Leet-speak Translator

If you've stumbled upon our leet-speak translator, chances are you're already part of the 313373 ("elite") or you're about to become one. Either way, you've come to the right place. Our leet-speak generator is a fun tool that converts English into leet-speak (and vice versa) in real-time.

But before you jump in and start coding and decoding messages like a pro, why not scroll down and learn a little more about this very k3ω1 ("cool") internet language? In this article, you'll learn:

• What leet-speak is in more detail;
• The answers to questions like "What does 80085 mean?" or "What does pwn mean?";
• How to use our leet-speak translator; and
• Some fun leet-speak examples and leet-speak letters.

Ready to 1337 your world? 137'5 60!

Leet-speak (also written as "1337", "l33t", "l33t5p34k", "1337 5p34k", and so many other ways) is a form of coded writing that originated in early Internet culture. The term is derived from the term "elite-speak", which literally means the language of the elite.

Originally, skilled computer users, hackers, and gamers started to use ASCII alphanumeric characters to stand out from beginners or noobs as they say (sometimes written as "n00bs" or "n0085"). The idea is to associate letters of the alphabet with numbers or symbols that visually resemble them. Thus, in its most basic form, leet-speak replaces at least the letter E with the number 3, the letter O with the number 0, the letter L with the number 1, the letter S with the number 5, and the letter T with the number 7, without regard for spelling or capitalization.

If you want all your leet-speak text to be in uppercase or lowercase, check out our uppercase to lowercase converter.

Bottom line, leet-speak is all about words that look cryptic to outsiders, but are instantly recognizable to those who know the rules.

There's no single, fixed way to write in leet-speak; some versions are minimal and readable, while others are wildly complex and almost indecipherable. It's all part of the fun! Today, leet-speak still surfaces among tech-savvy Internet users, gamers, and online communities.

If you want to dive deeper into this secret code and learn many more fun facts, head over to our article What is 1337? The Elite Language Explained.

Now that you know what leet-speak is, let's talk about its origins.

Leet-speak emerged in the late 1980s, originating in the underground world of bulletin board systems (BBS), the first online forums where computer programmers and technology enthusiasts gathered to exchange knowledge about hacking, telephony, and computing. These were tight-knit, insider-only communities whose members sought a way to communicate discreetly and keep outsiders at bay.

This unique form of writing, which predated the texting slang of the 2000s, served as a code among the "elite" or "leet" to conceal information from less experienced users. The unusual spellings made the language much more difficult to understand without careful attention and, more importantly, made it nearly impossible to profile and automatically track keywords.

Another part of the story of the origin of leet-speak dates back to a group of crackers who published an exploit for Windows 95 using port 31337, a nod to "elite". From there, 1337 5p34k as we know it today took on its modern and iconic form.

Our leet-speak translator isn't the only fun tool we've built. If you love secret codes, you’ll definitely enjoy our Pig Latin translator too!

Using the leet-speak translator is very simple — follow these steps:

1. Choose the direction of translation:
   • By default, the leet-speak converter is set to the "Normal text to leet" direction. It converts English into leet-speak (or any other language for that matter).
   • If you already have an encoded leet-speak example and want to decode it, select "From leet to normal text".
2. Then, type or paste your word or sentence into the field. You can use any character; if there is a leet-speak equivalent, we will translate it automatically.
3. Finally, the result will be displayed below, showing your text converted in real time.

Note: There are countless ways to write in leet-speak! For this leet-speak converter, we have chosen a version that adheres to basic leet, offering a good balance between obscuring words and maintaining readability. If you want to see all the different characters and variations you can use, check out the section below.

There are hundreds of ways to write each letter in leet-speak, depending on how elitist you want your text to sound.

Here are some of the most common and creative substitutions used by leet-speak users:

We've highlighted in yellow the leet-speak characters we use in our leet-speak generator, but remember, there are no strict rules. Whether you keep it simple (leet → 1337) or opt for the more cryptic (1337 → |33+), it's all about creativity and style.

Want to grow your imagination? Check out our article: What Letters Look Like Numbers?.