🐷 Pig Latin Translator
Translate English text to Pig Latin: words starting with a consonant cluster move that cluster to the end and add "ay"; words starting with a vowel just add "way".
The two rules, and what counts as a vowel
Each word is checked for the run of consonants at its start. Move that run to the end and add ay; if there is no run, add way instead:
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog
Ethay uickqay ownbray oxfay umpsjay overway ethay azylay ogdayThe letter y is handled as both. At the start of a word it is a consonant, so yellow becomes ellowyay; anywhere else it acts as a vowel and stops the cluster, so rhythm becomes ythmrhay and my becomes ymay. A word with no vowel at all, like tsk, simply takes ay on the end.
Punctuation, capitals and the awkward cases
- Capitals move to the new first letter. The gives Ethay, not ethay - the shifted cluster is lowercased so you never get a capital in the middle.
- Punctuation, digits and spacing survive untouched. Line breaks and double spaces come back exactly as you typed them.
- Contractions split at the apostrophe. don't is treated as two words and comes out as onday'tay. Rewrite it as do not if that bothers you.
- Qu is not kept together. This translator moves only the q, giving uickqay. Some playground versions treat qu as one consonant and say ickquay; both are in circulation.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say hello in Pig Latin?
Ellohay. The h moves to the end and ay follows it. Words that already begin with a vowel take way instead, so okay becomes okayway.
Is Pig Latin actually Latin?
No. It is an English word game recorded since the 1800s, called Hog Latin at the time. The name is a joke about it sounding vaguely classical.
Why do some words end in way and others in ay?
Words starting with a vowel have no consonant cluster to move, so way is added to keep the word pronounceable. Everything else ends in ay after its opening consonants are shifted to the back.