Aurebesh Translator
Convert English into Aurebesh, the written script of the Star Wars galaxy, or click your way back to English. Free, instant, in your browser.
Use the TranslatorWhy Star Wars still speaks a different language
Few fictional universes are as deeply, lovingly detailed as Star Wars. Across nine main-saga films, a sprawling television library, novels, comics, video games, and theme-park lands, George Lucas's galaxy has accumulated half a century of texture: droids with personalities, planets with weather patterns, politics with treaties and trade disputes. Threaded through almost every frame of the visual canon is an alphabet that almost nobody in the audience can read.
That alphabet is Aurebesh. If you have ever paused a Star Wars film on a control panel readout, wandered through Galaxy's Edge at a Disney park, or glanced at the signage in Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, you have already looked straight at it. It is the in-universe writing system for Galactic Basic, the language English-speaking characters in the films are notionally speaking, and it is, helpfully, a one-to-one cipher of the Latin alphabet you are reading right now.
That means with the right tool, you can translate any English sentence into Aurebesh in real time, and any Aurebesh inscription back into English. That tool is below. Everything above it is context, so you can use it well.
The script itselfWhat is Aurebesh?
Aurebesh is the formal alphabet of Galactic Basic Standard, the lingua franca of the Star Wars galaxy. It first appeared as background art in Return of the Jedi in 1983, but it did not become a fully codified alphabet until 1993, when artist Stephen Crane reverse-engineered Joe Johnston's original on-screen glyphs for the West End Games Star Wars Miniatures Battles Companion. Lucasfilm later adopted Crane's version, and from The Phantom Menace onward, Aurebesh has been the default in-universe script almost everywhere it appears.
The name comes from the first two letters of the alphabet: Aurek for A and Besh for B. It is the same construction English uses for "alphabet", from alpha and beta. It has 34 characters in total: 26 letters that map directly to A through Z, plus eight digraphs for common consonant and vowel pairings: ch, sh, th, ae, eo, kh, ng, and oo.
Aurebesh is not a language. It is a costume worn by English so it does not look like English.
That last point matters. Aurebesh is a cipher, not a constructed language like Mando'a or Huttese. Sentences in Aurebesh follow English grammar, English spelling, and English idiom. The only thing that changes is the shape of each letter. This is why background signage in the films can be translated word-for-word into perfectly normal English, and why a translator like the one on this page works at all. You are not learning a new language. You are learning new handwriting.
The toolThe Aurebesh Translator
Aurebesh Console
Because Aurebesh is a one-to-one substitution cipher for the Latin alphabet, the translator renders each letter you type in the Aurebesh font. Numbers, punctuation, and spaces pass through unchanged, exactly as they often appear in canonical Star Wars signage. If the Aurebesh font fails to load, the letters fall back to a standard monospace style so your text is still visible.
The complete Aurebesh alphabet
Every Aurebesh letter has a name, an old Star Wars tradition of giving each glyph a syllable that begins with the letter it represents. The chart below shows the English letter, the Aurebesh glyph, and the canonical letter name.
Digraphs, the eight you will occasionally see
Aurebesh includes eight digraph glyphs for common English letter pairs. They are not strictly required because the component letters work fine, but signage in films and games sometimes uses them for visual elegance. They are: ch for cherek, sh for shen, th for thesh, ae for enth, eo for onith, kh for krenth, ng for nen, and oo for orenth. This translator outputs single-letter glyphs, which is the dominant convention in modern Star Wars media.
Using Aurebesh in the wildWhat people actually use Aurebesh for
The translator is popular for a surprisingly broad set of use cases. A few of the most common, with practical notes for each:
Tattoos and personal inscriptions
Aurebesh is one of the most-requested fandom scripts in tattoo studios, alongside Tolkien's Tengwar and Game of Thrones' High Valyrian. If you are considering one, always have a second pair of eyes verify the spelling before the needle hits skin. Tattoo artists working from a customer-supplied image will faithfully reproduce typos. Also keep an eye on letter spacing. Aurebesh letters are angular and dense, so words can read as a single block if they are set too tight.
Game props, cosplay, and homemade gifts
Aurebesh shows up beautifully on engraved metal, laser-cut wood, vinyl decals, and printed paper. Translate your message, copy it into a graphics program with the Aurebesh font installed, and you have instant Star Wars set dressing. A common use case is engraving the inside of a lightsaber hilt or the back of a wedding band with a meaningful phrase in Aurebesh.
Greebles and tabletop terrain
If you build dioramas, terrain for X-Wing Miniatures or Legion, or model railway layouts in a sci-fi setting, Aurebesh is the cheapest detail multiplier in the hobby. Print warning labels, room numbers, system identifiers, and brand names in Aurebesh, age them with weathering powder, and stick them onto otherwise generic plastic. Suddenly your terrain reads as Imperial rather than just grey.
In-world wedding stationery and event design
A growing micro-trend is couples translating RSVPs, table numbers, and order-of-ceremony cards into Aurebesh for Star Wars-themed weddings. It is worth adding a plain English version on the same card so non-fan guests do not get lost, but the dual-script layout can look genuinely beautiful when set in a serif body face alongside Aurebesh display text.
Note-taking and personal journaling
Because Aurebesh maps one-to-one onto English, it is a usable personal cipher for handwritten notes. It will not fool a determined cryptographer for long, but it will deter a casual snooper looking over your shoulder on the train.
Frequently askedAurebesh, answered
Is Aurebesh a real language?
No. Aurebesh is a writing system, a one-to-one substitution alphabet for English. It has no unique vocabulary, grammar, or syntax of its own. Characters in Star Wars who speak Basic are speaking English, or your dub language, with Aurebesh as the written form.
Can I read Aurebesh once I learn the letters?
Yes. Most people who study the alphabet for an hour can puzzle out short signs in screenshots and Disney Park photos within a day. Reading at normal English speed takes longer, but it is well within reach with regular exposure.
Does the translator work for numbers and punctuation?
Numbers pass through as Latin digits because Aurebesh borrows Arabic numerals in canon. Standard punctuation, including periods, commas, apostrophes, and question marks, also passes through unchanged.
Is Aurebesh the only writing system in Star Wars?
No, but it is by far the most common. The galaxy also features Mando'a, the language of the Mandalorians, Huttese, Sith script, High Galactic, and dozens of species-specific scripts. Aurebesh is the default, but it is not the only option.
Can I use the translator output commercially?
The translation itself, meaning your own words rendered as Aurebesh glyphs, is yours to use. The Aurebesh font is a separate matter. Many Aurebesh fonts are free for personal use but require a licence for commercial projects such as logos, merchandise, or paid client work. Check the licence of any specific font file before using it commercially.
Why does my output look like regular English?
The Aurebesh font is loaded from a CDN. On most networks it loads quickly, but restrictive corporate firewalls can block font CDNs. If your output reads as plain English, that is the fallback kicking in. Refresh the page on a different network, or self-host the font.
A small note on accuracy
If you are translating something you plan to keep, such as a tattoo, engraving, or piece of art, paste the output back into the reverse-direction translator and check that it round-trips cleanly. Aurebesh is forgiving because a typo in English is still the same typo in Aurebesh, but the dense angular letters can hide spelling mistakes from a casual second reading. The reverse check takes five seconds and saves a lot of regret.
Otherwise, welcome to a slightly more textured galaxy. May the Force be with you.
_poster.jpg)
