Pig Latin Translator — English to Pig Latin, Instantly
Ellohay! Type English and get proper Pig Latin, with the qu, y and capital-letter rules handled for you.
🔒 Runs in your browser — files never uploaded ⚡ No signup 💯 Free
Translate English into Pig Latin as you type. The tool applies the real playground rules — consonant clusters move to the end and take -ay, vowel-initial words take -way (or -yay, your choice), qu stays together, y counts as a consonant at the start of a word — and keeps your capitals, punctuation and line breaks exactly where they were.
It runs entirely in your browser: paste a paragraph, copy the result, confuse your friends.
How to use Pig Latin Translator
- Type or paste English in the top box. The translation appears below as you type.
- Choose the vowel-word ending — -way is the most common, -yay the second; some families say -hay or plain -ay.
- Copy the result. Try the sample text to see every rule in action.
The rules
- Words beginning with a consonant (or a cluster of them): move the consonants to the end and add -ay. pig → igpay, string → ingstray, Latin → Atinlay.
- Words beginning with a vowel: leave the word alone and add a suffix — -way in most versions, -yay in others. apple → appleway, eat → eatway.
- "qu" moves as one unit, because the u is part of the consonant sound: queen → eenquay, square → aresquay. (Without this rule you get ueenqay, which nobody says.)
- "y" is a consonant at the start of a word and a vowel elsewhere: yellow → ellowyay, but my → ymay and rhythm → ythmrhay.
- No vowels at all? Just add -ay: hmm → hmmay.
Capitalisation is carried over (Hello → Ellohay, NASA → ASANAY) and punctuation is left in place, so a whole paragraph translates cleanly.
Where it comes from
Pig Latin is a language game, not a language — English with a rule applied so outsiders cannot follow. It has been documented in English-speaking playgrounds since at least the 19th century (earlier "Dog Latin" and "Hog Latin" were different things), and one word has escaped into ordinary English: ixnay ("nix") and amscray ("scram") both appear in dictionaries. Every language has its own version — French verlan reverses syllables, Swedish has fikonspråket, Spanish jerigonza — and they all serve the same purpose: being understood by your friends and no one else.
Why there is no "Pig Latin to English" button
The translation loses information. ayway could have been way (consonant rule) or ay (vowel rule); ingstray could be string or tringsay… the ambiguity is real and a decoder would guess wrong a fair fraction of the time. Reading it back yourself is the intended skill. For other text games, try the word scrambler or the case converter.
Frequently asked questions
What is the rule for words starting with a vowel?
Add a suffix to the unchanged word. Most people use -way (apple → appleway); -yay is the common alternative, and some regions say -hay or just -ay. The dropdown switches between them.
How does "y" work?
As a consonant when it starts a word (yellow → ellowyay) and as a vowel elsewhere (my → ymay, rhythm → ythmrhay). Untick the option to treat y as a vowel everywhere, which some versions of the game do.
What happens to "qu" words?
The u travels with the q, because "kw" is one sound: queen → eenquay, quiet → ietquay, square → aresquay. This is the rule almost everyone uses instinctively; the checkbox turns it off for the mechanical version.
Can it translate Pig Latin back to English?
Not reliably, so it does not try. ayway could be "way" or "ay", and ingstray could be "string" or "tringsay". A decoder would guess wrong often enough to be useless; reading it back is a skill you pick up quickly.
Is Pig Latin a real language?
No — it is a language game: English with a transformation applied so that people who do not know the rule cannot follow. It has been played in English-speaking playgrounds for well over a century, and a couple of its words (ixnay, amscray) have made it into dictionaries.