Random Letter Generator
- A
The random letter generator draws from the 26 letters of the English alphabet, or from the 21 consonants or 5 vowels separately. Every letter in the chosen set is equally likely, which is deliberately different from how letters appear in real English text.
How it works
Uniform selection means E and Z are equally likely. That is not how English works, E accounts for around 12 percent of letters in ordinary text while Z is under 0.1 percent, and the difference matters depending on what you are doing.
- All 26 letters: each has a 1 in 26 chance, about 3.8 percent.
- Consonants only (21): each has a 1 in 21 chance, about 4.8 percent.
- Vowels only (5): each has a 1 in 5 chance. Y is treated as a consonant here.
- Within a single draw no letter repeats, so a draw of ten gives ten different letters.
Examples
One letter
Set
All 26 letters
How many
1
Result
Q
A uniform draw makes Q as likely as E. For a word game that is usually fair; for generating plausible text it is not.
Ten letters with no repeats
Set
All 26 letters
How many
10
Result
M, K, R, A, T, Z, E, P, I, W
Ten distinct letters from 26. Asking for more than 26 returns the whole alphabet shuffled.
Frequently asked questions
Are the letters weighted by how often they appear in English?
No. Every letter in the selected set is equally likely, so Z comes up as often as E. Real English text is nothing like uniform. E is roughly 12 percent of letters and Z is under 0.1 percent, so do not use this to generate text that should look natural.
Is Y counted as a vowel or a consonant?
A consonant. Y behaves as a vowel in words like "rhythm" and "myth", but the split has to go one way, and treating it as a consonant matches the conventional 21-and-5 division most word games assume.
Can I get the same letter twice?
Not within one draw. Asking for five letters gives five different letters. Drawing again starts fresh, so repeats between draws are normal.