
Minecraft’s lore goes pretty deep. The game holds so many secrets for players to uncover and theorize on. From its unique creatures of the night to its Ancient Cities, the world of Minecraft is rich with stories to tell. This includes the distinctive language that appears on the Enchanting Table in Minecraft which poses such mysteries to decipher for players.
The Minecraft Enchanting Table Language stands out with its unique characters. Players often wonder what these symbols mean whenever they interact with the Enchanting Table. Though the symbols seem like an uncrackable code, they’re not just random glyphs.
In this guide, we’ll be breaking down everything you need to know about the Minecraft Enchanting Table Language. Learn how it’s read, how you can learn it, and other secrets the language has.
What Is The Minecraft Enchantment Table Language?
The Minecraft Enchantment Table Language is a language used in the game. It’s a cryptic script that appears when players use the Enchanting Table in the game.

You’ll find a series of pixelated dots, dashes, and lines that make up this language. These symbols add a hint of magic and a mysterious atmosphere to the enchanting process of the game.

While this Minecraft language may seem unfamiliar and mysterious, it’s based on the Standard Galactic Alphabet. This is a fictional alphabet writing system used in the Commander Keen video game series. It can also be said that the Standard Galactic Alphabet appears in games such as Minecraft to represent and add more thematic to the idea of “alien languages” in video games.
Many Minecraft players have been intrigued by this language and have taken time to translate the symbols to further enjoy the lore the language gives. However, about the Enchanting Table itself, the symbols of the language don’t necessarily have any direct correlation with the whole enchanting process.
What Is Enchantment Table Language Used For?
Speaking of the language’s lore, the Enchanting Table Language when players interact with the Enchanting Table, each enchantment level for the item they plan to enchant has a description of the enchantment in that language.

In terms of actual gameplay, the Enchanting Table Language doesn’t have any effect on Minecraft’s gameplay. This means that the language’s symbols don’t make any sense and won’t be able to predict or influence the enchantments the item will get.
The words are only a fun lore display to immerse players in further exploring the game. Whether it’s weapons, tools, or armor, the meaning of the language’s words won’t affect its enchantment.
How to Read Minecraft Enchanting Table Language?
Now that you know what’s the Minecraft Enchanting Table Language and what’s it used for, we can get to learning how to read each symbol and learn its translation.
While at first glance learning how to read this seems challenging, you don’t have to worry because players can easily read the words of the language with the help of different tools the community has made to understand the language’s secrets.
With An SGA Chart
It’s helpful to know that understanding the Enchanting Table Language won’t be that difficult. This is because the Standard Galactic Alphabet uses the English language for each of the Enchantment Table words.
First, you have to know that each symbol on the Standard Galactic Alphabet corresponds to each Latin alphabet letter. Having a copy of the chart below by your side when trying to read Minecraft Enchantment Table Language will make it easier for you.

Using the chart above allows you to convert each word you see in-game into English. But these words may not make much sense in the game with the enchantments you’re doing.
This is due to the words appearing at the enchanting table are random. There will be three to five words chosen randomly from a pre-made list, and these words each word is then replaced by its respective glyph in the alphabet. You can check out the following list below for the 62 words that can appear on the enchanting table from Reddit User, NyoraCat.

Do keep in mind that the glyphs of the language can’t be seen if the “Particles” setting in the Video Settings of Minecraft is set to “Minimal.” So be sure to properly set this so you can fully see the Minecraft Enchanting Table language and translate it properly.
With An Online Language Translator
Besides using the conversion chart, you can translate each Enchanting Table symbol with an actual Minecraft Enchanting Table Language translator. While it may be a fun challenge to write down each symbol and translation on your own, other players may prefer to immediately translate the glyphs on the spot.
With that in mind, the Minecraft community has developed Standard Galactic Alphabet Translators available on various platforms such as on the web, on Android, and iOS.
A good example of an SGA translator is LingoJam which is free. You can place English words on one side and the SGA counterparts will appear on the other side. The application translates the symbols quite well, making it a go-to application.

Another option for a translator is the SGA App found on the Google Play and Apple App Store which is around $6.96. While each store has a different developer of this app, they both function in the same way. You can input and translate the Enchanting Table Language.

What Is The Meaning Of Enchanting Table Words That Aren’t In English?
While you’re learning how to read Minecraft’s Enchanting Table Language, you’ll notice that some non English words don’t make much sense for the game. These words can be categorized as easter eggs about some pop culture, gaming, and literary works.
A major example is the word “Xyzzy” which is hinted to be a reference to a magic word from the computer game, Colossal Cave Adventure. There’s also the word “Embiggen” which is from The Simpsons’ quote “Spirit Embiggens the Smallest Man.”
Similarly, there’s a more complicated group of words which is “Klaatu berata niktu” which is a misspelled reference to the phrase “Klaatu barada nikto.” This comes from the 1951 movie The Day the Earth Stood Still and has been since used as a reference in many other movies, cartoons, and games.
Lastly is the group of words that spell out “Phnglui mglwnafh cthulhu rlyeh wgahnagl fhtagn.” This is a quote from the author, H.P. Lovecraft’s short story, “The Call of Cthulhu.” While the complete and correct quote is “Ph’nglui mglw’nafh Cthulhu R’lyeh wgah’nagl fhtagn,” the sentence translates to “In his house at R’lyeh, dead Cthulhu waits dreaming.”
As you can see, Minecraft’s Enchanting Table Language is both complex and simple, having direct translations to the alphabet familiar to us. Despite the random aspect of the translated words, they add some fun to the game.
Ultimately, the Minecraft Enchantment Table Language gives so much mystery and world-building to the game without impacting its gameplay directly. It’s an exciting feature to decipher and learn about that contributes to the fantasy aspects of Minecraft’s expansive world.
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Renee is a freelance writer with a passion for gaming and pop culture content. While she mainly writes about games, she also does graphic design and illustration work from time to time. With a passion for the creative arts, she blends her skills to tell stories across various mediums.
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