Leet Facts for Kids

Wikipedia comes from the word "elite," which means "better than everyone else". It can be written in leet.

Leet (sometimes written as "1337" or "l33t") is a special way of writing words. It's also called eleet or leetspeak. People mostly use it on the internet.

Leet uses different ASCII characters, like numbers and symbols, to replace regular letters. For example, the word leet can be written as 1337 or l33t. The word eleet might look like 31337 or 3l33t. You often see leet in online forums, chat rooms, and online games.

Most of the time, leet is used for English words. But people also use it for other languages, like French, Spanish, and German.

Understanding Leetspeak
Images for kids
See also

Understanding Leetspeak

Leetspeak mixes words, often computer terms, that are spelled wrong on purpose. These spellings sometimes come from typos. For example, the might become t3h. Leetspeak words are often put together to create a unique way of talking. People use this style for fun or to be funny.

Leetspeak uses numbers, ASCII symbols, and special marks called diacritics. These are combined to look like regular letters. For instance, the name "David" could be written as |)/-\\/1|) in leetspeak.

Common Leet Alphabet Examples

It's common to change only the vowels in a word, usually replacing them with numbers. It's rare to see a whole word spelled out using only leet characters. However, 1337 is a common exception.

Remember, these are just examples. Leetspeak doesn't have official rules, like most slang words.

A: 4, /-\, /_\, @, /\
B: 8, |3, 13, |}, |:, |8, 18, 6, |B
C: <, {, [, (
D: |), |}, |]
E: 3
F: |=, ph, |#, |"
G: [, -, [+, 6
H: 4, |-|, [-], {-}, |=|, [=], {=}
I: 1, |
J: _|, _/, _7, _)
K: |<, 1<
L: |_, |, 1
M: 44, |\/|, ^^, /\/\, /X\, []\/][, []V[], ][\\//][, //., .\\, N\
N: |\|, /\/, /V, ][\\][
O: 0, [], {}
P: |o, |O, |>, |*, |°, |D, /o
Q: O_, 9, (,)
R: |2, 12, .-, |^
S: 5, $, §
T: 7, +, 7`, '|'
U: |_|, \_\, /_/, \_/, (_)
V: \/
W: \/\/, (/\), \^/, |/\|, \X/, \\', '//
X: %, *, ><, }{, )(
Y: `/, ¥
Z: 2, 7_, >_

Using Numbers for Letters

Here are some common ways numbers replace letters:

1 can be L or I (I is often | or ][)
2 can be R or Z (less common)
3 can be E
4 can be A or H
5 can be S
6 can be b or G (less common)
7 can be T or L
8 can be B
9 can be g or q
0 can be O (sometimes written as ())

Intentional Misspellings in Leet

When people write in leet, they often spell words wrong on purpose. They might do this to joke around. Sometimes, it's to make fun of how English words are pronounced or spelled.

bai means bye
d00d means dude
guise means guys
h4x or h4x0rz means hacks
hai means hi
j00 means you
kewl means cool
liek means like
m8 means mate
mastah means master
max0r means max. or maximum
OMG means oh my god
OLO means LOL (which means laugh out loud)
ph34 means fear
pl0x means please
powwah means power
t3h means the
wen means when
wat/whut/wut means what
winnar means winner
u means you
r means are
y means why
yass/yus means yes

Leet Vocabulary Words

Here are some common words and phrases used in leet:

leet, l33t, 1337, 31337 means elite (meaning "the best").
ftw, 4tw means for the win. This is used when something is successful or good.
hax, h4x means hacks.
haxor, hax0r, h4x0r, haxzor means "hacker" or cheater.
joo, j00 means you.
meh, m3h can mean me or oh well. It shows you are undecided or don't care much.
newbie, noob, n00b, n00b13, nooblet, nub, newb, nubbins means a newcomer or new player. It is often used as an insult. It might come from "new boy" or "new in business."
own, ownage, 0wn, pwn, pwnage means to be better or superior to someone. The past tense is "pwnt."
phear, ph34r, ph33r means fear.
rox0r, r0xorz means rock, to be amazing or excellent.
c3n50red means censored.
teh, t3h means "the".
wuut/wuu2 means What are you up to?. People often say this.
woot, w00t is used to show celebration or happiness. It might come from We Own the Other Team.
ZoMG!!!11! means "Oh My God".
QQ means cry or complain. It can also be a shortcut to close Warcraft II.
L2<blank> means "Learn to <blank>". For example, L2P means "learn to play".
O RLY means "oh, really?". People often reply with YARLY. It can come with an ASCII art picture of an owl.
YARLY means "yeah, really!". It is often used as a reply to ORLY.
NOWAI means "no way!". It is often used as a reply to YARLY.
GG means good game. This can also be used in a sarcastic way.
BG means bad game. In World of Warcraft, it also means Battleground.
noobcannon, N00BC4NN0N means a weapon in a video game that is too powerful or easy to use.
PWN4G3 N008 means Pwnage noob.
Stronk means Strong.
GL means Good Luck. It's used to wish someone good luck before a game.
HF means Have Fun. It's used to tell people to enjoy the game.
n1 means nice one.

Images for kids

A "31337 H4X0R" laptop sticker, next to a Kevin Mitnick sticker.

Leet facts for kids

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