Text to Pig Latin

Convert your English text into the classic Pig Latin language

Input Text

Pig Latin Result

Speak in Pig Latin without doing the shuffling yourself

Pig Latin is a playful secret language in which each English word is disguised by moving its first sound to the end and adding ay. It has been a favourite with children and puzzle fans for generations. This translator applies the rules to whole sentences in one pass, keeping your punctuation, spacing and capital letters in place.

Translating a message

Type or paste English text into the Input Text box. Example loads a sample sentence, Paste pulls from your clipboard, and Clear empties the box.
Press the Oin-kay to Ig-pay Atin-lay button.
Read the translation under Pig Latin Result and press Copy Result to copy it.

The rules it follows

If a word starts with a vowel, a hyphen and way are added, so apple becomes apple-way.
If a word starts with one or more consonants, all of them move to the end, followed by ay. Pig becomes ig-pay and string becomes ing-stray.
Words are separated from punctuation and numbers, which are left exactly as typed.
Capitalised words stay capitalised in their first letter, so Pig becomes Ig-pay, and words in all capitals stay in all capitals.

The hyphen is deliberate. It shows where the original word ends, and it makes the message easy to decode later with the Pig Latin to Text tool.

Fun and practical uses

Sending a playful coded note to a friend or a child.
Making a puzzle or a party game where guests translate lines.
Teaching how word rules and patterns work in a language exercise.
Adding a joke caption or slogan to a card.

Quirks to be aware of

Only the letters a, e, i, o and u count as vowels, so the letter y is treated as a consonant: yellow becomes ellow-yay. A word with no vowels at all, such as my, comes out with a leading hyphen as -myay. Apostrophes split words, so a contraction like don't is treated as two separate pieces and does not translate cleanly. A single capital letter word, such as I or A, becomes fully capitalised, as in I-WAY. Numbers, emoji and symbols are left alone. There is no option to drop the hyphen, so remove it manually if you prefer the joined style such as igpay.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why does the output contain hyphens?

The tool puts a hyphen between the remaining part of the word and its added ending, for example ig-pay and apple-way. It makes the original word boundaries easy to see and the message simple to decode. Delete the hyphens by hand if you want the joined style.

How does it treat words that start with a vowel?

It keeps the word intact and adds -way at the end, so egg becomes egg-way and apple becomes apple-way. Only the letters a, e, i, o and u count as vowels; a word beginning with y is handled as if it starts with a consonant.

What happens to punctuation, numbers and capital letters?

Punctuation, numbers and spaces are left exactly as typed. A capitalised word keeps a capital on its new first letter, and a fully capitalised word stays in capitals. A lone capital letter such as I turns into the fully capitalised I-WAY.

Why did my contraction or no-vowel word look odd?

Apostrophes split the input into separate parts, so don't is translated as don and t independently. Words with no vowel letters, like my, produce a leading hyphen, such as -myay. These are limits of a simple rule-based approach, so tidy such words by hand.

Can I translate the result back into English?

Yes, use the Pig Latin to Text tool. It reads hyphenated forms very reliably, because the hyphen marks the split. Just remember that any normal English words in the message may also be altered, so paste only the Pig Latin part.