Pigpen (Freemasons)
Visual substitution: each letter becomes a geometric glyph derived from a 3×3 grid + X shape. No parameters.
Visual recognition
Identify a cipher from its symbols
Got a message full of unknown glyphs, runes, hieroglyphs or geometric symbols? Compare them directly with every known cipher alphabet: each symbol cipher is listed below with its alphabet on display. Click the matching method to open the decrypter.
Draw the symbol to recognize it
Draw a symbol the way it appears in your message — we'll look for ciphers whose alphabet contains a similar glyph.
You can draw several symbols in a row — each one refines the ranking.
Glyph alphabets (monoalphabetic substitution)
Tic-Tac-Toe cipher
Pigpen cousin laid out over three 3×3 grids (none, dot, cross). Each letter becomes the surrounding grid fragment; a dedicated glyph stands in for the space.
Templar cipher
Substitution-glyph cipher derived from the Templar cross. Historical 25-letter alphabet (J merged with I) — any J is automatically folded into I at encryption.
Rosicrucian cipher
Esoteric substitution-glyph cipher inspired by the Rose Cross. Full 26-letter alphabet; identity on the chain, the substitution is purely visual.
Theban alphabet
Honorius of Thebes' magical alphabet. 23 distinct letters (J→I, V→U, W→U) plus a dedicated period glyph.
Dancing Men
Visual substitution: each letter becomes a tiny dancing stick figure. The underlying text is unchanged — only the rendering swaps glyphs for silhouettes.
Klingon pIqaD
Star Trek angular alphabet. 25 A–Y glyphs (Z absent) — any Z is stripped from the cleartext at encryption time.
Dorabella cipher
Edward Elgar's unsolved 1897 note to Dora Penny. 24-letter alphabet (J→I, V→U); identity on the chain.
Flag semaphore
Two-flag signalling code. One pose per letter, full 26-glyph alphabet; identity on the chain.
Chappe telegraph
France's first optical telegraph network (1794). 25 letters (J→I), 10 digits and the `&` glyph. Identity on the chain.
Aurebesh (Star Wars)
The Star Wars galaxy's official alphabet, on screen since 1983. 26 A–Z glyphs plus 10 digits; identity on the chain.
Futhark runes
Visual substitution onto Younger Futhark (16 Viking-age runes, long-branch glyphs). Each Latin letter renders as a rune PNG; several Latin letters share a rune (O/U/V/W → ᚢ, C/G/K/Q → ᚴ…).
Standard Galactic Alphabet
Straight-stroke glyph alphabet popularised by *Commander Keen IV* (1991) and made famous by *Minecraft* enchanting tables (2011). One-to-one monoalphabetic substitution on the 26 Latin letters, plus a dedicated glyph for the period. Identity on the chain — purely visual rendering.
Celestial alphabet
Angelic alphabet published by Cornelius Agrippa in *De Occulta Philosophia* (1531). Glyphs derived from Hebrew (22 mother letters) with small circles at the extremities. Latin → Hebrew mapping: G→C, J/Y→I, P→F, V/W→U fold phonetically.
Malachim alphabet
Angular variant of the Celestial alphabet, also attributed to Agrippa (1531). "Malachim" means "messengers" in Hebrew. Same mother letters as Celestial but with a more rectilinear design. Same phonetic folds.
Enochian alphabet
Alphabet "revealed by the angels" to mathematician John Dee and his medium Edward Kelley in 1583. 21 letters with documented pronunciations (Un, Pa, Ged, Graph…). J→I, K→C, V/W→U fold phonetically — no dedicated glyph for those.
Alphabet of the Magi
Esoteric alphabet attributed to Paracelsus (16th c.) and popularised by Francis Barrett in *The Magus* (1801) as "Magi alphabet of Raphaël". 20 glyphs derived from Hebrew, like Celestial / Malachim but with different folds: C→G, J→I, F/U/W/Y→V (Vav, the mother vowel).
Daggers alphabet
Pictographic alphabet of stylised daggers, found in 18th-19th c. esoteric material. One-to-one monoalphabetic substitution on the 26 Latin letters — every letter has its own glyph, no folds, pure visual rendering.
Nyctography (Lewis Carroll)
Nightwriting system invented by Lewis Carroll in 1891 to jot down ideas in the dark using a perforated square frame (the "nyctograph"). 26 letters + 10 digits, each built from dots and strokes on a 2×2 grid graphically derived from the corresponding Latin character.
Bill Cipher alphabet (Gravity Falls)
Pictographic alphabet invented by Alex Hirsch for the Disney animated series *Gravity Falls* (2012–2016). One-to-one monoalphabetic substitution: 26 glyphs for the 26 Latin letters, no phonetic folds. Pure visual rendering.
Hylian (Breath of the Wild)
Decorative script seen on shrines and relics in *The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild* (Nintendo, 2017). Each Zelda game has its own Hylian; this one maps the 26 Latin letters one-to-one onto runic glyphs inspired by cuneiform. No folds, purely visual rendering.
Daedric alphabet (Skyrim)
Runic script designed by Bethesda for *The Elder Scrolls* (Morrowind, Oblivion, Skyrim). Carried by daedric weapons, armour, magical artefacts and certain in-game books. 26 complete glyphs for the 26 Latin letters, no phonetic fold.
Wakandan alphabet (Black Panther)
Script designed by Hannah Beachler and Ruth E. Carter for Marvel’s *Black Panther* (2018), inspired by real African scripts (Nsibidi, Adinkra, Tifinagh). 26 letters + 10 digits, one-to-one substitution, no folds.
Atlantean (Atlantis Disney)
Constructed language by Marc Okrand (the Klingon inventor) for the Disney film *Atlantis: The Lost Empire* (2001). Only the writing system is used here — 26 letters + 10 "dots and bars" digits — as a one-to-one substitution, without the CH/SH/TH phonetic digraphs of the full system.
Unown Alphabet (Pokémon)
Pictographic alphabet made up of the Unown Pokémon (Gold/Silver, 1999) — each Unown looks like a Latin letter. 26 glyphs, one-to-one substitution, no digits, no folds.
Sheikah (Breath of the Wild)
Ritual script of the Sheikah tribe in *Zelda: Breath of the Wild* (2017), reconstructed from in-game inscriptions (Self Deletus fan-made font). 26 letters + 10 digits in square orthogonal glyphs. Pairs with the BoTW Hylian we already ship.
Kryptonian (Superman)
Alphabet of Krypton, Superman’s home planet in the DC universe. The "shield" mapping circulated by dCode: 26 letters + 10 digits, including an S evocative of the iconic logo. One-to-one substitution, no folds.
Vulcan (Star Trek)
Script of the Vulcans (Spock’s people) in *Star Trek*. Unlike Klingon — a full constructed language by Marc Okrand — Vulcan here is the geometric mapping most widely circulated online: 26 glyphs for the 26 Latin letters, no digits.
Dovahzul (Skyrim Dragon Language)
Dragon language of *The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim* (Bethesda, 2011), designed by Adam Adamowicz and Bruce Nesmith. Runes used for the shouts of Alduin and Paarthurnax. We expose the 26 Latin letters here (the 8 digraphs AA/AH/EI/EY/II/IR/OO/UU are not reproduced).
Alien Alphabet (Futurama)
Alienese 1 — background script of *Futurama* (Matt Groening, 1999-2013, 2023-). 26 letters + 10 digits, decoded by fans from on-screen signs and computer displays. One-to-one substitution, no folds.
Covenant (Halo)
Script of the *Covenant*, the antagonistic alliance of the *Halo* saga (Bungie / 343 Industries). Glyphs assembled from triangles like a tangram. 26 letters, no digits on the reference table.
Matoran (LEGO Bionicle)
Alphabet from the *LEGO Bionicle* universe (1999-2010, 2015-2016) — used in sets and on bionicle.com to hide secret codes for fans. 26 letters + 10 digits, circular glyphs.
Gerudo (Zelda BoTW)
Script of the Gerudo people in *The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild* (2017) and *Tears of the Kingdom* (2023). Completes the BoTW Hylian / Sheikah / Gerudo trio. 26 letters + digits 1 and 5 + ! and ?, as they appear in-game.
Teyvat (Genshin Impact)
Alphabet from the world of Teyvat in *Genshin Impact* (HoYoverse, 2020-) — carved on the Statues of the Seven, temples and archaic runes of every region. 26 Latin letters, no digits. S and Z look similar but remain distinct.
Ancients (Stargate)
Script of the Ancients (the Lanteans) in *Stargate SG-1 / Atlantis / Universe* (MGM, 1994-). Engraved on the Stargates, ZPMs and the City of Atlantis. 26 letters + 10 digits, one-to-one substitution.
Iokharic / Draconic (D&D)
Official dragon alphabet in *Dungeons & Dragons* 5e (Wizards of the Coast, 2014). Used by chromatic and metallic dragons, Kobolds and Dragonborns. 26 letters + 10 digits, one-to-one substitution.
Abyss (Genshin Impact)
Script of the Abyss Order in *Genshin Impact*, distinct from Teyvat. Engraved on the monuments of Khaenri’ah and the abyss domains. 26 letters + period and comma, no digits.
Stray (Walled City 99)
Alphabet from the game *Stray* (BlueTwelve Studio / Annapurna Interactive, 2022) — script of Walled City 99, a post-human world populated by robots. 26 Latin letters, no digits.
Fez (Polytron, 2012)
Decorative alphabet from the indie game *Fez* (Phil Fish / Polytron, 2012), famous for being fully decoded by the community during its release ARG. 24 glyphs for 26 letters: Q→K and V→U share their symbol.
Amphibia (Disney)
Decorative alphabet from the Disney series *Amphibia* (Matt Braly, 2019-2022) — engraved on the signs and books of Wartwood and Newtopia. 26 Latin letters, no digits.
Lunar (Leandro Katz, 1978)
Photographic alphabet by Argentine artist Leandro Katz (1978), where each letter is a **moon phase**. Exhibited in several museums worldwide. 26 letters, no digits.
Birds on a Wire
Pictographic substitution where each letter becomes a **bird** in a characteristic pose, perched on a wire. Steganographic effect: looks like a simple frieze. 26 letters, no digits.
Dotsies (Craig Muth, 2012)
Experimental writing system by Craig Muth (2012) where each letter is a **5-dot vertical bar** of black or white dots (1 bit per dot, 5 bits = 32 combinations). 26 letters, no digits.
Bibi-binary (Boby Lapointe, 1968)
Playful hexadecimal notation by French singer-mathematician **Boby Lapointe** (*Une éducation manquée*, 1968). 16 graphical syllables for the 16 hex digits (0-9 + A-F). To encode a number, first convert to hex (255 → FF).
Lingua Ignota (Hildegard of Bingen, 12th c.)
Mystical alphabet invented by the Rhineland saint **Hildegard of Bingen** (1098-1179) and documented in her *Riesencodex*. 24 letters (J→I, V→U as in medieval Latin), no digits.
Copiale Cipher (Germany, 1730-1760)
German 105-page encrypted manuscript, unsolved for 250 years, decrypted in 2011 by Kevin Knight and collaborators. Reveals an initiation ritual of a secret oculist society. 25 letters (V→U), digits and punctuation.
Elian Script (conceptual art)
Geometric alphabet designed by C.C. Elian in the 1980s. Straight strokes and squares on an invisible grid, aesthetic close to Pigpen but with closed shapes. 26 letters, no digits.
Illageralt (Minecraft Dungeons)
Alphabet of the Illager people in *Minecraft Dungeons* (Mojang/Microsoft, 2020) — Pillagers, Vindicators, Evokers, the Arch-Illager. Angular runic script on banners and inscriptions. 26 letters + 10 digits + ! . , ?.
Ballet Alphabet
Steganographic alphabet using silhouettes of classical-ballet dancers. Each letter is a characteristic pose (arms, legs, head). 26 letters + digits 1-9 (no 0).
Wingdings (Microsoft, 1990)
Dingbat font by Charles Bigelow and Kris Holmes for Windows 3.1 (1990). Each ASCII character is replaced by a pictogram (hearts, hands, flowers, geometric shapes). 26 letters + 10 digits + 4 punctuation marks.
Webdings (Microsoft, 1997)
Web pictogram font by Vincent Connare (Comic Sans designer) and Sue Lightfoot for Windows 98 / IE4 (1997). Thematic successor to Wingdings, UI-oriented. 26 letters + 10 digits + 4 punctuation marks.
Gravity Falls — Journal 3
Alphabet of Journal 3 (Ford Pines’s investigation notebook) in the Disney series *Gravity Falls* (Alex Hirsch, 2012-2016). Distinct from the Bill Cipher Alphabet (see our entry). 26 letters.
Ninjargon (ninja alphabet)
Fictional ninja script popularised by puzzle books and tabletop RPGs of the 2000s-2010s. Angular glyphs evoking shuriken and katana. 26 letters + 10 digits.
Dada Urka (Russian beggars’ marks)
Pictograms left by Russian beggars and vagabonds in the 19th century on village walls, signalling the host’s generosity to fellow travellers. Russian variant of the American hobo code. 26 glyphs.
Gravity Falls — Author’s alphabet
Graphic substitution alphabet used by Stanford "Ford" Pines, the Author of Journal 3, in the Disney series *Gravity Falls* (Alex Hirsch, 2012-2016). Distinct from the Journal 3 Cipher and the Bill Cipher Alphabet. 26 letters.
Gravity Falls — Alchemy Cipher
Alchemical alphabet (salt, sulphur, mercury, crosses, triangles) re-mapped to the 26 Latin letters, seen in the margins of Journal 3 in the Disney series *Gravity Falls*. Reconstructed by the community from on-screen ciphertext. 26 letters.
Betamaze (maze alphabet)
Pseudo-labyrinth alphabet by Bjørn Wahlström: each character is a 2×2 square whose inner edges draw a maze fragment that links to its neighbours. 26 letters + 10 digits.
Circular Glyphs
Alphabet inspired by Renaissance astronomical and sigillary notations: each letter is drawn inside a circle with distinct inner bars, dots and arcs. 26 letters + 10 digits.
Semaphore Clock
"Clock" variant of naval semaphore: two clock hands (hour + minute) on a dial encode each letter. Clock iconography dressing the principle of Chappe / maritime semaphore. 26 letters.
Wingdings 2 (Microsoft, 1995)
Sequel to Wingdings by Charles Bigelow and Kris Holmes for Microsoft (Windows 95). Additional decorative pictograms (hands, checks, stars, calligraphic ornaments) remapped onto ASCII codes. 26 letters + 10 digits + 4 punctuation marks.
Wingdings 3 (Microsoft, 1995)
Third Microsoft dingbat font (Bigelow & Holmes, 1995) specialised in arrows: single, double, curved, straight and triangular tips. 26 letters + 10 digits + 4 punctuation marks.
Symbol (Greek font)
TrueType font (Brian Reid / Adobe, 1985) that maps Greek letters and a set of mathematical symbols onto ASCII codes. Historically used in Word, Excel and TeX to insert α, β, γ, ∂, ∑, ∏… 26 letters + 4 punctuation marks.
ITC Zapf Dingbats (Hermann Zapf, 1978)
Canonical font designed by Hermann Zapf and published by ITC in 1978. Its 360 glyphs (hearts, stars, arrows, pointing hands, ornaments) appear in the Adobe PostScript 1 standard (1984) and the Unicode Dingbats block. 26 letters + 10 digits + 4 punctuation marks.
Moon alphabet (W. Moon, 1845)
Tactile writing system for blind readers invented by William Moon in Brighton in 1845. Unlike braille, Moon simplifies Latin letters while keeping their silhouette — an arc for C, a diagonal for A — for adults who became blind later in life. 26 letters.
Friderici (window-shutter alphabet)
Graphic substitution cipher published by Johann Balthasar Friderici in his *Cryptographia* (Hamburg, 1685). Letters are drawn as window shutters open in different directions. Medieval 24-letter alphabet (J→I, V→U).
Semaphore Trousers
Humorous variant of naval semaphore: a trousered silhouette whose two legs take distinct positions to encode each letter. Recreational rather than historical. 26 letters.
Gravity Falls — Rune Cipher
Runic alphabet appearing in the Disney series *Gravity Falls* (Alex Hirsch, 2012-2016) alongside the Journal 3, Author and Alchemy ciphers. Angular glyphs reminiscent of the Scandinavian futhark. 26 letters.
Gravity Falls — Bros' Code
Secret brotherhood alphabet used by the Pines twins (Ford and Stan) in the Disney series *Gravity Falls*. One of the four series alphabets, associated with a duo of characters rather than a narrative object. 26 letters.
Chinese Code (pseudo-sinograms)
Western stylisation of sinograms: each Latin letter is mapped to a pseudo-ideogram inspired by Chinese radicals while carrying no linguistic meaning. Popularised by gamebooks and Asian-themed escape rooms. 26 letters.
Maritime Signals (ICS)
International maritime signal flags, codified by the International Code of Signals (1857, revised 1969). IMO official standard for visual ship-to-ship communication. 26 letters + 10 digits.
Gravity Falls — Color Code
Fourth alphabet of the Disney series *Gravity Falls*: unlike the others, it uses no glyphs but coloured squares — each letter is associated with a fixed colour. 26 letters.
Simlish (The Sims)
Fictional script from the *Sims* franchise (Maxis / Electronic Arts, since 2000). Originally a spoken language gibbered by the Sims, later paired with a visual script popularised on game boxes and manuals. 26 letters.
Rata Alada (The Batman 2022)
Graphic alphabet of the Riddler (Edward Nashton, played by Paul Dano) in Matt Reeves’s *The Batman* (Warner Bros., 2022). "Winged rat" in Spanish — the Riddler’s darknet pseudonym. 26 letters.
Mourier alphabet
19th-century stylised writing system attributed to the calligrapher Mourier. Each letter is drawn as a distinct geometric shape (loops, crosshairs, triangular strokes). 26 letters + 10 digits.
7-Segment Display
Letter → 7-segment display pattern — digital clocks, calculators, microwaves since the 1970s. Seven bars lit in recognisable combinations. 26 letters + 10 digits.
Elder Futhark
The oldest Germanic runic alphabet, in use from the 2nd to the 8th century across Northern Europe. 24 runes organised in three ætts. Distinct from the Younger Futhark (16 runes, Viking age). C→K and V→U folded.
Goron (Zelda)
Fictional alphabet of the Goron people in the *Legend of Zelda* franchise (Nintendo, since 1986). Rocky creatures from volcanoes (Death Mountain, Mount Eldin). 26 letters + 10 digits with angular stone-cut shapes.
Acéré (sharpened blades)
Graphic substitution cipher where each letter is replaced by a sharp glyph (acéré ← Latin *acer*, "pointed, sharp"). Stylistic cousin of Daggers but with a different table — triangles, notches and strokes. 26 letters.
Gravity Falls — Theraprism
Alphabet of the interdimensional prison Theraprism in the Disney series *Gravity Falls* and its sequel *The Book of Bill / Theraprism* (Disney Press, 2024). 25 letters (Z is not in the table).
French Sign Language (LSF)
Official manual alphabet of the French-speaking deaf community, descended from the language created by Charles-Michel de l’Épée (1760). Recognised as a language of the Republic in 2005. 26 hand configurations for the 26 Latin letters.
American Sign Language (ASL)
Fingerspelling manual alphabet of American Sign Language, derived from LSF by Gallaudet and Clerc (1817). Recognised as a full language since Stokoe (1960). 26 hand configurations.
Tenctonese (Alien Nation)
Fictional language of the Tenctonese in the *Alien Nation* franchise (1988 film, 1989-90 Fox series). Angular style reminiscent of Mesopotamian seals. 26 letters + 10 digits.
Al Bhed (Final Fantasy X)
Fictional language of the Al Bhed people in *Final Fantasy X* (Square, 2001). Permuted Latin substitution (A↔Y, B↔P…) that the player learns by collecting 26 "primers" through the game. 26 glyphs.
Outer Rim Basic (Star Wars)
Secondary alphabet of the Outer Rim Territories in the Star Wars universe, rougher than standard Aurebesh. Stabilised by the Star Wars Roleplaying Games (West End / Fantasy Flight). 26 letters + 10 digits.
Goblin (Tolkien)
Fictional alphabet of the goblins/orcs in J.R.R. Tolkien’s works (*The Hobbit*, *The Lord of the Rings*, 1937-1955). Rudimentary script derived from elven Cirth, used by Sauron’s soldiers. 26 letters.
Dinotopia (J. Gurney, 1992)
Pseudo-hieroglyphic alphabet of the *Dinotopia* universe (James Gurney, Turner Publishing 1992). Utopian island where dinosaurs and humans coexist; the script adorns engraved temple friezes. 26 letters + 10 digits.
Hymnos (Ar tonelico)
Sung language of the Reyvateils in the *Ar tonelico* franchise (Gust, 2006-2010). Partially constructed magical language (subject-predicate-emotion syntax) used to interact with the Towers. 26 letters + 10 digits.
Alternian (Homestuck)
Fictional language of the Alternian Trolls in Andrew Hussie’s webcomic *Homestuck* (2009-2016). Angular strokes and dots reminiscent of Germanic runes and braille. 26 letters.
Kirby (Forgotten Land)
Alphabet from the game *Kirby and the Forgotten Land* (HAL Laboratory / Nintendo, 2022). Rounded, colourful style true to the franchise’s pastel aesthetic. 26 letters + 10 digits.
Alpha Angle (cattle branding)
Angle-marking system used to identify livestock in North American ranches since the 19th century. Digit-only cipher (10 glyphs 0-9).
Mirror Digits
Cipher by mirror-inversion of digits and a few letters. The table covers 10 digits (0-9) + 10 letters (A-J); K-Z are absent.
Hexahue (colours)
Modern colour substitution: each letter, digit or punctuation mark becomes a hexagon of six coloured triangles. Full alphabet + 0–9 + . + ,
Homophonic ciphers (several symbols per letter)
Zodiac killer cipher
Homophonic symbol substitution: each plaintext letter has several candidate symbols and one is picked at random on encryption. Two historical keys: Z408 (cracked 1969) and Z340 (cracked 2020).
Egyptian hieroglyphs
Visual substitution onto 26 Egyptian hieroglyphs (Manuel de codage / Gardiner selection). Latin letters without an Egyptian sound (C, E, J, O, U, V) fall onto their nearest phonetic equivalent (e.g. C → 𓈙 sh, J → 𓆓 dj).
Mary Queen of Scots cipher
Homophonic + nomenclator (Babington plot, 1586): 23 letter symbols (J, V, W folded onto I, U, U), 5 random space variants, and 35 dedicated symbols for common words (THE, OF, AND, FROM, BY, IS, …) plus a few historical abbreviations (LRE, MTE, MYNE, WYRT) and the standalone pronoun "I". Includes one two-word ligature, "YOUR NAME".
Tifinagh ⵜⵉⴼⵉⵏⴰⵖ
Mono-alphabetic 1:1 substitution onto Moroccan neo-Tifinagh (Unicode U+2D30..U+2D7F). The Berber alphabet, official in Morocco since 2003, one of the rare ancient alphabets still alive.
Historical numerals
Cistercian numerals
13th-century monastic numeration: every number 0–9999 fits in **a single glyph** made of 4 mirrored shapes (from 9 base shapes) around a vertical staff (units, tens, hundreds, thousands). Digit runs are split into 4-digit chunks; non-digit characters pass through verbatim.
Babylonian numerals
Mesopotamian sexagesimal numeration (~2000 BCE): every glyph cell encodes a number 0–59, built from a tens sign (10/20/30/40/50) and a units sign (1–9). Zero has its own dedicated symbol. Digit runs are split into 0–59 chunks; non-digit characters pass through verbatim.
D’ni Numerals (Myst)
Fictional base-25 numeration of the D’ni civilisation in the *Myst* franchise (Cyan, since 1993). 25 glyphs (0-24), positional composition for larger numbers. Decimal 2026 → [3, 6, 1].
Kaktovik Numerals (Iñupiat)
Vigesimal (base 20) numeration created in 1994 by students in Kaktovik (Alaska) under Mary Ruth Hopson. 20 glyphs (0-19), positional composition. Codified in Unicode 15.0 (2022). Decimal 2026 → [5, 1, 6].
The alphabet shown for each method is a sample — the detailed page has the full table, history and exact parameters.