Welcome to Circular Gallifreyan

Circular Gallifreyan is a beautiful writing system inspired by Doctor Who. It uses circles, lines, and dots to create elegant, artistic text that can be read once you know the rules. Learn more at Sherman's Planet, the home of the official guide. The community at r/gallifreyan is amazing with many talented artists ready to make beautiful commissions.

Before we learn individual letters, let's understand how the system works as a whole.

Core Rules

1. Reading Direction

• All text is read counterclockwise (left to right)
• Start reading at the 6 o'clock position (bottom)
• This applies to both glyphs within words and words within sentences

2. Hierarchical Structure

• Glyphs combine consonants and vowels
• Words contain glyphs arranged counterclockwise around a word circle
• Sentences contain words arranged counterclockwise within a sentence circle

3. Consistent Orientation

• All words in a sentence have 6 o'clock pointing down
• Single words are also placed in sentence circles for consistency

Rules in Practice

Reading Direction

Empty word circle showing counterclockwise reading direction starting at 6 o'clock.

Word Structure

A word containing 5 glyphs arranged counterclockwise around the word circle.

Sentence Structure

Single-word sentence: word circle inside sentence circle.

Three-word sentence: multiple word circles wrapped in sentence circle, all read counterclockwise.

What You'll Learn Next

Now that you understand the basic structure, you're ready to learn:

• The Alphabet - All consonants organized by shape
• Vowels - How vowels attach to consonants
• Simple Words - Practice reading your first words
• Lines - How lines connect glyphs and modify meanings
• Complex Words - Special cases and longer words
• Sentences - Reading multi-word designs
• Numbers - The number system

Let's begin with the alphabet!