Ancient Text Generator

Type a word and copy it in runes, Phoenician, Old Italic or Ogham, with the stand-in letters labelled.

Sample. Type or paste your own to replace it.

Runes 14 characters

ᚾᛟᚦᛁᛜ ᚡᛖᚾᛏᚢᚱᛖᛞ

Every letter and number here has a character in this set.

Same text, other sets

  • Phoenician 16 characters𐤍𐤏𐤕𐤇𐤉𐤍𐤂 𐤅𐤄𐤍𐤕𐤅𐤓𐤄𐤃Every letter and number here has a character in this set.
  • Old Italic 16 characters𐌍𐌏𐌕𐌇𐌉𐌍𐌂 𐌖𐌄𐌍𐌕𐌖𐌓𐌄𐌃Every letter and number here has a character in this set.
  • Ogham 15 charactersᚅᚑᚈᚆᚔᚍ ᚃᚓᚅᚈᚒᚏᚓᚇEvery letter and number here has a character in this set.

More options

Use these for fun, not for anything that matters. Screen readers read many of these characters badly or skip them, search cannot find them, and some apps strip them or show empty boxes.

All 130 characters: tap one to copy it

130 characters in 7 groups.

With a keyboard: Tab goes into the table once, the arrow keys move inside it, and Enter copies.

Runes: the Elder Futhark, by sound 24

Runes: five medieval letters that fill the gaps 5

Phoenician: the ancestor of each letter 28

Old Italic: the letters Old Latin took over 28

Ogham: values from the manuscript tradition 29

Stand-ins, where a script has no such letter 9

Word dividers and marks 7

How it works

This ancient text generator sets your words in four real scripts: runes, Phoenician, Old Italic and Ogham. It swaps letters one by one and does not translate. Some apps strip or block these characters, and screen readers may read them badly.

Read the full guide

Type a word, copy a script

The large card is Runes. Phoenician, Old Italic and Ogham sit below. A capital and a small letter come out the same, because none of these scripts has capitals. This page spells your words; to copy one sign for what it means, a hieroglyph or a cuneiform sign, go to ancient symbols.

How each letter was chosen

Runes go by sound: the 24 of the Elder Futhark, with th and ng as single runes, plus five medieval runes for C, Q, V, X and Y. Phoenician goes by descent, so A becomes alf, the letter A came from. Old Italic uses the 21 letters that Old Latin took over. Ogham follows its manuscript tradition.

Tips
  • Numbers and punctuation stay as typed. For a divider between words, copy a runic dot or the Phoenician word separator from the list below.
  • Where an app counts UTF-16 units, Phoenician and Old Italic cost two a letter: the sample shows 16 characters and counts 31.
  • In Ogham, a feather mark opens a text and a reversed one closes it. Copy both from Word dividers and marks.

Questions and answers

Does this translate my words into an ancient language?

No. Each letter is swapped for a character from an old script, so the words stay English. Nothing ventured in runes still spells nothing ventured, one rune a letter, except that th and ng take one rune each.

Which letters are real and which are stand-ins?

Of the 111 rows that convert, 97 follow a sourced value and 14 are stand-ins, each labelled in the list. The 21 Old Italic letters have no G, so G borrows the letter of C. J and Y have nothing in Ogham and stay plain.

Why does my Phoenician text run backwards?

Phoenician was written from right to left, and Unicode gives its letters that direction. A pasted line starts at the right edge, so the first letter you typed is the rightmost. The other three rows run left to right.

Why do I see boxes instead of ancient letters?

A box means no font on the device holds that script. Runes and Ogham joined Unicode in September 1999, Old Italic in March 2001 and Phoenician in July 2006. A font may hold one script and not another, so try another row.

All 130 characters

Runes: the Elder Futhark, by sound 24

  • A as a rune: ansuz U+16A8. Ansuz, rune 4 of the 24 in the Elder Futhark, transliterated a in Wikipedia's table. Stands for A, by sound.
  • B as a rune: berkanan U+16D2. Berkanan, rune 18 of the 24 in the Elder Futhark, transliterated b in Wikipedia's table. Stands for B, by sound.
  • D as a rune: dagaz U+16DE. Dagaz, rune 23 of the 24 in the Elder Futhark, transliterated d in Wikipedia's table. Stands for D, by sound.
  • E as a rune: ehwaz U+16D6. Ehwaz, rune 19 of the 24 in the Elder Futhark, transliterated e in Wikipedia's table. Stands for E, by sound.
  • F as a rune: fehu U+16A0. Fehu, rune 1 of the 24 in the Elder Futhark, transliterated f in Wikipedia's table. Stands for F, by sound.
  • G as a rune: gebo U+16B7. Gebo, rune 7 of the 24 in the Elder Futhark, transliterated g in Wikipedia's table. Stands for G, by sound.
  • H as a rune: haglaz U+16BA. Haglaz, rune 9 of the 24 in the Elder Futhark, transliterated h in Wikipedia's table. Stands for H, by sound.
Show all 130 characters (123 more)

Runes: the Elder Futhark, by sound, continued

  • I as a rune: isaz U+16C1. Isaz, rune 11 of the 24 in the Elder Futhark, transliterated i in Wikipedia's table. Stands for I, by sound.
  • J as a rune: jeran U+16C3. Jeran, rune 12 of the 24 in the Elder Futhark, transliterated j in Wikipedia's table. Stands for J, though the table gives its sound as /j/, the y of year.
  • K as a rune: kauna U+16B2. Kauna, rune 6 of the 24 in the Elder Futhark, transliterated k in Wikipedia's table. Stands for K, by sound.
  • L as a rune: laukaz U+16DA. Laukaz, rune 21 of the 24 in the Elder Futhark, transliterated l in Wikipedia's table. Stands for L, by sound.
  • M as a rune: mannaz U+16D7. Mannaz, rune 20 of the 24 in the Elder Futhark, transliterated m in Wikipedia's table. Stands for M, by sound.
  • N as a rune: naudiz U+16BE. Naudiz, rune 10 of the 24 in the Elder Futhark, transliterated n in Wikipedia's table. Stands for N, by sound.
  • Ng as a rune: ingwaz U+16DC. Ingwaz, rune 22 of the 24 in the Elder Futhark, transliterated ŋ in Wikipedia's table. Stands for the pair ng, as in ring, which is matched before n and g.
  • O as a rune: othalan U+16DF. Othalan, rune 24 of the 24 in the Elder Futhark, transliterated o in Wikipedia's table. Stands for O, by sound.
  • P as a rune: pertho U+16C8. Pertho, rune 14 of the 24 in the Elder Futhark, transliterated p in Wikipedia's table. Stands for P, by sound.
  • R as a rune: raido U+16B1. Raido, rune 5 of the 24 in the Elder Futhark, transliterated r in Wikipedia's table. Stands for R, by sound.
  • Rune with no English letter: iwaz U+16C7. Iwaz, rune 13 of the 24 in the Elder Futhark, transliterated ï or æ in Wikipedia's table. No English letter stands for it, so nothing you type turns into it. A tile to copy.
  • S as a rune: sowilo U+16CA. Sowilo, rune 16 of the 24 in the Elder Futhark, transliterated s in Wikipedia's table. Stands for S, by sound.
  • T as a rune: tiwaz U+16CF. Tiwaz, rune 17 of the 24 in the Elder Futhark, transliterated t in Wikipedia's table. Stands for T, by sound.
  • Th as a rune: thurisaz U+16A6. Thurisaz, rune 3 of the 24 in the Elder Futhark, transliterated þ in Wikipedia's table. Stands for the pair th, which is matched before t and h. The table gives its sound as the th of thin or of this.
  • U as a rune: uruz U+16A2. Uruz, rune 2 of the 24 in the Elder Futhark, transliterated u in Wikipedia's table. Stands for U, by sound.
  • W as a rune: wunjo U+16B9. Wunjo, rune 8 of the 24 in the Elder Futhark, transliterated w in Wikipedia's table. Stands for W, by sound.
  • Z as a rune: algiz U+16C9. Algiz, rune 15 of the 24 in the Elder Futhark, transliterated z in Wikipedia's table. Stands for Z. The same table notes that the z sound had turned into an r sound by Proto-Norse.

Runes: five medieval letters that fill the gaps 5

  • C as a rune: the medieval c U+16CD. Unicode names it Runic letter c, and Wikipedia's table of the Runic block ticks it for the medieval runes only. The Elder Futhark had no c, so this later rune fills the gap: a stand-in from an alphabet fully formed in the early 13th century.
  • Q as a rune: the medieval q U+16E9. Unicode names it Runic letter q, and Wikipedia's table of the Runic block ticks it for the medieval runes only. The Elder Futhark had no q, so this later rune fills the gap: a stand-in from an alphabet fully formed in the early 13th century.
  • V as a rune: the medieval v U+16A1. Unicode names it Runic letter v, and Wikipedia's table of the Runic block ticks it for the medieval runes only. The Elder Futhark had no v, so this later rune fills the gap: a stand-in from an alphabet fully formed in the early 13th century.
  • X as a rune: the medieval x U+16EA. Unicode names it Runic letter x, and Wikipedia's table of the Runic block ticks it for the medieval runes only. The Elder Futhark had no x, so this later rune fills the gap: a stand-in from an alphabet fully formed in the early 13th century.
  • Y as a rune: the medieval y U+16A4. Unicode names it Runic letter y, and Wikipedia's table of the Runic block ticks it for the medieval runes only. The Elder Futhark had no y, so this later rune fills the gap: a stand-in from an alphabet fully formed in the early 13th century.

Phoenician: the ancestor of each letter 29

  • A in Phoenician: alf U+10900. Alf, letter 1 of 22. Its name means ox, and its sound was a glottal stop. Latin A descends from it, which is why it stands for A, though Phoenician wrote consonants only.
  • B in Phoenician: bet U+10901. Bet, letter 2 of 22. Its name means house, and its sound was b. Latin B descends from it, which is why it stands for B.
  • C in Phoenician: gaml U+10902. Gaml, letter 3 of 22. Its name means throwing stick, or camel, and its sound was g. Latin C descends from it, which is why it stands for C. G descends from it too.
  • D in Phoenician: delt U+10903. Delt, letter 4 of 22. Its name means door, or fish, and its sound was d. Latin D descends from it, which is why it stands for D.
  • E in Phoenician: he U+10904. He, letter 5 of 22. Its name means window, and its sound was h. Latin E descends from it, which is why it stands for E, though Phoenician wrote consonants only.
  • F in Phoenician: wau U+10905. Wau, letter 6 of 22. Its name means hook, and its sound was w. Latin F descends from it, which is why it stands for F. U, V, W and Y descend from it too.
  • G in Phoenician: gaml U+10902. Gaml, letter 3 of 22. Its name means throwing stick, or camel, and its sound was g. Latin G descends from it, which is why it stands for G. C descends from it too.
  • H in Phoenician: het U+10907. Het, letter 8 of 22. Its name means courtyard or wall, and its sound was ḥ. Latin H descends from it, which is why it stands for H.
  • I in Phoenician: yod U+10909. Yod, letter 10 of 22. Its name means arm or hand, and its sound was y. Latin I descends from it, which is why it stands for I, though Phoenician wrote consonants only. J descends from it too.
  • J in Phoenician: yod U+10909. Yod, letter 10 of 22. Its name means arm or hand, and its sound was y. Latin J descends from it, which is why it stands for J. I descends from it too.
  • K in Phoenician: kaf U+1090A. Kaf, letter 11 of 22. Its name means palm of a hand, and its sound was k. Latin K descends from it, which is why it stands for K.
  • L in Phoenician: lamd U+1090B. Lamd, letter 12 of 22. Its name means goad, and its sound was l. Latin L descends from it, which is why it stands for L.
  • M in Phoenician: mem U+1090C. Mem, letter 13 of 22. Its name means water, and its sound was m. Latin M descends from it, which is why it stands for M.
  • N in Phoenician: nun U+1090D. Nun, letter 14 of 22. Its name means serpent, or fish, and its sound was n. Latin N descends from it, which is why it stands for N.
  • O in Phoenician: ain U+1090F. Ain, letter 16 of 22. Its name means eye, and its sound was a consonant made in the throat. Latin O descends from it, which is why it stands for O, though Phoenician wrote consonants only.
  • P in Phoenician: pe U+10910. Pe, letter 17 of 22. Its name means mouth, or corner, and its sound was p. Latin P descends from it, which is why it stands for P.
  • Phoenician sade, with no Latin descendant U+10911. Sade, letter 18 of 22. Its name means papyrus plant or fish hook, with a question mark in the source, and its sound was ṣ. Wikipedia's table of descendants lists no Latin letter for it, so nothing you type turns into it. A tile to copy.
  • Phoenician semk, with no Latin descendant U+1090E. Semk, letter 15 of 22. Its name means pillar, with a question mark in the source, and its sound was s. Wikipedia's table of descendants lists no Latin letter for it, so nothing you type turns into it. A tile to copy.
  • Phoenician tet, with no Latin descendant U+10908. Tet, letter 9 of 22. Its name means wheel, and its sound was ṭ. Wikipedia's table of descendants lists no Latin letter for it, so nothing you type turns into it. A tile to copy.
  • Q in Phoenician: qof U+10912. Qof, letter 19 of 22. Its name means monkey or needle, and its sound was q. Latin Q descends from it, which is why it stands for Q.
  • R in Phoenician: rosh U+10913. Rosh, letter 20 of 22. Its name means head, and its sound was r. Latin R descends from it, which is why it stands for R.
  • S in Phoenician: shin U+10914. Shin, letter 21 of 22. Its name means tooth, or sun, and its sound was sh. Latin S descends from it, which is why it stands for S.
  • T in Phoenician: tau U+10915. Tau, letter 22 of 22. Its name means mark, and its sound was t. Latin T descends from it, which is why it stands for T.
  • U in Phoenician: wau U+10905. Wau, letter 6 of 22. Its name means hook, and its sound was w. Latin U descends from it, which is why it stands for U, though Phoenician wrote consonants only. F, V, W and Y descend from it too.
  • V in Phoenician: wau U+10905. Wau, letter 6 of 22. Its name means hook, and its sound was w. Latin V descends from it, which is why it stands for V. F, U, W and Y descend from it too.
  • W in Phoenician: wau U+10905. Wau, letter 6 of 22. Its name means hook, and its sound was w. Latin W descends from it, which is why it stands for W. F, U, V and Y descend from it too.
  • X in Phoenician: kaf and shin U+1090A U+10914. Wikipedia's table of descendants gives X no Phoenician ancestor, so X is spelt as its sound, k then s, with kaf and shin, the ancestors of K and S. A stand-in, and two letters long.
  • Y in Phoenician: wau U+10905. Wau, letter 6 of 22. Its name means hook, and its sound was w. Latin Y descends from it, which is why it stands for Y. F, U, V and W descend from it too.
  • Z in Phoenician: zai U+10906. Zai, letter 7 of 22. Its name means weapon, and its sound was z. Latin Z descends from it, which is why it stands for Z.

Old Italic: the letters Old Latin took over 32

  • A in Old Italic: a U+10300. Letter 1 of the 21 that Old Latin took over, paired with A in Wikipedia's Old Italic table.
  • B in Old Italic: be U+10301. Letter 2 of the 21 that Old Latin took over, paired with B in Wikipedia's Old Italic table.
  • C in Old Italic: ke U+10302. Letter 3 of the 21 that Old Latin took over, paired with C in Wikipedia's Old Italic table. Unicode names it ke.
  • D in Old Italic: de U+10303. Letter 4 of the 21 that Old Latin took over, paired with D in Wikipedia's Old Italic table.
  • E in Old Italic: e U+10304. Letter 5 of the 21 that Old Latin took over, paired with E in Wikipedia's Old Italic table.
  • F in Old Italic: ve U+10305. Letter 6 of the 21 that Old Latin took over, paired with F in Wikipedia's Old Italic table. Unicode names it ve.
  • G in Old Italic: borrowed from C U+10302. The 21 letters have no G. G and C descend from the same Phoenician letter, gaml, so G borrows the letter of C. A stand-in.
  • H in Old Italic: he U+10307. Letter 8 of the 21 that Old Latin took over, paired with H in Wikipedia's Old Italic table.
  • I in Old Italic: i U+10309. Letter 9 of the 21 that Old Latin took over, paired with I in Wikipedia's Old Italic table.
  • J in Old Italic: borrowed from I U+10309. The 21 letters have no J. J and I descend from the same Phoenician letter, yod, so J borrows the letter of I. A stand-in.
  • K in Old Italic: ka U+1030A. Letter 10 of the 21 that Old Latin took over, paired with K in Wikipedia's Old Italic table.
  • L in Old Italic: el U+1030B. Letter 11 of the 21 that Old Latin took over, paired with L in Wikipedia's Old Italic table.
  • M in Old Italic: em U+1030C. Letter 12 of the 21 that Old Latin took over, paired with M in Wikipedia's Old Italic table.
  • N in Old Italic: en U+1030D. Letter 13 of the 21 that Old Latin took over, paired with N in Wikipedia's Old Italic table.
  • O in Old Italic: o U+1030F. Letter 14 of the 21 that Old Latin took over, paired with O in Wikipedia's Old Italic table. Unicode's names list marks it Faliscan.
  • Old Italic ef, not taken into Latin U+1031A. Unicode names it Old Italic letter ef. It is not among the 21 letters Wikipedia's table pairs with a Latin one, so nothing you type turns into it. A tile to copy.
  • Old Italic esh, not taken into Latin U+1030E. Unicode names it Old Italic letter esh. It is not among the 21 letters Wikipedia's table pairs with a Latin one, so nothing you type turns into it. A tile to copy.
  • Old Italic khe, not taken into Latin U+10319. Unicode names it Old Italic letter khe. It is not among the 21 letters Wikipedia's table pairs with a Latin one, so nothing you type turns into it. A tile to copy.
  • Old Italic phe, not taken into Latin U+10318. Unicode names it Old Italic letter phe. It is not among the 21 letters Wikipedia's table pairs with a Latin one, so nothing you type turns into it. A tile to copy.
  • Old Italic she, not taken into Latin U+10311. Unicode names it Old Italic letter she. It is not among the 21 letters Wikipedia's table pairs with a Latin one, so nothing you type turns into it. A tile to copy.
  • Old Italic the, not taken into Latin U+10308. Unicode names it Old Italic letter the. It is not among the 21 letters Wikipedia's table pairs with a Latin one, so nothing you type turns into it. A tile to copy.
  • P in Old Italic: pe U+10310. Letter 15 of the 21 that Old Latin took over, paired with P in Wikipedia's Old Italic table.
  • Q in Old Italic: ku U+10312. Letter 16 of the 21 that Old Latin took over, paired with Q in Wikipedia's Old Italic table. Unicode names it ku.
  • R in Old Italic: er U+10313. Letter 17 of the 21 that Old Latin took over, paired with R in Wikipedia's Old Italic table.
  • S in Old Italic: es U+10314. Letter 18 of the 21 that Old Latin took over, paired with S in Wikipedia's Old Italic table.
  • T in Old Italic: te U+10315. Letter 19 of the 21 that Old Latin took over, paired with T in Wikipedia's Old Italic table.
  • U in Old Italic: u U+10316. Unicode names this letter u, and Wikipedia's Old Italic table pairs it with Latin V. One letter, so U and V come out the same.
  • V in Old Italic: u U+10316. Letter 20 of the 21 that Old Latin took over, paired with V in Wikipedia's Old Italic table.
  • W in Old Italic: borrowed from V U+10316. The 21 letters have no W. W and V descend from the same Phoenician letter, wau, so W borrows the letter of V. A stand-in.
  • X in Old Italic: eks U+10317. Letter 21 of the 21 that Old Latin took over, paired with X in Wikipedia's Old Italic table. Unicode names it eks, and its names list marks it Faliscan.
  • Y in Old Italic: borrowed from V U+10316. The 21 letters have no Y. Y and V descend from the same Phoenician letter, wau, so Y borrows the letter of V. A stand-in.
  • Z in Old Italic: ze U+10306. Letter 7 of the 21 that Old Latin took over, paired with Z in Wikipedia's Old Italic table.

Ogham: values from the manuscript tradition 33

  • A in Ogham: ailm U+1690. Ailm, letter 1 of the A group, written a in the manuscript tradition. Stands for A.
  • B in Ogham: beith U+1681. Beith, letter 1 of the B group, written b in the manuscript tradition. Stands for B.
  • C in Ogham: coll U+1689. Coll, letter 4 of the H group, written c in the manuscript tradition. Stands for C.
  • Ch in Ogham: eamhancholl U+1699. Eamhancholl again: the manuscript tradition gives it ch beside x, and Wikipedia's table gives the sound as [x]. Stands for the pair ch, which is matched before c and h.
  • D in Ogham: dair U+1687. Dair, letter 2 of the H group, written d in the manuscript tradition. Stands for D.
  • E in Ogham: eadhadh U+1693. Eadhadh, letter 4 of the A group, written e in the manuscript tradition. Stands for E.
  • Ea in Ogham: eabhadh U+1695. Eabhadh, one of the five forfeda, the letters added later, written ea in the manuscript tradition. Stands for the pair ea, which is matched before single letters. Wikipedia adds that inscriptions use it mostly with the value K.
  • F in Ogham: fearn U+1683. Fearn, letter 3 of the B group, written f in the manuscript tradition. Stands for F.
  • G in Ogham: gort U+168C. Gort, letter 2 of the M group, written g in the manuscript tradition. Stands for G.
  • H in Ogham: uath U+1686. Uath, letter 1 of the H group, written h in the manuscript tradition. Stands for H.
  • I in Ogham: iodhadh U+1694. Iodhadh, letter 5 of the A group, written i in the manuscript tradition. Stands for I.
  • Io in Ogham: ifin U+1698. Ifin, one of the five forfeda, the letters added later, written p or io in the manuscript tradition. Stands for the pair io, which is matched before single letters. P goes to peith on this page.
  • J in Ogham: no letter U+006A. Wikipedia's Ogham table writes none of its 26 letters as j, and no source gave this page a stand-in, so J stays as typed in the Ogham row.
  • K in Ogham: borrowed coll U+1689. Ogham has no K. Coll is a k sound, [k] in Wikipedia's Ogham table, so K borrows it. A stand-in.
  • L in Ogham: luis U+1682. Luis, letter 2 of the B group, written l in the manuscript tradition. Stands for L.
  • M in Ogham: muin U+168B. Muin, letter 1 of the M group, written m in the manuscript tradition. Stands for M.
  • N in Ogham: nion U+1685. Nion, letter 5 of the B group, written n in the manuscript tradition. Stands for N.
  • Ng in Ogham: ngeadal U+168D. Ngeadal, letter 3 of the M group, written ng in the manuscript tradition. Stands for the pair ng, which is matched before single letters.
  • O in Ogham: onn U+1691. Onn, letter 2 of the A group, written o in the manuscript tradition. Stands for O.
  • Oi in Ogham: or U+1696. Or, one of the five forfeda, the letters added later, written oi in the manuscript tradition. Stands for the pair oi, which is matched before single letters.
  • P in Ogham: peith U+169A. Peith, a later letter that Unicode lists with the forfeda, written p in the manuscript tradition. Stands for P.
  • Q in Ogham: ceirt U+168A. Ceirt, letter 5 of the H group, written q in the manuscript tradition. Stands for Q.
  • R in Ogham: ruis U+168F. Ruis, letter 5 of the M group, written r in the manuscript tradition. Stands for R.
  • S in Ogham: sail U+1684. Sail, letter 4 of the B group, written s in the manuscript tradition. Stands for S.
  • St in Ogham: straif U+168E. Straif, letter 4 of the M group, written st in the manuscript tradition. Stands for the pair st, which is matched before single letters.
  • T in Ogham: tinne U+1688. Tinne, letter 3 of the H group, written t in the manuscript tradition. Stands for T.
  • U in Ogham: ur U+1692. Ur, letter 3 of the A group, written u in the manuscript tradition. Stands for U.
  • Ui in Ogham: uilleann U+1697. Uilleann, one of the five forfeda, the letters added later, written ui in the manuscript tradition. Stands for the pair ui, which is matched before single letters.
  • V in Ogham: borrowed fearn U+1683. Ogham has no V of its own. Wikipedia transliterates the Ballaqueeney stone as bivaidonas, with fearn read as v, so V borrows it. A stand-in.
  • W in Ogham: borrowed fearn U+1683. Ogham has no W of its own. Wikipedia gives the original value of fearn as [w], so W borrows it. A stand-in.
  • X in Ogham: eamhancholl U+1699. Eamhancholl, one of the five forfeda, the letters added later, written ch, x or ae in the manuscript tradition. Stands for X.
  • Y in Ogham: no letter U+0079. Wikipedia's Ogham table writes none of its 26 letters as y, and no source gave this page a stand-in, so Y stays as typed in the Ogham row.
  • Z in Ogham: borrowed straif U+168E. Wikipedia's table writes straif st, and its text says the manuscript tradition has it as Z, so Z borrows it. A stand-in.

Word dividers and marks 7

  • Ogham feather mark U+169B. Unicode's names list: marks beginning of Ogham text. Paste it before the first letter.
  • Ogham reversed feather mark U+169C. Unicode's names list: marks end of Ogham text. Paste it after the last letter.
  • Ogham space mark U+1680. A space that draws the stemline between two words. Unicode's names list says the glyph is blank in stemless fonts, so it may look like a plain space.
  • Phoenician word separator U+1091F. Unicode's names list says it is sometimes shown with a glyph for a short vertical bar, and points to the full stop and the middle dot.
  • Runic cross punctuation U+16ED. A small cross. Unicode lists it as punctuation for runes.
  • Runic multiple punctuation U+16EC. Two dots, one above the other. Unicode lists it as punctuation for runes.
  • Runic single punctuation U+16EB. One dot at mid height. Unicode lists it as punctuation for runes; copy it to put between words.

How this list was compiled: Code points, names, ages, blocks and bidirectional classes: https://www.unicode.org/Public/18.0.0/ucd/UnicodeData.txt, DerivedAge.txt, Blocks.txt and NamesList.txt (Unicode 18.0.0). Release months: https://www.unicode.org/history/publicationdates.html. Rune values: the transliteration table of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elder_Futhark and the table of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Runic_(Unicode_block); dates from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medieval_runes. Phoenician names, meanings, sounds and Latin descendants: the two tables of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoenician_alphabet. Old Italic pairs: the Latin alphabet section of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Italic_scripts. Ogham values: the letter table and text of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ogham. All checked 2026-09-20; the build script stops if a code point, a name or a table value differs. Licence: own work (facts from the Unicode Character Database, Unicode License v3, and from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0, restated in our own words)