, and verbs changed form more often than they do in Modern English.
Four main cases
Nominative, accusative, genitive, and dative endings show how nouns, adjectives, and pronouns function in a sentence.
Grammatical gender
Nouns belong to masculine, feminine, or neuter classes, and related words change their endings to agree.
Strong and weak verbs
Strong verbs often change their stem vowel, while weak verbs usually form the past tense with a dental suffix.
Explore a short phrase
Select a word from a traditional Old English greeting to see its form and role.
wes · be
Second-person singular imperative of wesan, meaning to be.
“ Wes þū hāl ” — Be well.
Development
From Anglo-Saxon England to Middle English
Follow Old English from its early regional varieties through the literary West Saxon tradition and the changes that accelerated after the Norman Conquest.
c. 450–850 CE
Early Old English
West Germanic varieties brought to Britain by Angles, Saxons, and Jutes developed into regional Old English dialects. Early writing used both runes and the adapted Latin alphabet.
c. 850–1066 CE
Late Old English
West Saxon became prominent in surviving literary manuscripts, while Mercian, Northumbrian, and Kentish continued as important regional dialects.
c. 1066–1150 CE
Transition to Middle English
After the Norman Conquest, contact with French and continuing internal change reshaped vocabulary, spelling, and inflection, leading toward Middle English varieties.
Comparison
Old English and Modern English
Many everyday English words still reveal their Old English roots despite centuries of sound and spelling change.
References
Dates and forms are concise learning references. Spellings vary across manuscripts, dialects, and modern editions.
- The Unicode Consortium, Latin script charts
- Old English Online, language course and history
- Bosworth–Toller Anglo-Saxon Dictionary
- Peter S. Baker, Introduction to Old English, 3rd edition