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The original text always comes back as written. Only the translation changes.
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Scan a page of an old letter or diary. FamilyLore writes out every word and translates it.
The past, made legible
Read the handwriting your family left behind — or learn the script it was written in, one letter at a time.
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Upload a photo, get it read
Russian, Ukrainian, German Kurrent, Yiddish. You get the original text, an English translation, and every letter linked to an explanation of how it is written.
при малейшей опасности уходит с быстротой молнии
at the slightest hint of danger it vanishes with the speed of lightning
I want to learn the script
Every letter, explained
Russian cursive, German Kurrent, Sütterlin, Hebrew cursive, American cursive. Stroke order, the letters they get mistaken for, and the same letter as twelve real people wrote it.
Free, no account.
Real letters, read by FamilyLore
Sixteen letters from 1758 to 1943, from public archives. Open one to watch it being read.
Karl and Käthe Kollwitz to their son Peter
Field post that couldn’t be delivered because the soldier had been killed was sent back with this note.
A saved reading of a real letter · Wikimedia Commons · public domainYour documents stay private
Your documents are private by default. Sharing a page makes that page public to anyone with the link.
Built for historical hands
Period orthography and abolished letters, not generic OCR.
Transcription and translation
Original handwriting and English translation side by side.