Elder Futhark Chart: All 24 Runes, Sounds and Meanings (Free Printable)
Updated: 1 day ago
The Elder Futhark is the oldest runic alphabet: 24 runes, used from about the 2nd to the 8th century and traditionally split into three groups of eight called aettir. The chart below gives each rune's shape, name, sound, matching Latin letter, aett and core keywords, with a link to its full meaning.
Use it as a quick reference while you learn, draw or read the runes. The sounds are simplified for English speakers, and the keywords come from modern rune practice, which builds on the old rune names and rune poems but is not recorded in them.
Elder Futhark chart: all 24 runes
Read the table row by row, in the traditional order. Tap a rune's name to open its full page with upright and reversed meanings.
Rune | Name | Sound | Letter | Aett | Keywords |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
f as in fee | F | 1st | wealth, resources in motion, new beginnings | ||
oo as in rule | U | 1st | strength, vitality, endurance | ||
th as in thin | TH | 1st | protection, conflict, boundaries | ||
a as in father | A | 1st | communication, inspiration, wisdom | ||
r as in ride | R | 1st | journey, direction, progress | ||
k as in kite | K (hard C) | 1st | torch, clarity, creativity | ||
g as in gift | G | 1st | gift, exchange, partnership | ||
w as in win | W (V) | 1st | joy, harmony, fulfillment | ||
h as in hail | H | 2nd | disruption, sudden change, transformation | ||
n as in need | N | 2nd | need, necessity, endurance | ||
ee as in see | I | 2nd | ice, stillness, pause | ||
y as in year | J (Y) | 2nd | harvest, cycles, reward | ||
uncertain, often ei or a long i | EI (Ï) | 2nd | yew tree, endurance, transformation | ||
p as in path | P | 2nd | fate, mystery, chance | ||
z as in zeal | Z | 2nd | protection, guardianship, alertness | ||
s as in sun | S | 2nd | sun, success, victory | ||
t as in Tyr | T | 3rd | justice, honor, courage | ||
b as in birch | B | 3rd | birch, growth, renewal | ||
e as in bed | E | 3rd | horse, trust, partnership | ||
m as in man | M | 3rd | humanity, the self, community | ||
l as in lake | L | 3rd | water, intuition, flow | ||
ng as in king | NG | 3rd | seed, completion, new beginnings | ||
o as in more | O | 3rd | heritage, home, inheritance | ||
d as in day | D | 3rd | dawn, breakthrough, transformation |
The order of the last two runes varies: some charts put Dagaz before Othala. Both are common, and this site ends the row with Dagaz.
Want every rune explained in practice? The 24 Norse Runes Guide covers every Elder Futhark rune: the signs it shows up, what to avoid, and simple actions for the next 7 days. 122-page phone-friendly PDF, $20.
The three aettir
The 24 runes are traditionally divided into three groups of eight. What the groups were originally called is unknown: aett (plural aettir) is an Old Norse word for family or lineage, and modern books name each group after its first rune or the god linked to it.
Freyr's aett (ᚠ Fehu to ᚹ Wunjo): resources, strength, protection, communication, journey, skill, gift and joy.
Hagal's aett (ᚺ Hagalaz to ᛊ Sowilo): disruption, need, stillness, harvest, endurance, fate, protection and the sun.
Tyr's aett (ᛏ Tiwaz to ᛞ Dagaz): justice, growth, trust, humanity, intuition, completion, heritage and dawn.
Reading the aettir as themes, for example the first aett as the basics of life and the third as the self and what lasts, is a modern study aid. It helps you remember the order and see how neighbouring runes relate, but it is not a historical rule. The guide to the three aettir explains where the group names come from and lists every rune by aett.
How to read the chart
Rune: the shape most fonts show. Carved forms vary; see how to draw runes for clean shapes and stroke order.
Sound: the approximate sound, simplified for English. Some values, such as Eihwaz, are still debated by scholars.
Letter: the Latin letter usually used to transliterate the rune. Some English letters (C, Q, V, X) have no rune of their own.
Aett: which of the three groups of eight the rune belongs to.
Keywords: the core meanings used on this site's rune pages. They are modern divinatory meanings built on the old rune names, not translations found in inscriptions. For a deeper overview, see runes and their meanings.
Sources: the order, sounds and name meanings follow the Elder Futhark overview on Wikipedia and the Unicode Runic block; the keywords follow RunicHub's own rune pages.
Write your name with the chart
Runes follow sound, so a name is spelled the way it is said: TH is one rune (ᚦ), NG is one rune (ᛜ), and double letters are usually written once. The rune translator does this for you in the Elder Futhark, the Younger Futhark or the Anglo-Saxon Futhorc, with a letter-by-letter breakdown and an image you can download.
To merge several runes into one sign, see how to make a bindrune. For the 16 Viking Age runes, see the Younger Futhark, and for the English row of up to 33 runes, see Anglo-Saxon runes A to Z.
FAQ
How many runes are in the Elder Futhark?
There are 24 runes, traditionally grouped into three aettir of eight. The oldest known complete listing of the row is carved on the Kylver Stone from Gotland, dated to around 400 AD.
Is the Elder Futhark the same as Viking runes?
Not quite. The Elder Futhark was used from about the 2nd to the 8th century. In the Viking Age, Scandinavians wrote with the Younger Futhark, a reduced row of 16 runes, although many modern books use "Viking runes" loosely for both.
Which rune is A, B or C?
A is ᚨ Ansuz and B is ᛒ Berkana. C has no rune of its own: write ᚲ Kenaz for a hard C and ᛊ Sowilo for a soft C. The rune translator handles these letters for you.
Can I print the Elder Futhark chart?
Yes. You can print this page from your browser, and the free PDF gives you the meanings of all 24 runes to keep on your phone or print.
Get it here: free rune meanings PDF.
Why do some charts end with Dagaz and others with Othala?
Both orders appear in modern books and charts. This site follows the order Ingwaz, Othala, Dagaz; the meanings of the runes do not change.
Written by Julia, rune reader since 2020. More about me →
