Pig Latin: The Rules and How to Speak It
The simple rules of Pig Latin, with examples for consonant and vowel words.
What Pig Latin is
Pig Latin is a playful language game, not a real language. It disguises English words by rearranging their letters according to a couple of simple rules, and it’s been used by children (and the occasional spy-wannabe) for over a century to talk “in code”.
The two main rules
For words starting with a consonant (or consonant cluster), move those consonants to the end and add “ay”: “hello” → “ellohay”, “string” → “ingstray”. For words starting with a vowel, just add “way” (or “yay”) to the end: “egg” → “eggway”, “apple” → “appleway”.
Tips for speaking it
Spoken Pig Latin is mostly about speed and rhythm. Start slowly, converting word by word, and you’ll soon do it automatically. A translator is handy for checking longer sentences or settling debates about how a tricky word should come out.
FAQ
How do you say a name in Pig Latin?+
Apply the same rules: a name starting with a consonant moves it to the end plus “ay” (“Brian” → “Ianbray”), and a vowel-starting name just adds “way”.