Middle English Translator
Most people have never actually seen Middle English written out. Paste your text into this middle English translator and see what your words looked like 700 years ago. Free, no signup required.
What Is a Middle English Translator?
A middle English translator is a free online tool that converts modern text into the language people spoke and wrote between roughly 1100 and 1500 AD. This is the era of Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales, and some of the earliest written English literature.
I ran a few sentences through it while writing this and the output genuinely surprised me. Words I use every day looked completely unrecognizable in Middle English form. It is a weird and interesting experience.
It is not Old English and it is not Modern English. Middle English sits right between the two, and this tool captures that style pretty well.
How to Use This Middle English Translator
The whole thing takes less than 10 seconds. Here is what to do:
- Type or paste your text into the left box.
- Click the Translate button.
- Your middle English translation shows up on the right instantly.
- Hit Copy and use it wherever you need it.
No account, no settings, nothing to download.
Middle English Translation Examples
Here is how your everyday text looks in Middle English:
| Original | Middle English |
|---|---|
| How are you today? | Hou art thou this day? |
| I am going to the market | Ich am goinge to the market |
| This is a good book | This is a goode booke |
| Can you help me? | Kanst thou helpen me? |
| I do not know the answer | Ich woot nat the answere |
| We should leave now | We sholde departen now |
Middle English spelling was not standardized, so variations in output are completely normal.
When Would You Actually Use This?
A few situations where this actually comes in handy:
- Literature and history classes: If you are studying Chaucer or medieval literature, seeing your own words in Middle English helps you understand the style a lot faster.
- Creative writing: Fantasy and historical fiction writers use middle ages language to make dialogue feel real without spending weeks on research.
- Curiosity: Most people just try it to see what a random sentence looks like in 700 year old English. Completely valid reason.
- School projects: Need a quick Middle English example for a presentation? This saves you a trip to the library.
Why This Middle English Translator Actually Works
A lot of similar tools online just swap out a few words and call it done. This one actually tries to match the grammar patterns and vocabulary of genuine Middle English, not just throw in random old sounding words.
LexiTranslator is free, runs in your browser, and works fine on mobile. No signup, no ads interrupting your work, no paywalls.
If you want to go further back in time, try the Old English Translator for Anglo-Saxon era language. Or if you want something a bit more recognizable, the Medieval English Translator covers the later medieval period.
The British Library has original Middle English manuscripts in their collection, and Britannica covers the history of the English language in detail. Both worth checking out if you want to go deeper.
Pull up the tool at the top, type any sentence, and see what it looked like back in the 1300s. You will probably try it more than once.