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Learn Rovás

Master the ancient alphabet, one rune at a time.

The Rovás Alphabet

𐳀

a

𐳁

á

𐳂

b

𐳄

c

𐳆

cs

𐳇

d

𐳉

e

𐳋

é

𐳌

f

𐳍

g

𐳎

gy

𐳏

h

𐳐

i

𐳑

í

𐳒

j

𐳓

k

𐳖

l

𐳗

ly

𐳘

m

𐳙

n

𐳚

ny

𐳛

o

𐳜

ó

𐳝

ö

𐳟

ő

𐳠

p

𐳢

r

𐳤

s

𐳥

sz

𐳦

t

𐳨

ty

𐳪

u

𐳫

ú

𐳬

ü

𐳭

ű

𐳮

v

𐳯

z

𐳰

zs

Rovás Numerals

Rovás has its own additive numeral system, structured like Roman numerals: larger values come first, and the individual signs are summed. The translator automatically converts any digits you type into their Rovás equivalents.

𐳿

1,000 · one thousand

𐳾

100 · one hundred

𐳽

50 · fifty

𐳼

10 · ten

𐳻

5 · five

𐳺

1 · one

Common Ligatures

Ligatures are historical compound characters — two or more runes joined into a single sign. In traditional use they were common, and sometimes an entire word was carved as one joined glyph. They are shown here for reference, but this translator outputs runes individually to keep reading and copying simple.

𐳇 + 𐳯

dz

(dz)

𐳇 + 𐳰

dzs

(j)

𐳓 + 𐳮

q

(kv)

𐳮 + 𐳮

w

(v)

𐳓 + 𐳥

x

(ks)

𐳐 + 𐳒

y

(i / y)

Front- and Back-Vowel Variants

Historically, several Rovás consonants had two forms — one used before front vowels (e, é, i, í, ö, ő, ü, ű) and another before back vowels (a, á, o, ó, u, ú). This mirrored the sound harmony of the Hungarian language. For simplicity and readability, this translator uses the modern single-form convention; the advanced distinction is documented in scholarly sources.

Key Writing Rules

Right-to-Left Direction

Unlike modern Hungarian, Rovás is written from right to left. This is a fundamental rule to remember when reading or writing.

Doubled Consonants

Historically, a special mark was used for doubled consonants. For simplicity in modern digital use, the consonant rune is often just written twice.

Vowel Omission

In traditional script, vowels were often omitted if the pronunciation was obvious. Modern digital transcriptions usually include all vowels for clarity.

No Uppercase/Lowercase

The script does not have separate uppercase and lowercase letters. The same rune is used regardless of its position in a sentence.

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