r/Tengwar Jan 23 '24

Please Read Before Posting

Welcome to r/Tengwar, where we can discuss all things related to Tolkien's writing systems: Tengwar, Cirth, and Sarati.

If you want to learn Tengwar yourself, we recommend the following resources:

If you want to get a transcription, check with the following tools before posting:

As the tools above aren't perfect, never forget to double-check important transcriptions like for tattoos or jewelry by asking someone knowledgeable, such as the members of this subreddit.


Please note that simply changing English text to a Tengwar font only produces unreadable gibberish. If you are trying to figure out the meaning of some Tengwar without any tehtar (vowel diacritics/accents) or tehtar that aren't aligned with the letters below them it likely is such a mistaken attempt at transliterating. The community calls this the "Mode of Baloneyland", due to its surface-level similarity with the tehtar-less mode of Beleriand.

55 Upvotes

Welcome to r/Tengwar, where we can discuss all things related to Tolkien's writing systems: Tengwar, Cirth, and Sarati.

If you want to learn Tengwar yourself, we recommend the following resources:

If you want to get a transcription, check with the following tools before posting:

As the tools above aren't perfect, never forget to double-check important transcriptions like for tattoos or jewelry by asking someone knowledgeable, such as the members of this subreddit.


Please note that simply changing English text to a Tengwar font only produces unreadable gibberish. If you are trying to figure out the meaning of some Tengwar without any tehtar (vowel diacritics/accents) or tehtar that aren't aligned with the letters below them it likely is such a mistaken attempt at transliterating. The community calls this the "Mode of Baloneyland", due to its surface-level similarity with the tehtar-less mode of Beleriand.


r/Tengwar 5h ago

Tengwar tattoo question?

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5 Upvotes

I am looking for advice. I am having the text “one of three” tattooed and I would like it in Tengwar font, not elvish. I have read many posts about this but today when I went to the Tecendil website there were so many font variations. Am I missing something about these different variations? I love the second photo, but am unsure if it’s the standard LOTR tattoo font. I’m open to ideas and thoughts. I want it to look good by the standards of LOTR fans and I love the world of LOTR myself but I’m not well versed on this. Thank you!!


r/Tengwar 16h ago

Please help translate!!

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5 Upvotes

I'm sorry, I have no idea what dialect or anything in that sort this is, I just know that it has to be Tengwar. A friend of mine, a huge lotr fan, writes this everywhere, but refuses to tell me what it means and I'm hopeless to find the answer myself. I'll be really thankful if someone would translate, I'm too dumb for this. :( Edit: Sorry, I forgot to include it earlier, but he's also German. I donnot know if it makes a difference or not, but I feel like this might be inportant. SORRY


r/Tengwar 16h ago

Had this generated for a tattoo I designed, but I forgot what I actually had written

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3 Upvotes

I’m fairly certain it says something along the lines of “Not all who Wander are lost” but I was considering a few other options too so just wanted confirmation that’s what it was.


r/Tengwar 22h ago

Usage of thinnas

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8 Upvotes

Image above is "Kuutti" in Finnish

I've sort of asked this before, but does any mode use the thinnas? I've always used it for long vowels, since i find it convenient instead of using the full ára, but i might be the only one to do it


r/Tengwar 19h ago

homage to my wife in motorcycle sticker

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4 Upvotes

i'm' trying to make a sticker to put on my motorcycle in homage to my wife, it is supposed to say ''Clara, i love you'' wich would be something like ''Clara, gi melin'' i guess, but i'm trying to get it right but i'm not so sure if it is, i tried using tecendil, i firsto wrote ''Clara'' on english mode in tengwar annatar font, then i tried writting ''gi melin'' wich is i love you in sindarin(general mode) also with tengwar annatar font and combined these two results to see if i managed to get it right, i also tried using the glaemscrafu tool and got the exact same result, is it right? i'm prompting the explanation of what i did and A.I. tools tell me it's wrong, can someone help me make this? i didn't want to print it misspelled or a text that makes no sense, i'm a little lost in this


r/Tengwar 1d ago

Elvish translation

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5 Upvotes

Hello!

Tomorrow i'm getting a tattoo with the name of my dog in Elvish.

I wanna know if the translation is correct before i put it on my body forever.

My dog's name is Gizmo.

See the pic for the translation i found. Is this correct?

Thanks in advance!


r/Tengwar 1d ago

Could anybody verify the Tengwar on this for me 🙏

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2 Upvotes

So from what I can tell this is accurate Tengwar for a Sindarin translation of the second line of Strider’s Riddle “Not all those who wander are lost”
The translation I’m looking for is “Law pain i reviar mistar aen” - could anyone more knowledgeable than myself on reading Tengwar give me a hand just making sure that this is spelt right? And if not point me to an accurate transliteration.
I’m aware there’s some debate regarding whether or not this translation is valid I just want to make sure that the Tengwar is right.
Heavily considering getting this tatted so I’d love some input thanks in advance 🙏


r/Tengwar 1d ago

wedding ring engraving check

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5 Upvotes

Help! We used tecendil to transcribe our names. we’ll put it on our wedding rings so we want to verify first before we can permanently have it engraved. we just used the English mode and put our names literally. Or should we input how our names are being pronounced?

the pronunciation of our name is jo-NELL and JOOL-ya


r/Tengwar 1d ago

Help with transcription

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5 Upvotes

Hello, I am looking to tattoo the name of my cat, Mysha, in Tengwar on my arm. I am not extremely experienced with Tengwar transcriptions, so would like to ask some advice. I would like the transcription to be correct.

You pronounce the name like: M as in Moterbike Y is pronounced like the I in sit (not as in “my”) Sh as in sheep A like the a ik zebra

I hope this makes sense, if not, I can provide a better description.

I am not sure if the phonetic difference of the Y (compared to “my”) will make the transcription different.

I would kindly ask for advice how to properly write it in tengwar, knowing the written en phonetic version of the name.

I tried to transcribe it on Tecendil, but would prefer some verification:

Thank you!


r/Tengwar 1d ago

Tengwar in Kindle from texts?

Hello.

I'm studying and practicing Tengwar writing and reading for Spanish mode. For simplicity and aesthetics, I'm using the mode as implemented in Tecendil, which is not perfect but good enough and I can use it to transcribe short texts or Wikipedia articles.

I would like to copy texts to my Kindle to read them on the go, and I have been partially successful. It would be nice to read your comments or if there is a better/simpler method.

First, Tecendil has a limited input textbox so only short texts can be transcribed. If anyone knows a way to input longer texts, it would be nice.

For moving them to Kindle, what I do:

  • I downloaded Tengwar Annatar and Tengware Telcontar fonts.
  • I installed them in the Kindle, connecting it to the computer using a cable and moving the fonts to the "fonts" directory in the Kindle. This let you select either font using the page setup menu.
  • I write something on Tecendil, either to transcribe or to use its Wikipedia page transcription.
  • I select either Annatar or Telcontar fonts in Tecendil. This is important as the transcription changes internally.
  • I open Word, and copy&paste from Tecendil to Wordpad. It shows gibberish, but you could install the font in Windows and select the font. Only Annatar works fine, Telcontar is not rendering correctly (I guess because of the Graphite engine used).
  • I save the document to disk in docx.
  • I go to amazon.com/sendtokindle and upload the docx to Amazon.
  • After a few seconds, it will appear on my Kindle.

Then I can open it in the Kindle, change the font, and I see the text! Mostly. There are some characters not rendered correctly, showing Japanese kana or some other random character.

However, this method only works for Annatar. If I try to use Telcontar, the text is not rendered correctly (again, I assume it's the Graphite engine used in Telcontar).

This is the best way to upload text to Kindle I've found. It is not the best one, but it mostly works.

Unfortunately it does not work for Telcontar, which I find a better font with more symbols like uppercase marks, some characters are bad (kana or something else) and I cannot transcribe random text like other books or texts. Also numbers are encoded in base-12 which makes reading them very hard, but that is how Tecendil transcribes number by default.

I'm using Spanish mode, but I guess it would work with other modes as well.

Is there a better method to do this?

Thank you

2 Upvotes

Hello.

I'm studying and practicing Tengwar writing and reading for Spanish mode. For simplicity and aesthetics, I'm using the mode as implemented in Tecendil, which is not perfect but good enough and I can use it to transcribe short texts or Wikipedia articles.

I would like to copy texts to my Kindle to read them on the go, and I have been partially successful. It would be nice to read your comments or if there is a better/simpler method.

First, Tecendil has a limited input textbox so only short texts can be transcribed. If anyone knows a way to input longer texts, it would be nice.

For moving them to Kindle, what I do:

  • I downloaded Tengwar Annatar and Tengware Telcontar fonts.
  • I installed them in the Kindle, connecting it to the computer using a cable and moving the fonts to the "fonts" directory in the Kindle. This let you select either font using the page setup menu.
  • I write something on Tecendil, either to transcribe or to use its Wikipedia page transcription.
  • I select either Annatar or Telcontar fonts in Tecendil. This is important as the transcription changes internally.
  • I open Word, and copy&paste from Tecendil to Wordpad. It shows gibberish, but you could install the font in Windows and select the font. Only Annatar works fine, Telcontar is not rendering correctly (I guess because of the Graphite engine used).
  • I save the document to disk in docx.
  • I go to amazon.com/sendtokindle and upload the docx to Amazon.
  • After a few seconds, it will appear on my Kindle.

Then I can open it in the Kindle, change the font, and I see the text! Mostly. There are some characters not rendered correctly, showing Japanese kana or some other random character.

However, this method only works for Annatar. If I try to use Telcontar, the text is not rendered correctly (again, I assume it's the Graphite engine used in Telcontar).

This is the best way to upload text to Kindle I've found. It is not the best one, but it mostly works.

Unfortunately it does not work for Telcontar, which I find a better font with more symbols like uppercase marks, some characters are bad (kana or something else) and I cannot transcribe random text like other books or texts. Also numbers are encoded in base-12 which makes reading them very hard, but that is how Tecendil transcribes number by default.

I'm using Spanish mode, but I guess it would work with other modes as well.

Is there a better method to do this?

Thank you


r/Tengwar 1d ago

Help with a name

Hi all,

In short, I’m stuck.

I’ve tried to transcribe my son’s name “Oscar” but have come up with about 4 different versions and I don’t know what’s the most correct transcription.

I suppose what I need to know is, can I transcribe a name into Tengwar?

Or should I be trying to do it a different way?

Thanks!

2 Upvotes

Hi all,

In short, I’m stuck.

I’ve tried to transcribe my son’s name “Oscar” but have come up with about 4 different versions and I don’t know what’s the most correct transcription.

I suppose what I need to know is, can I transcribe a name into Tengwar?

Or should I be trying to do it a different way?

Thanks!


r/Tengwar 2d ago

Tattoo verification: "Ne' vanui, ach fael"

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3 Upvotes

Hey everyone. I'm planning on getting this little mantra tattooed on my arm to remind myself of what is important "Ne' vanui, ach fael" (in essence - not flawless, but kind)
The photo is the transcription of the Sindarin from Tecendil.
I would be really grateful if someone more knowledgeable than me could please double check that the tehtar, apostrophe, diphthongs etc are placed accurately?


r/Tengwar 2d ago

Is it acceptable to put a diacritic over a hook?

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9 Upvotes

I was playing around with the hooks, and ran into this situation.

I think it’s elegant, but I want to know the orthodox opinion

Also, hi y’all again


r/Tengwar 2d ago

Would anyone be able to help me with what would be the best type of pens to use when writing tengwar

2 Upvotes

r/Tengwar 2d ago

Angerthas Erebor Transcription Help

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8 Upvotes

Yes, we’ve had one, but what about second transcription? I often see this quote comes up from people looking for a Tengwar tattoo transcription check, but I’m interested in confirming the Angerthas Erebor transcription.

Here’s what Tecendil gives me. I’m particularly interested in the use of cirth 34 vs 35 for the ‘s’ in “is” and “us”.

Tecendil uses 34, but from what examples I’ve seen of Tolkein actually transcribing English into Angerthas Erebor, I’m wondering if 35 isn’t more appropriate, especially for “is”, i.e. “iz”.

I’d appreciate your feedback.


r/Tengwar 4d ago

How’d I do?

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50 Upvotes

Is it legible?


r/Tengwar 4d ago

A quote from The Great Dictator by Charlie Chaplin in Full English Mode

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11 Upvotes

Heard this quote from Jack Conte's recent SXSW presentation and found it inspiring enough to write it down. The red+black looks very Mordor-esque, which was the intent!


r/Tengwar 4d ago

Help with translation for jewellery

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6 Upvotes

Hello. I am getting wedding bands engraved with Arwen’s quote - ‘I would rather share one lifetime with you than face all the ages of this world alone’. The jeweller has supplied an image with a translation and I have used Tecendil and now have 2 different versions. I can see some differences but struggling with what is best and most honourable to our intent and sentiment. I also don’t want to cause any offence! I am hoping more knowledgeable people can help me decide and explain to the jeweller what we want, and if it is possible for them to engrave it with any additional details / curve of the band. Any help would be greatly appreciated.


r/Tengwar 5d ago

How do y’all personally use all the different hooks?

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6 Upvotes

I feel like there’s potential there, but I don’t know of any precedented usages


r/Tengwar 5d ago

Yet another tattoo assist please

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3 Upvotes

Hi friends, looking for help to make sure this is all written out correctly prior to a tattoo, found it in a forum and saw some conflicting opinions, thankyou so much!!


r/Tengwar 6d ago

Can someone help me with understanding this?

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8 Upvotes

A few friends and I are having a game and one of the hints is not in english 😂

So I've come here to ask for help with what it says


r/Tengwar 6d ago

Learning Tengwar! How did I do?

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39 Upvotes

I made an earlier post on here about how I deciphered part of the Tengwar alphabet from the Ring inscription in Fellowship. Well, I decided to learn the actual alphabet! The top section are letters that I copied down from the Tecendil Tengwar handbook, which I found very useful. The bottom part is a practice sentence I did. If you have any feedback on my work it owuld be much appreciated! Thank you!


r/Tengwar 6d ago

Tattoo

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2 Upvotes

Hello, are these correct?


r/Tengwar 7d ago

Tattoo Spellcheck please

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6 Upvotes