Conlang Generator (Free Template)

Ever dreamed of crafting your own language? A Conlang Generator can be your springboard, empowering you to build a unique system of communication.  This innovative tool can be the springboard for your linguistic aspirations, empowering you to move beyond isolated words and craft a complete system of grammar and vocabulary. Whether you’re a writer seeking a touch of realism for your fictional universe or a language enthusiast fascinated by the details of human communication, a Conlang Generator can spark your imagination.

Conlang Generator

To help you create your own language we created this simple spreadsheet template which allows you to create new words based on English vowels and consonants. A word of warning, this template may provide some weird words that may not always make sense.

You can make a copy of this spreadsheet and then follow the instructions provided in tab 1 (You will need a Google Account to make a copy of this template).

The spreadsheet provides a designated area for you to define the consonants and vowels that will form the building blocks of your new language’s sounds. This selection process allows you to tailor the overall feel of your language. For example, including breathy consonants like “f” and “h” might create a more ethereal feel, while heavier consonants like “b” and “d” could suggest a more grounded language.

You might also find this guide on how to create a writing system useful.

Once you’ve established your sound system, the template will automatically generate words. In tab 2 you can see one word, based on the word length you selected. Tab 3 provides a more detailed vocabulary list considering common pronouns, numbers, verbs and nouns.

From this list of random words, you can cherry-pick the ones you like based on euphony (pleasantness of sound) and develop words that feel natural and cohesive.

This spreadsheet serves as a springboard for your language development. While it focuses on creating individual words, you can use them as a foundation for building grammar rules and more complex sentence structures.

What is a Conlang?

A Conlang, short for constructed language, is an invented language with its own grammar, vocabulary, and sound system. Unlike natural languages like English or French, which evolved over time, Conlangs are deliberately created by people.

There are many reasons for creating a Conlang. Some are designed to be easy to learn and use as a universal language, like Esperanto. Others are made for fictional worlds, like Klingon from Star Trek or Dothraki from Game of Thrones. Conlanging can also be a fun hobby, a way to explore the creativity and logic behind human languages.

How To Create a Conlang: Simple Technique

This section offers a straightforward technique to get you started with crafting your own language.

Step 1: Pick the sounds you want in your language. 

This includes consonants (like b, p, m) and vowels (like a, i, u). Aim for 5-10 consonants and 2-5 vowels for simplicity. You can base them on sounds you like or existing languages. 

For example here are the consonants we’ll use:

• p, b, m, t, d, f, v, s, l, r

For vowels, we’ll keep it simple with:

• a, i, u

You can select the same letter multiple times for greater emphasis on that letter/sound.

Step 2: Start with essential vocabulary. 

Focus on high-frequency words like “water,” “food,” “person,” “big,” “small,” “yes,” and “no.” You can start by making a list of 10-20 essential words that you want to translate, such as these:

1. Water
2. Food
3. Boy
4. Girl
5. Big
6. Small
7. Yes
8. No
9. Dog
10. Cat
11. Drink
12. Eat
13. Sing
14. Fly
15. Dance

This list can include nouns, adjectives and verbs. Don’t worry about plurals, pronouns, stop words and tenses yet.

Step 3: Translate the essential vocabulary.

Combine the sounds from step 1 to create new words. You can invent entirely new words or borrow and modify sounds from real languages.

Take a look at the examples below. Notice how we combined the consonants and vowels from step 1 to create new words. We also considered the nature of the word we were creating and picked sounds that reflected that idea: 

• Water → Fula (fu-la): This uses a soft “f” sound to create a flowing feeling, and “la” is a common sound associated with liquids in many languages.
• Food → Muma (mu-ma): “M” is a bilabial sound, similar to how we might use our mouths for eating. The “u” and “a” adds a sense of fullness.
• Boy → Tilba (til-ba): “Til” sounds a bit strong, potentially representing masculinity. “Ba” adds a softer ending for a younger male.
• Girl →  Liva (li-va): “Li” is a short, sweet sound, and “va” adds a touch of femininity.
• Big → Rura (ru-ra): The double “r” creates a rolling sound, suggesting something large and expansive.
• Small → Pipi (pi-pi): The repeated “pi” is a small, light sound, ideal for something diminutive.
• Yes → Su (su): A short, simple sound for affirmation.
• No → Da (da): Another short, clear sound for negation.
• Dog → Bamu (ba-mu): “Ba” could represent a bark, and “mu” might hint at a wet nose.
• Cat → Fira (fi-ra): “Fi” is a light, hissing sound, reminiscent of a feline. “Ra” adds a touch of elegance.
• Drink → Mipu (mi-pu): “Mi” suggests taking something in, and “pu” can sound like a gentle slurping motion.
• Eat → Tula (tu-la): “Tu” is a bit forceful, mimicking the action of biting or chewing, and “la” adds a sense of fullness.
• Sing → Firava (fi-ra-va): “Fi” creates a light, airy sound like a high note, “ra” adds a touch of flourish, and “va” provides a flowing feel for singing.
• Fly → Sula (su-la): “Su” is a short, quick sound like a bird taking flight, and “la” suggests a smooth movement through the air.
• Dance → Lirupu (li-ru-pu): “Li” creates a light, rhythmic feel, “ru” suggests movement, and “pu” adds a playful bounce.

When creating new words, it’s important to aim for euphony  – how pleasing the word sounds to the ear. For example “Pipi” has a balanced feel with two short syllables and the repetition of “p” creates a certain rhythm. It also sounds small and cute making it the perfect new word for ‘Small’.

Step 4: Expand vocabulary to sentences. 

Keep sentences simple at first. You can worry about complexities later. For word order consider Subject-Verb-Object (SVO) like English, as it’s a common and easy structure.  Nouns and verbs won’t have separate markers or plurals for now.

Take a look at these examples:

• “The boy drinks water.” —> “Tilba mipu fula.” (tilba – boy, mipu – drink, fula – water).
• “The girl sings a song.” -> Liva firava suli. (liva – girl, firava – sing, suli – song)
• “The cat flies!” -> Fira sula! (fira – cat, sula – fly)

Step 5: Bring in the plurals.

Once you have core words, explore how to modify them. Add prefixes or suffixes to indicate things like plural forms (“cat” vs “cats”).

For example, we can add the suffix “-ti” to indicate plurality. 

• Tilba (boy) becomes Tilbati (boys)
• Fira (cat) becomes Firati (cats).
• Liva (girl) becomes Livati (girls)

Keep these modifications simple by adding one or two letters from your chosen sounds in step one.

Step 6: Think about pronouns also.

Pronouns stand in for nouns (like “I,” “you,” “she”). Just like in English, you can keep these pronouns short and sweet (1 – 4 characters long).

You can create unique words for each pronoun:

• I → Mi
• You → Ti
• We → Mila

In some languages, nouns can take on pronominal functions. You could have a base word for “person” (like “fula”) and modify it slightly to indicate “I” (e.g., “mi-fula”), “you” (e.g., “ti-fula”), etc.

Step 7: The past, present and future.

Tense indicates when an action happens (past, present, future). There are a few ways to handle this:

• Introduce new words for past, present, and future. These could be placed before the verb (e.g., “li” for past, “du” for present, and “va” for future) or after (e.g., verb-li, verb-du, verb-va).
• Add prefixes or suffixes to the verb itself. Maybe “-ta” indicates past tense and “-su” indicates future.

Take a look at these examples:

• Past example #1: The boy drank water yesterday. → Tilba li mipu fula (li – past, tilba – boy, mipu – drink, fula – water)
• Past example #2:  The boy drank water yesterday. → Tilba tamipu fula (ta – past, tilba – boy, mipu – drink, fula – water)
• Present example #1: The girl sings a song now. →  Liva du firava suli (du – present, liva – girl, firava – sing, suli – song)
• Future example #1: We will eat together tomorrow. → Mila va tula duli (va – future, mila – we, tula – eat, duli – together)
• Future example #2: We will eat together tomorrow. → Mila va sutula duli (su – future, mila – we, tula – eat, duli – together)

Step 8: Don’t forget about stop words.

Stop words are common words like “a,” “an,” “the,” “and,” etc. They help with sentence flow but don’t carry much meaning on their own.  In your Conlang, you can:

• Focus on short, clear sounds that fit the overall feel of your language.  For example, “ta” could be “the,” “li” could be “and,” and “vu” could be “but.” 
• Take inspiration from existing languages. Maybe “te” becomes your definite article (“the”) from the Spanish “el/la.”

Here are some examples:

• The → Ta
• And → Li
• In → Ti
• Because → Ba
• Do → Su
• This → Thu
• It → Sa

Step 8: Experiment and Refine

Test your new language! Try forming sentences and see if it feels natural. Here are some sentences to help test your new language out:

• This is big and that is small.
• The boy drinks water. 
• The girl sings a song. 
• Do you like food?
• The cat flies! 
• Yes, I see the dog.
• No, I cannot dance.
• Let’s eat together! 
• She is happy. 
• It is raining outside.

Don’t be afraid to adjust sounds, words, or grammar as you go. You could even create your own A-Z book or a mini dictionary to put your new language to the test. Remember, Conlanging is a creative process – so have fun along the way!

Summary

The world of conlanging is vast and endlessly creative. This Conlang Generator and the accompanying technique are just the beginning of your linguistic adventure! What unique sounds and structures will you bring to your language?  We’d love to hear about your Conlang creations in the comments below. Share your vocabulary or a sentence in your new language now.