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Writing & Utility

Letters to Numbers Converter

In the A1Z26 cipher, CAB becomes 3 1 2, because C is the 3rd letter, A the 1st, and B the 2nd. This letters to numbers converter translates text into alphabet positions and back again. It keeps word boundaries with a / separator, ignores case and punctuation, and decodes number lists separated by spaces, commas, or dashes.

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Quick answer

Each letter maps to its position in the alphabet: A=1, B=2, through Z=26.

Output

8 5 12 12 15 / 23 15 18 12 4

Letters

10

What this tells you

  • •Each letter maps to its position in the alphabet: A=1, B=2, through Z=26.
  • •The scheme is called A1Z26, one of the simplest substitution ciphers.
  • •Decoding reverses the map, so 8 9 becomes HI.
  • •Case does not matter, and anything that is not a letter or number is skipped.

How to Use

  1. 1Pick the direction, letters to numbers or numbers to letters.
  2. 2Type or paste your text or number list.
  3. 3Numbers can be separated by spaces, commas, or dashes. Use / to mark word breaks.
  4. 4Read the converted output and the letter count.

How It Works

Formula

number = alphabet position (A=1 ... Z=26)

The alphabet has 26 letters, and A1Z26 numbers them in order. Encoding looks up each letter's position, so HELLO becomes 8 5 12 12 15. Decoding turns each number from 1 to 26 back into its letter. Numbers outside that range have no letter and are rejected rather than guessed.

Calculation note: values are processed in the order shown above, using the current input units.

Worked Examples

Encode a word

Valuecab
Directionletters to numbers
Result3 1 2

C is the 3rd letter, A the 1st, B the 2nd.

Decode a message

Value8 9
Directionnumbers to letters
ResultHI

8 is H and 9 is I.

Encode a phrase

Valuehello world
Directionletters to numbers
Result8 5 12 12 15 / 23 15 18 12 4

The / keeps the word boundary visible in the number stream.

A1Z26 Alphabet Table

Every letter and its number in the cipher.

LettersNumbers
A B C D E F1 2 3 4 5 6
G H I J K L7 8 9 10 11 12
M N O P Q R13 14 15 16 17 18
S T U V W X19 20 21 22 23 24
Y Z25 26

Common mistakes

  • Reading multi-digit numbers as digit pairs. In A1Z26, 12 is L, not AB. Separators between numbers remove the ambiguity.
  • Starting the count at 0. A is 1 in this cipher. Zero-based variants exist but are rare in puzzles.
  • Expecting numbers above 26 to decode. The alphabet stops at Z=26, so 27 and up are rejected.

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Frequently Asked Questions

The simplest letter-number substitution: each letter becomes its alphabet position, A=1 through Z=26. It shows up constantly in puzzle hunts, geocaching, and escape rooms.
HELLO. 8=H, 5=E, 12=L, 12=L, 15=O.
Replace each letter with its position and separate with spaces. CAB becomes 3 1 2. This converter also marks word breaks with a slash.
It is ambiguous. 1 12 spells AL but 11 2 spells KB. A1Z26 needs separators between numbers, which is why encoded output always includes them.
The letter values are identical, but gematria sums them into one number for a word, while A1Z26 keeps each letter's number separate so the text can be decoded back.
Yes. Case is ignored, so cab and CAB both encode to 3 1 2. Decoded output comes back in capitals.
It estimates letters to numbers converter outputs using the visible inputs and formula assumptions on this page.

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