📖 FreeAurebesh.com - Detailed Introduction (Version A) The Problem with Most Aurebesh Translators If you've ever tried to get a phrase translated into Aurebesh for a tattoo, cosplay prop, or fan art project, you've probably run into the same issue I did: most online translators get it wrong. Not just slightly wrong—fundamentally wrong.
Here's what happens. You type in something simple like "the force is strong with this one." You get back a string of Aurebesh glyphs that look convincing at first glance. But if you compare it to actual screen-used props from The Mandalorian or official merchandise, you'll notice discrepancies. Words like "the," "force," and "strong" don't match up.
The reason? Diphthongs.
In canonical Star Wars lore, Aurebesh isn't just a simple letter-for-letter substitution cipher. It has 12 diphthongs—two-letter combinations that map to single, unique glyphs. These include:
CH (as in "cheese") EE (as in "see") EO (as in "people") KH (as in "khaki") NG (as in "thing") OO (as in "moon") SH (as in "shield") TH (as in "the") YA (as in "yard") BL (as in "black") KR (as in "krayt") ZH (as in "measure") When a translator ignores these diphthongs, it breaks words apart incorrectly. "The" becomes T-H-E instead of the single TH glyph. "Shield" becomes S-H-I-E-L-D instead of SH-I-E-L-D. For casual use, maybe that's okay. But for anything that needs to be screen-accurate—a tattoo you'll have forever, a prop for a competition, official fan art—it's unacceptable.
Why I Built FreeAurebesh.com I'm a lifelong Star Wars fan and occasional cosplayer. A few years back, I was working on a Mandalorian helmet prop and wanted to add some Aurebesh text to the range finder. I spent hours trying different online translators, comparing results, and getting frustrated when nothing matched reference images from the show.
After digging through Wookieepedia, official reference books, and high-resolution screenshots, I realized the problem wasn't me—it was the tools. They were all built on incomplete data sets. Most only implemented the 26 basic letters, missing the 12 diphthongs entirely.
So I did what any frustrated nerd would do: I built my own.
FreeAurebesh.com started as a personal tool—something I could use for my own projects and share with my cosplay group. But as more people tried it and gave feedback, it grew into what it is today: the most accurate Aurebesh translator available online.
What Makes It Different
- Complete Diphthong Support This is the core feature. The translator processes text in multiple passes, looking for diphthongs first before handling individual letters. When you type "the cheese shield," it recognizes:
"th" → single TH glyph "ee" in "cheese" → single EE glyph (in the middle of the word) "sh" in "shield" → single SH glyph This matches exactly how Aurebesh works in canon. If you look at datapads in Andor or signage in The Book of Boba Fett, you'll see the same glyphs.
- Case Mirroring (Uppercase Handling) Another detail most translators miss: in canonical Aurebesh, uppercase letters are the horizontal mirror of their lowercase forms. This isn't an artistic choice—it's a documented rule visible in film props and official merchandise.
FreeAurebesh.com respects this. When you use capital letters, they're properly mirrored. This matters for:
Proper nouns (planet names, character names) The start of sentences in formal inscriptions Achieving that "screen-used" look for props 3. High-Resolution Export Options Once you have your translation, you need to use it somewhere. 4. Reverse Translation Not just English-to-Aurebesh, but Aurebesh-to-English too.
