Leet Speak Alphabet and Generator

Type a line and copy it in light, medium or heavy leet. Every swap from A to Z sits underneath.

Your text type or paste a line

Sample. Type or paste your own to replace it.

Light: digits only 14 characters

N3w h16h 5c0r3

Stayed plain: N w h c r. This set has no character for them.

Same text, other sets

Medium: symbols where they read 18 characters/V3vv #!6# $(()|23Every letter and number here has a character in this set.
Heavy: letters drawn in strokes 30 characters|\|[-\/\/ |-|][(_+|-| $(()|2[-Every letter and number here has a character in this set.

More options

Check it fits: limit characters

Use these for fun, not for anything that matters. Screen readers read many of these characters badly or skip them, search cannot find them, and some apps strip them or show empty boxes.

All 89 leet swaps: tap one to copy it

Find a leet swap

89 leet swaps in 3 groups.

With a keyboard: Tab goes into the table once, the arrow keys move inside it, and Enter copies.

Light: one digit per letter 11

Medium: a symbol or an easy pair 45

Heavy: letters drawn from strokes 33

Next step The opposite job: spell it so nobody mishears Harder to read than heavy: cursed text

How it works

This leet speak alphabet sorts 89 swaps by how hard they read. Light is the numbers that look like letters: 4 for A, 3 for E. Medium adds symbols such as @ and $. Heavy draws letters in strokes: |-| is H.

Read the full guide

Three strengths, one line

Type a word and three rows answer. Light turns ten letters into digits, so New high score reads N3w h16h 5c0r3. Medium swaps every letter it can for a symbol and keeps 3 and 6. Heavy takes the drawn form where one exists. Each row uses a letter's first swap; the rest sit in the table below, one tap to copy.

Nobody ever fixed the alphabet

Leet comes from the bulletin boards of the 1980s. No committee settled the symbols: anything the reader can make sense of is valid. So this table is a selection: every swap is in the encyclopedia article on leet and types on a plain keyboard, and the sorting into light, medium and heavy is this page's own call.

Tips

For a username that is already taken, swap one or two letters and stop. C4tLover gets read. (@+|_()\/3|2 gets skipped.
An s at the end of a word can turn into z, by sound and not by shape: skillz.
Gr8 and m8 are texting shorthand, where a digit stands for a sound. In leet it stands for a shape.

Questions and answers

What does 1337 mean?

Leet, spelled in its own alphabet: 1 for L, 3 for each E, 7 for T. Leet is short for elite, the status that opened extra folders and chat rooms on an old bulletin board. Later some wrote 10100111001, the same number in binary.

Does leet make a password stronger?

Hardly. Swapping letters for digits in a dictionary word is a known trick that cracking tools test automatically. The encyclopedia entry on password strength puts the extra cost at a few more seconds and lists p@ssw0rd as weak. Leet is for nicknames, not locks.

Can it turn leet back into plain text?

Not by rule: 1 is I or L, 9 is G or Q, and ][ is I to one writer and X to the next. For one stubborn symbol, use Find a leet swap over the table: type 9, or paste |-|, and its letters show up.

All 89 leet swaps

Light: one digit per letter 11

Eight for B U+0038. Stands for B. A capital B with the straight side rounded off.
Five for S U+0035. Stands for S. A capital S with corners.
Four for A U+0034. Stands for A. A capital A with the top left open.
Nine for G U+0039. Stands for G. A small g, tail and all. The converter uses 6; this one is here to copy.
One for I U+0031. Stands for I. A capital I without its serifs.
One for L U+0031. Stands for L. A small l. The first digit of 1337, and the reason light leet cannot be decoded with certainty: 1 is also I.
Seven for T U+0037. Stands for T. A capital T that lost an arm. The last digit of 1337.
Six for G U+0036. Stands for G. A capital G with the hook closed up.
Three for E U+0033. Stands for E. A capital E facing the wrong way. The two in the middle of 1337.
Two for Z U+0032. Stands for Z. A capital Z with a curved top.
Zero for O U+0030. Stands for O. The swap nobody needs explained.

Show all 89 leet swaps (78 more)

Medium: a symbol or an easy pair 45

At sign for A U+0040. Stands for A. A small a with a ring around it.
Backslash, slash for V U+005C U+002F. Stands for V. Two slashes meeting at the bottom.
Backtick, slash for Y U+0060 U+002F. Stands for Y. A backtick and a slash: one short arm, one long.
Bar for I U+007C. Stands for I. The plainest stroke on the keyboard.
Bar, asterisk for P U+007C U+002A. Stands for P. A bar with a star where the bowl should be.
Bar, close paren for D U+007C U+0029. Stands for D. A bar and a curve.
Bar, equals for F U+007C U+003D. Stands for F. A bar and two arms.
Bar, less than for K U+007C U+003C. Stands for K. A bar and an arrowhead.
Bar, open paren for K U+007C U+0028. Stands for K. A rounder K.
Bar, question mark for R U+007C U+003F. Stands for R. A bar and a question mark. The hook of the ? stands in for the bowl.
Bar, slash for V U+007C U+002F. Stands for V. A V with one side standing upright.
Bar, small o for P U+007C U+006F. Stands for P. A bar with a small o for the bowl.
Bar, three for B U+007C U+0033. Stands for B. A bar for the spine and a 3 for the bowls.
Bar, two for R U+007C U+0032. Stands for R. A bar and a 2. The 2 supplies the bowl and the leg.
Bar, underscore for L U+007C U+005F. Stands for L. A capital L in two strokes.
Caret for A U+005E. Stands for A. The point of a capital A and nothing else.
Caret, caret for M U+005E U+005E. Stands for M. The two peaks of a capital M.
Close paren, open paren for X U+0029 U+0028. Stands for X. Two curves back to back.
Dollar sign for S U+0024. Stands for S. An S with a line through it.
Exclamation mark for I U+0021. Stands for I. A small i turned upside down.
Greater than, less than for X U+003E U+003C. Stands for X. Two arrowheads touching.
Hash for H U+0023. Stands for H. An H with a second crossbar, poking out at the sides.
Less than for C U+003C. Stands for C. A C with a point.
Nine for Q U+0039. Stands for Q. A small q reads as a 9 already. It is also a g, so context does the work.
One, three for B U+0031 U+0033. Stands for B. The same B with a 1 for the spine. Everyone else reads thirteen.
One, two for R U+0031 U+0032. Stands for R. The same R with a 1 for the spine. Everyone else reads twelve.
Open paren for C U+0028. Stands for C. The curve of a C in one keystroke.
Open paren, close paren for O U+0028 U+0029. Stands for O. An O made from a pair of parentheses.
Open square for C U+005B. Stands for C. A C with square corners.
Open square, close paren for D U+005B U+0029. Stands for D. The same D with a squarer spine.
Open square, close square for O U+005B U+005D. Stands for O. The same O with corners.
Percent sign for Z U+0025. Stands for Z. The diagonal of a Z between two dots.
Plus for T U+002B. Stands for T. A small t without the curl.
Seven, underscore for Z U+0037 U+005F. Stands for Z. A 7 for the top and the diagonal, an underscore for the base.
Slash, capital V for N U+002F U+0056. Stands for N. A slash and a capital V share the diagonal of an N.
Small j for Y U+006A. Stands for Y. A small j has the same tail, and that is the whole argument.
Small n, small n for M U+006E U+006E. Stands for M. Two small n make a small m, near enough.
Small p, small h for F U+0070 U+0068. Stands for F. A swap by sound, not by shape: ph says f.
Small u, small u for W U+0075 U+0075. Stands for W. The name of the letter, taken literally.
Small v for U U+0076. Stands for U. A u with a pointed base.
Small v, small v for W U+0076 U+0076. Stands for W. Two small v side by side.
Small z for S U+007A. Stands for S. A swap by sound, not by shape. It belongs at the end of a word: skillz.
Underscore, bar for J U+005F U+007C. Stands for J. A capital J without its top.
Underscore, close square for J U+005F U+005D. Stands for J. The same J with a square heel.
Zero, underscore for Q U+0030 U+005F. Stands for Q. A zero with the tail dropped beside it.

Heavy: letters drawn from strokes 33

Apostrophe, close square, open square, apostrophe for T U+0027 U+005D U+005B U+0027. Stands for T. Two brackets for the stem, two apostrophes for the arms.
Apostrophe, slash, slash for W U+0027 U+002F U+002F. Stands for W. An apostrophe and two slashes. It asks for a generous reader.
Backslash, bar, slash for Y U+005C U+007C U+002F. Stands for Y. Three strokes meeting at a point. The same three are also used for W.
Backslash, capital X, slash for W U+005C U+0058 U+002F. Stands for W. A W with a capital X holding up the middle.
Backslash, caret, slash for W U+005C U+005E U+002F. Stands for W. A W with a caret marking the middle peak.
Backslash, slash, backslash, slash for W U+005C U+002F U+005C U+002F. Stands for W. Two V drawn with slashes.
Backslash, slash, slash for Y U+005C U+002F U+002F. Stands for Y. One short arm and a doubled long one.
Bar, backslash, bar for N U+007C U+005C U+007C. Stands for N. Two posts and the diagonal.
Bar, backslash, slash, bar for M U+007C U+005C U+002F U+007C. Stands for M. Two posts with a V between them.
Bar, greater than for D U+007C U+003E. Stands for D. A D that comes to a point.
Bar, hyphen, bar for H U+007C U+002D U+007C. Stands for H. Two posts and a crossbar.
Bar, underscore, bar for U U+007C U+005F U+007C. Stands for U. Two posts and a floor.
Close brace, open brace for X U+007D U+007B. Stands for X. Two braces back to back. The same pair is also used for H.
Close paren, hyphen, open paren for H U+0029 U+002D U+0028. Stands for H. An H that bows outward.
Close square, hyphen, open square for H U+005D U+002D U+005B. Stands for H. The same H with serifs made of brackets.
Close square, open square for I U+005D U+005B. Stands for I. A capital I with serifs, built from two brackets. The same pair is also used for X.
Comma, underscore, bar for J U+002C U+005F U+007C. Stands for J. A J with a comma for the curl.
Greater than, underscore for Z U+003E U+005F. Stands for Z. An arrowhead over an underscore.
Hyphen, bar, hyphen for T U+002D U+007C U+002D. Stands for T. A crossbar with the stem through it. Closer to a small t.
Hyphen, slash, underscore for Z U+002D U+002F U+005F. Stands for Z. Top, diagonal and base, one stroke each.
Open paren, capital V, close paren for M U+0028 U+0056 U+0029. Stands for M. A rounder M.
Open paren, close paren, underscore for Q U+0028 U+0029 U+005F. Stands for Q. An O with the tail laid flat.
Open paren, underscore, close paren for U U+0028 U+005F U+0029. Stands for U. A rounder U.
Open paren, underscore, comma, close paren for Q U+0028 U+005F U+002C U+0029. Stands for Q. An O with a comma for the tail.
Open paren, underscore, plus for G U+0028 U+005F U+002B. Stands for G. A curve, a floor and a plus sign for the hook.
Open square, backslash, close square for N U+005B U+005C U+005D. Stands for N. An N with bracket serifs.
Open square, capital V, close square for M U+005B U+0056 U+005D. Stands for M. A capital V held between brackets.
Open square, hyphen for E U+005B U+002D. Stands for E. A square bracket for the spine, a hyphen for the middle arm.
Slash, backslash for A U+002F U+005C. Stands for A. A capital A without the crossbar.
Slash, backslash, slash for N U+002F U+005C U+002F. Stands for N. An N leaning forward.
Slash, backslash, slash, backslash for M U+002F U+005C U+002F U+005C. Stands for M. Four strokes, two peaks.
Slash, equals for F U+002F U+003D. Stands for F. An F leaning forward.
Tilde, bar, tilde for T U+007E U+007C U+007E. Stands for T. The same T with wavy arms.

How this list was compiled: Own selection and own notes: 89 swaps for the 26 letters, each one present in the table of substitutes at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leet, read on 2026-09-19. A script checks every row against the raw text of that table and stops on a swap the table does not have. Only swaps that can be typed on a plain keyboard were taken; the table also lists Greek, Cyrillic, Thai and other characters, which are left out. Sorting into light, medium and heavy is this page's own judgment of how hard a swap is to read, not a standard. Code points are made from the characters by the same script, so the sample and the code point cannot disagree. Character names in the rows are plain keyboard words of our own (bar, caret, open paren), not Unicode names. Licence: own work