How this calculator works
Leet speak replaces letters with digits and symbols that look similar, a style that became popular in early online communities and gaming. There is no single official alphabet: 5 and $ can both stand for s, 1 can stand for i or l, and 0 can stand for o. This translator uses one consistent mapping in each direction and preserves every character it does not recognise. Because the reverse mapping is ambiguous, translating leet back to ordinary letters can only recover the most likely reading, not the original text.
Formula
Normal to leet: a 4, b 8, e 3, g 9, i 1, l 1, o 0, s 5, t 7 and z 2. Leet to normal: 4 a, 8 b, 3 e, 9 g, 1 i, 0 o, 5 s, 7 t, 2 z, $ s and @ a. Other characters are copied unchanged.
Worked example
Hello world becomes H3110 w0r1d. elite becomes 31173. 1337 becomes ieet. The table lists every character that changed, such as e to 3 and o to 0.
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Frequently asked questions
Is leet speak a code or encryption?
No. It is a style of writing that substitutes lookalike characters. Anyone who knows the conventions can read it, and it offers no security.
Why does 1 become i rather than l?
One can stand for either letter, so the reverse direction has to choose. This translator maps 1 to i for readability; the original text may have used it for l.
Can I keep my original capital letters?
The translator lowercases letters before looking them up, so both uppercase and lowercase letters are replaced by the same character. Unrecognised punctuation and spaces are copied exactly.