English-Old English Dictionary

Browse common English words and their Old English translations, with parts of speech and example sentences. Use this dictionary to look up everyday vocabulary or as a starting point for learning Old English.

Translate full sentences into Old English

About Old English

Old English, also known as Anglo-Saxon, was the language spoken in England from roughly 450 to 1150 AD. It is a West Germanic language brought to Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers. Old English looks very different from modern English — it was a highly inflected language with grammatical genders, cases, and verb conjugations. Many common modern English words come directly from Old English.

Cultural Note

Old English used four cases, three genders, and strong/weak adjective declensions. Letters þ (thorn) and ð (eth) both represent "th." The letter æ (ash) represents the vowel in "cat."

Browse common Old English vocabulary

Word	Part of speech	Translation	Example
Pronouns
I	pron.	ic	I am a student. Ic eom leornere.
you	pron.	þū / ġē	You are my friend. Þū eart mīn frēond.
he	pron.	hē	He is my brother. Hē is mīn brōþor.
she	pron.	hēo	She sings. Hēo singþ.
we	pron.	wē	We live in the land. Wē on þǣm lande libbaþ.
they	pron.	hīe	They work. Hīe wyrcaþ.
Question Words
what	int.	hwæt	What is this? Hwæt is þis?
where	int.	hwǣr	Where is the king? Hwǣr is sē cyning?
when	int.	hwonne	When will you come? Hwonne cymst þū?
who	int.	hwā	Who is that? Hwā is þæt?
why	int.	for hwȳ	Why are you sad? For hwȳ eart þū unrōt?
how	int.	hū	How are you? Hū eart þū?
Verbs
to be	v.	bēon / wesan	I am happy. Ic eom blīþe.
to have	v.	habban	I have a book. Ic hæbbe bōc.
to do	v.	dōn	What are you doing? Hwæt dēst þū?
to go	v.	gān	I go to the hall. Ic gā tō þǣm healle.
to come	v.	cuman	Come here. Cum hider.
to see	v.	sēon	I see the mountain. Ic sēo þā dūne.
to know	v.	witan	I know the truth. Ic wāt þā sōðfæstnesse.
to eat	v.	etan	We eat bread. Wē etaþ hlāf.
to drink	v.	drincan	I drink water. Ic drince wæter.
to speak	v.	sprecan	They speak English. Hīe sprecap Englisce.
to love	v.	lufian	I love my family. Ic lufie mīne mǣgþe.
Nouns
man	n.	mann	That man is strong. Sē mann is strang.
woman	n.	wīfmann	The woman reads. Sēo wīfmann rǣt.
child	n.	cild	The child plays. Þæt cild plegap.
mother	n.	mōdor	My mother is good. Mīn mōdor is gōd.
father	n.	fæder	My father works. Mīn fæder wyrcþ.
friend	n.	frēond	A true friend. Sōþ frēond.
king	n.	cyning	The king is wise. Sē cyning is wīs.
house	n.	hūs	The house is big. Þæt hūs is micel.
hall	n.	heall	The hall is bright. Sēo heall is beorht.
world	n.	weorold	The world is wide. Sēo weorold is wīd.
day	n.	dæg	Good day! Gōdne dæg!
night	n.	niht	The night is dark. Sēo niht is deorc.
time	n.	tīd	Time passes. Sēo tīd gliþ.
water	n.	wæter	Cold water. Cald wæter.
bread	n.	hlāf	Bread and meat. Hlāf and flǣsc.
book	n.	bōc	This is my book. Þis is mīn bōc.
name	n.	nama	My name is... Mīn nama is...
word	n.	word	That word is true. Þæt word is sōþ.
love	n.	lufu	Love is strong. Sēo lufu is strang.
life	n.	līf	Life is short. Þæt līf is sceort.
Adjectives
good	adj.	gōd	A good man. Gōd mann.
bad	adj.	yfel	Bad deeds. Yfelu dǣda.
big	adj.	micel	A big house. Micel hūs.
small	adj.	lytel	A small room. Lytel cofa.
new	adj.	nīwe	A new day. Nīwe dæg.
old	adj.	eald	An old hall. Eald heall.
beautiful	adj.	fæġer	Beautiful land. Fæġer land.
strong	adj.	strang	Strong warrior. Strang cempa.
true	adj.	sōþ	A true word. Sōþ word.
Prepositions
with	prep.	mid	With my friend. Mid mīnum frēonde.
from	prep.	fram	From the land. Fram þǣm lande.
to	prep.	tō	Go to the hall. Gā tō þǣre healle.
Conjunctions
and	conj.	and / ond	Bread and mead. Hlāf and medu.
or	conj.	oþþe	Life or death. Līf oþþe dēaþ.
but	conj.	ac	Tired but glad. Wērig ac glæd.
if	conj.	ġif	If you come. Ġif þū cymst.
Interjections
yes	interj.	ġēa	Yes, I will. Ġēa, ic wille.
no	interj.	nā	No, never. Nā, nǣfre.