Letters to Numbers Converter

The A1Z26 rule: a letter's position in the alphabet

number = position of the letter in the alphabet (A = 1 … Z = 26)

The English alphabet has 26 letters, so the numbers run from 1 to 26. Letters of one word are joined with the separator you choose, and the space between words is kept. With spaces between the numbers, a slash marks the gap between words so the result can still be read back.

How to convert letters to numbers: a worked example

The text Hello World:

1. H is the 8th letter, E the 5th, L the 12th, L the 12th, O the 15th: 8-5-12-12-15
2. W is the 23rd, O the 15th, R the 18th, L the 12th, D the 4th: 23-15-18-12-4
3. Together, with the space kept: 8-5-12-12-15 23-15-18-12-4. With spaces as the separator: 8 5 12 12 15 / 23 15 18 12 4

Reading 8-5-12-12-15 23-15-18-12-4 back gives HELLO WORLD.

Alphabet number chart, A=1 to Z=26

How numbers are read back into letters

Numbers joined by dashes or commas are read as one word, and spaces separate words. If the input has no dashes or commas, single spaces join the letters of a word and a slash separates words. Numbers written without any separator, such as 1212, cannot be read back reliably: it could be ABAB, LL, AUB or several other things.

A1Z26 is one of several ways to turn text into numbers. Computers use character codes instead, where A is 65 and a is 97: see the ASCII to text converter, or text to binary for the same codes as bits. Numbers written with letters, the other way round, are Roman numerals.