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Pigpen Cipher
Type a message and see it in pigpen symbols, or tap the symbols to decode a message someone gave you. The key is below, and you can save your coded message as an image.
Pigpen cipher key
The pigpen cipher key is two tic-tac-toe grids and two X shapes. Each letter is written as the lines around its space. Letters in the second grid and the second X also get a dot.
Pigpen cipher decoder
Got a message in pigpen? Tap each symbol in order. The pigpen cipher decoder writes the letters in the box; use Space between words and ⌫ to undo a tap.
Pigpen cipher alphabet
Every letter of the pigpen cipher alphabet, drawn the way this tool writes it. This chart works as a pigpen cipher translator on paper: find the symbol, read the letter next to it.
| Letter | Symbol | Letter | Symbol |
|---|
How the pigpen cipher works
The grids hold the alphabet. A sits in the top-left space of the first grid, so its symbol is the two lines that close that space on the right and bottom: ⌟. E sits in the middle, so it becomes a full square. In the X shapes, S sits in the top wedge, so its symbol is a V.
The pigpen cipher is also called the masonic cipher or Freemason's cipher, because Freemasons used it in the 1700s to keep their records private. It is a simple substitution cipher: every letter always becomes the same symbol. That makes it fun for puzzles, escape rooms and secret notes, but anyone who knows the key, or counts which symbols appear most often, can read it. Do not use it for anything that must stay secret.
Variations you may meet
- Some keys put the letters in the grids in a different order, or fill the grids row by row with dots in every second space.
- Some put the X shapes before the second grid, so the dotted letters change.
- Puzzle books sometimes use their own key. If a message decodes to nonsense here, try writing out the key that came with the puzzle.
How we tested
The key, the chart, the decoder buttons and the encoder all draw from one rule set, and we compared them: A came out as ⌟, E as a full square, M as a box open on the left with a dot, and T as >, matching the key. We typed "Meet me at noon", saved the image (2250 × 240 px) and looked at it. In the decoder we tapped M, E, T, Space, Z and ⌫ and got "MET ". We ran the page in Chromium at desktop width and at 375 px: no sideways scrolling and no console errors. Not tested yet: Safari on iPhone and Firefox.
Questions
What is the pigpen cipher?
A cipher that replaces each letter with a symbol made from the lines of a tic-tac-toe grid or an X, with a dot for half the letters. It is also called the masonic or Freemason's cipher.
How do I decode a pigpen cipher message?
Look at each symbol, find the space in the key that has the same lines around it, and check whether there is a dot. Or tap the symbols in the decoder above and it writes the letters for you.
Is the pigpen cipher secure?
No. Every letter always turns into the same symbol, so the cipher can be broken by counting how often each symbol appears, and the key is widely known. Use it for fun, not for secrets.
Why does my message decode to nonsense?
The person who wrote it probably used a different key. Pigpen keys differ in the order of the letters and in where the dots go. Ask for their key or try the common variants.
Can I use pigpen for numbers?
The standard pigpen cipher has no symbols for numbers. Write numbers as words, for example "seven", before you encode them.