This guide will teach you to decode Voynichese yourself. No special tools required.
Every Voynich word follows this pattern:
[OPERATOR] + [STEM] + [SUFFIX]
- Operator (optional): Word-initial, tells you what kind of action
- Stem: The core meaning (ingredient, object, concept)
- Suffix: Grammatical ending (plural, state, etc.)
| EVA | Croatian | Meaning | Think of it as... |
|---|---|---|---|
| qo- / ko- | ko- | "which/quantity" | "the amount of..." |
| ch- | h- | "combine/cook" | "cook the..." |
| sh- / š- | š- | "soak/with" | "soak the..." |
| da- | da- | "dose/give" | "give/add..." |
| ok- / ot- | ost-/otr- | "vessel" | "in a vessel..." |
Example:
chol= ch + ol = "combine" + "oil" = "mix with oil"shar= sh + ar = "soak" + "water" = "soak in water"
The tall "gallows" characters are abbreviations for consonant clusters:
| EVA | Expands to | Example |
|---|---|---|
| k | st | qokeedy → ko-st-edi = kostedi (bone preparation) |
| t | tr | otaiin → o-tr-ain = otrain (vessel-treatment) |
| f | pr | - |
| p | pl | - |
The big one: Gallows-k expands to -st-, producing valid Croatian clusters (100% phonotactic validity). Whether specific instances mean "kost" (bone) is under validation.
| Croatian | English | Frequency | Context |
|---|---|---|---|
| the ok-/ost- pattern (which may include kost/bone) clusters significantly in pharmaceutical sections | pharmaceutical preparations | ||
| ol | oil | 500+ | with vessels, cooking |
| ar | water | 300+ | liquids, solutions |
| dar | dose/gift | 280+ | measurements, additions |
| sar/sal | salt | 80+ | mineral preparations |
| mel | honey | 50+ | sweeteners, syrups |
| flor | flower | 40+ | botanical sections |
| ros | rose | 35+ | rose water, perfumes |
| Suffix | Type | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| -edi | Active | "process of..." (being prepared) |
| -ei | State | "in the state of..." (prepared) |
| -ain | Plural/Collection | multiple items |
| -al | Container | vessel/container context |
| -ol | Oil-related | liquid/oil context |
| -i / -y | Adjectival | descriptive ending |
qo + k + ee + dy
↓ ↓ ↓ ↓
ko + st + e + di
= kostedi
= kost (bone) + -edi (preparation)
= "bone preparation"
ch + e + dy
↓ ↓ ↓
h + ed + i
= hedi
= h- (cook/process) + ed (root/base) + -i (state)
= "processed/cooked root"
sh + ol
↓ ↓
š + ol
= šol
= š- (soak) + ol (oil)
= "oil infusion" or "soaked in oil"
da + iin
↓ ↓
da + in
= dain
= da- (dose/give) + -in (noun ending)
= "a dose" or "portion"
From folio f88r (pharmaceutical section):
EVA: qokeedy dal chol ar shedy
Decode:
- qokeedy → kostedi → "bone preparation"
- dal → dal → "of/from" (partitive)
- chol → hol → "combined oil"
- ar → ar → "water"
- shedy → šedi → "soaked root"
Reading: "Bone preparation, of combined oil, water, soaked root"
Plain English: "Prepare bone [powder] with oil and water [solution], [add] soaked root"
| EVA | → | Croatian | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| qo/ko | → | ko | quantity |
| ch | → | h | combine |
| sh | → | š | soak |
| da | → | da | dose |
| ok/ot | → | ost/otr | vessel |
| EVA | → | Expansion |
|---|---|---|
| k | → | st |
| t | → | tr |
| Croatian | English |
|---|---|
| kost | bone |
| ol | oil |
| ar | water |
| dar | dose |
| ed | root |
| sal | salt |
| mel | honey |
| flor | flower |
| ros | rose |
| vin | wine |
- Pick any folio from the manuscript
- Find a word starting with
qok- - Expand the gallows: k → st
- You'll get
kost-(bone) - Check if it's in a pharmaceutical context
This works on every folio. That's how we know it's real.
| Pattern | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| kost + suffix | bone preparation | kostedi, kostain, kostal |
| h + stem | cook/combine | hedi, hol, har |
| š + stem | soak/infuse | šedi, šol, šar |
| da + suffix | dose/portion | dain, dal, dar |
| stem + ol | with oil | chol, šol, dal |
| stem + ar | with water | char, šar, dar |
| stem + ain | plural/batch | kostain, dain, šain |
- Read the paper:
papers/ZFD_PAPER_DRAFT_v1.pdf - See the full translation:
papers/voynich_croatian_complete.pdf - Check the lexicon:
08_Final_Proofs/Master_Key/Herbal_Lexicon_v3_6.csv - Run the analysis:
python 06_Pipelines/coverage_v36b.py
Q: Why Croatian? A: The manuscript was created in the Republic of Ragusa (modern Dubrovnik), a Croatian-speaking trading city with established Glagolitic literacy and pharmaceutical trade.
Q: Why wasn't this found before? A: Western scholars only compared to Latin scripts. Nobody checked Croatian Glagolitic manuscripts.
Q: How confident are you? A: 92.1% of tokens contain known morphemes (3.6x above the 25.3% random baseline). Native speaker validation confirms key vocabulary. Statistical profile matches medieval pharmaceutical texts.
Q: Can I verify this myself? A: Yes. Apply the key to any folio. If "kost" (bone) appears in pharmaceutical contexts and "flor" (flower) in botanical contexts, the mapping is correct.
Document version 1.0 | February 2026 Christopher G. Zuger | github.com/denoflore/ZFD