Kryptonian Symbols and Writing

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The Kryptonian Language

The writing system of the Kryptonians is fairly simple. Twenty-six Kryptonian letters correspond to the twenty-six letters of the English alphabet, and ten Kryptonian numbers correspond as to the ten Arabic numerals (numbers courtesy of Ritch over at the amazing Rich's World!) as follows:

When Kryptonian writing appears on Smallville, it often is simply the letters of the Kryptonian alphabet strung together to create words, much as one would write in English. For example, the phrase I AM WAITING ("Legacy") appeared as

Sometimes, however, a word is represented not by a linear string of its letters, but as a symbol that incorporates its letters in a more artistic representation. For example, the word HOPE (first seen in "Rosetta") was represented with one of these composite symbols.

The representation is not exact, so these composite symbols are often difficult (if not impossible) to discern without a translation from the scripts.

Finally, it is important to keep in mind certain symbols seem to arbitrarily represent concepts or words (see the drifter's medallion, the symbols on the Fire/Water/Air Elements, etc.), and some symbols represent multiple concepts or words (for example, the figure eight inscribed within the five-sided shield represents the letter S, the El family crest, and air).