Introduction
Circular Gallifreyan is a fan-created writing system that renders English text as concentric circles of lines, arcs, and dots. Fan artist Loren Sherman designed it in 2011 for the Time Lords' language in Doctor Who, and it became the de facto standard for fan Gallifreyan writing. Type your text above and the tool generates an SVG image where each word becomes a circle. Consonants sit on the outer ring, vowels in the inner ring. You can copy the SVG markup or download the image file. All rendering runs in your browser.
What this tool does
- Visual SVG rendering: each word in your input becomes a Circular Gallifreyan word circle, drawn as an inline SVG you can view, copy, or download.
- Letter-to-shape mapping based on Loren Sherman's system: consonants are lines or arcs (with dots, boxes, or circles for distinction), vowels are dots in the inner ring.
- Download SVG button exports the rendered image as a .svg file you can open in any browser or vector editor.
- The settings panel shows the full 26-letter mapping table with each letter's shape name and description. Search the table to find specific letters.
- Non-alphabet characters (numbers, punctuation) are stripped before rendering. Only A-Z letters contribute to the word circles.
- All processing runs client-side. No text leaves your browser.
How this tool works
The tool splits your input into words using whitespace, then strips non-letter characters from each word. For each word, it separates consonants from vowels. Consonants are placed at evenly spaced angles around the outer ring of the word circle. Each consonant is drawn as a straight line or a curved arc (a quadratic Bezier path) extending inward from the word circle. The shape type, dot count, and presence of a box or circle at the inner end are determined by Sherman's letter mapping. Vowels are drawn as filled dots arranged on a smaller inner ring. The SVG output uses currentColor for strokes and fills, so it inherits your theme's text color. The generated SVG markup appears in the output field for copying, and a visual preview renders below the workbench. The download button saves the SVG as a standalone file.
How Circular Gallifreyan works
Circular Gallifreyan was created by Loren Sherman in 2011. It is not the BBC's official Doctor Who writing system, which appears briefly in episodes and uses a different design. Sherman's system maps each of the 26 English letters to a specific combination of shapes. According to fan documentation and Sherman's original guide, the system works as follows.
Each word is drawn inside a circle. Consonants go on the outer ring as either a straight line or a curved arc. The line-or-arc choice groups letters: B, C, D, J, L, N, Q, S, V, X, Z use lines, while F, G, H, K, M, P, R, T, W, Y use arcs. Dots along the shape distinguish letters within each group. A box or circle at the inner end of the shape adds further distinction for later letters in the alphabet. Vowels (A, E, I, O, U) are dots placed inside the word circle, with size variations for A/O versus E/I/U.
Doctor Who first aired in 1963, created by Sydney Newman, C.E. Webber, and Donald Wilson. The show is produced by BBC Studios. Ncuti Gatwa was the 15th Doctor (2023-2025). His final episode aired May 2025, regenerating into Billie Piper. Russell T Davies exited as showrunner in June 2026. The 2026 Christmas special was canceled. Disney+ co-production ended after 26 episodes. BBC is putting the show out to competitive tender, and it may not return until 2028. An animated series is in production for CBeebies. The BBC Doctor Who official site covers current franchise news.
This tool implements Sherman's letter mapping as an SVG generator. It does not attempt to reproduce every stylistic convention of hand-drawn Gallifreyan, such as sentence circles that enclose word circles. It renders individual word circles in a horizontal sequence.
How to use this tool
- Type or paste English text in the input field. Each word separated by whitespace becomes its own circle.
- The SVG output appears instantly in the output field. A visual preview renders below the workbench.
- Open the settings panel to browse the 26-letter mapping table. Use the search box to filter by letter, shape name, or description.
- Click "Download SVG" below the preview to save the rendered image as a .svg file.
- Copy the SVG markup from the output field if you want to embed it directly in an HTML document.
- Non-letter characters are ignored. Numbers and punctuation do not appear in the rendered output.
Real-world examples
Rendering a single word
A user types "hello" in the input. The tool splits it into one word with five letters: H, E, L, L, O. The consonants H and L (appearing twice) are placed on the outer ring. H is an arc with two dots, L is a line with a box at the end. The vowels E and O are drawn as dots in the inner ring. The output is a single SVG circle with these shapes. The user downloads it and places it in a fan art project.
Rendering a short phrase
Someone types "bad wolf" for a Doctor Who fan fiction banner. The tool creates two word circles side by side. The first circle contains B (a line) and D (a line with two dots). The second circle contains W (an arc with a circle), L (a line with a box), and F (an arc). The SVG preview shows both circles. The user copies the SVG markup and pastes it into their blog template.
Checking the letter mapping
A fan wants to verify which shape corresponds to the letter T. They open the settings panel and search for "T" in the mapping table. The table shows T as "arc+box+3dots", described as an arc with a box and three dots. The user cross-references this with Sherman's original guide and confirms the mapping is correct. They then type a message and inspect the SVG to verify the shape renders as expected.
Comparison with similar methods
| Method | Complexity | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| Circular Gallifreyan (Sherman) | High | Doctor Who fan art, decorative circular script |
| Standard Galactic Alphabet | Low | Minecraft enchanting table, one glyph per letter |
| Aurebesh | Low | Star Wars letter substitution, one glyph per letter |
| Tengwar / Cirth | Medium | Tolkien Elvish and Dwarvish writing, phonetic mapping |
Limitations or considerations
This tool renders individual word circles in a horizontal sequence. It does not draw sentence circles that enclose word circles, which is a convention in hand-drawn Gallifreyan. The SVG shapes approximate Sherman's system but are not calligraphically polished. Non-letter characters are stripped. The tool does not translate English into a spoken Gallifreyan language, because no spoken Gallifreyan grammar or phonology has been published by the BBC or by Sherman. This is a writing system, not a language. For other constructed scripts, try the Standard Galactic Alphabet translator, the Hieroglyphics translator, the Tengwar and Cirth translator, or the Aurebesh translator.
Frequently asked questions
Is Circular Gallifreyan the official Doctor Who writing system?
No. Circular Gallifreyan was created by fan artist Loren Sherman in 2011. The BBC has its own Doctor Who writing system that appears briefly in episodes, and it uses a different design. Sherman's system became the de facto standard for fan Gallifreyan writing because of its clarity and completeness, but it is not official BBC canon.
Does this tool translate English into a spoken Gallifreyan language?
No. Circular Gallifreyan is a writing system, not a spoken language. No spoken Gallifreyan grammar or phonology has been published by the BBC or by Loren Sherman. This tool converts English text into a visual SVG rendering using Sherman's letter-to-shape mapping. The letters in your input are preserved, just drawn as circular shapes instead of Latin characters.
Can I download the Gallifreyan SVG image?
Yes. The tool generates an SVG string and renders a visual preview below the workbench. Click the "Download SVG" button below the preview to save the image as a .svg file. You can also copy the SVG markup from the output field and paste it into an HTML document or vector graphics editor.
How are consonants and vowels placed in the word circle?
Consonants are placed at evenly spaced angles around the outer ring of the word circle. Each consonant is drawn as a straight line or a curved arc extending inward, with dots, a box, or a circle at the inner end depending on the letter. Vowels are drawn as filled dots on a smaller inner ring. A and O are rendered as larger dots, while E, I, and U are smaller.
What is the current status of Doctor Who as a franchise?
Doctor Who first aired in 1963. Ncuti Gatwa was the 15th Doctor from 2023 to 2025. His final episode aired May 2025. Russell T Davies exited as showrunner in June 2026. The 2026 Christmas special was canceled. Disney+ co-production ended after 26 episodes. BBC is putting the show out to competitive tender, and it may not return until 2028. An animated series is in production for CBeebies.
Conclusion
The Gallifreyan translator converts English text into Circular Gallifreyan SVG art using Loren Sherman's 2011 letter-to-shape mapping. Type your message, view the rendered word circles, and download the SVG. For more constructed script tools, try the Standard Galactic Alphabet translator, the Hieroglyphics translator, the Tengwar and Cirth translator, or the Aurebesh translator.