Cryptogram Generator

How to Use the Cryptogram Generator

1. 1. Choose the text. Pick a quotation from the library — Shakespeare, literature, speeches or proverbs — or switch to My own text and type a motto, a vocabulary sentence or a line from your class reading.
2. 2. Set the difficulty. Give the solver up to six letters, either random ones or the commonest in the text. Keep the word spaces and punctuation for an easier puzzle, or choose five-letter groups with no punctuation for a much harder one.
3. 3. Make it. New cipher enciphers the same text with a new alphabet. Each puzzle has a six-digit number; type it back in to rebuild the same cipher and key.
4. 4. Print. Print puzzle gives the worksheet. Print puzzle and key adds a second page with the answers written in, the author and source, and the full cipher alphabet.

How a Cryptogram Works

A cryptogram is a message written in a substitution cipher: every letter of the alphabet is replaced by a different letter, and always by the same one. If E becomes Q once, it becomes Q everywhere. The solver works out the substitutions from the patterns left behind — short words, repeated letters, common endings — and writes the real letters on the lines under the cipher letters.

The generator shuffles the alphabet so that no letter stands for itself, the rule newspaper cryptograms follow, because a letter left in place hands the solver a free answer. There are roughly 1.5 × 10²⁶ such alphabets (the derangements of 26 letters), so guessing is hopeless and reasoning is the only way in. Only the letters A to Z are enciphered; accented Latin letters are written as their plain base letter, and spaces and punctuation stay where they are.

Aristocrat or Patristocrat

The American Cryptogram Association, founded in 1929, names the two classic layouts. In an aristocrat the word divisions and punctuation are kept, so a lone letter must be A or I, an apostrophe followed by one letter is nearly always S or T, and a three-letter word is often THE or AND. In a patristocrat the divisions are removed and the cipher is set in five-letter groups, which takes away all of those clues. This tool's two Word breaks settings make those two forms: the first for classroom use, the second for the keen.

Solving Tips to Share With Your Class

• Start with the short words. One-letter words are A or I. Two-letter words are usually OF, TO, IN, IT, IS, BE, AS, AT, SO, WE, HE, BY, OR, ON, DO, IF, ME, MY, UP or AN.
• Count letters. E is the commonest letter in English text, then T, A, O, I and N. Tick Print a table of cipher letter counts to give students the tally, but remember that a short quotation can break the usual order.
• Look for doubled letters. In English the common pairs are LL, EE, SS, OO and TT.
• Write in pencil, one guess at a time, and cross-check: if Q stands for E in one word, it stands for E in every word.
• Use the author. If the author is shown, Shakespeare or Lincoln narrows the subject; hide it for a harder puzzle.

About the Quotations

Every quotation in the library is in the public domain: either a work published long ago by an author who died before 1955, or an anonymous proverb. Each one names the work, speech or collection it comes from, so you can check the wording against an edition of your own, and spelling is modernised only where the source's spelling would confuse a young reader. Many quotations that circulate widely online are misattributed — lines credited to Mark Twain, Einstein or Gandhi that none of them wrote — so the library leaves out any line it cannot trace to a source. When you type your own text, add the author yourself; the tool only prints what you tell it.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I make a cryptogram?

Choose a quotation from the library or type your own text, set how many letters to give, and the cryptogram appears at once. Print puzzle gives the worksheet; Print puzzle and key adds the answers. New cipher re-enciphers the same text with a different alphabet.

What is the difference between a cryptogram and a cryptoquote?

They are the same kind of puzzle. Cryptoquote and Cryptoquip are names some newspapers use for a quotation or a humorous line enciphered with a substitution alphabet. Cryptogram is the general name, and it also covers other ciphers; the puzzle here is the classic substitution kind.

How do I solve a cryptogram?

Look for one-letter words, which must be A or I, then for common short words such as THE and AND and for doubled letters. Count how often each cipher letter occurs; E, T, A, O, I and N are the commonest in English. Write guesses lightly and check every one against all occurrences of that letter.

How many letters should I give as hints?

Two or three given letters suit most pupils, and four to six suit beginners or short quotations. Experienced solvers can manage with none. Choosing the commonest letters gives the strongest clues; choosing random ones gives gentler, less predictable help.

Can I use my own words or a vocabulary list?

Yes. Choose My own text and type a sentence of between 12 and 400 letters. It works well for vocabulary review, spelling sentences, class mottos and lines from a text you are reading. Only the letters A to Z can be enciphered, so accented letters become their plain forms and text in other alphabets is not accepted.

Are the quotations really public domain and correctly attributed?

Yes. Each is by an author who died before 1955 or is an anonymous proverb, and each is credited to a specific work, speech or collection. A few have more than one standard wording; the library uses a common edition, and the source line tells you where to look. Famous lines with no traceable source are left out.

Does the tool upload my text?

No. The cipher is made and drawn in your browser. Nothing you type is sent anywhere or stored, and reloading the page clears it.