Britannica
Sources used in this answer
How many letters were in the early runic futhark?
Created from Britannica articles
using AI.
AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Germanic languages
Distribution of the Germanic languages in Europe.
The early Germanic runic script, often referred to as the Common Germanic or Teutonic futhark, consisted of 24 letters. These letters were organized into three distinct groups of eight, known as ættir. The name "futhark" is derived from the phonetic values of the first six letters of this alphabet: f, u, th, a, r, and k.1