Introduction
Simlish is the fictional language of The Sims video game series, developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts. The first game shipped in 2000. Type a message above and the tool looks up each English word in a Simlish vocabulary dictionary, outputting the Simlish equivalent. Toggle between English-to-Simlish and Simlish-to-English modes with one click. Unknown words pass through unchanged. All processing runs in your browser, so nothing leaves your device.
What this tool does
- Word-level translation between English and Simlish using a dictionary of attested vocabulary from The Sims games and EA promotional material.
- Bidirectional: switch between English-to-Simlish and Simlish-to-English modes with one click. The swap button reverses direction without retyping.
- Multi-word phrases like "sul sul" (hello) and "shoo wappa" (leave me alone) are matched before single words.
- The settings panel shows the full vocabulary table with a search filter. Type to narrow the list by Simlish or English text.
- Unknown words pass through unchanged in both directions. Punctuation and whitespace are preserved.
- All translation runs client-side. No text is sent to any server.
How this tool works
The translator splits your input into tokens using a regex that separates letter sequences from non-letter characters. Each word token is lowercased and looked up in a dictionary. In English-to-Simlish mode, the dictionary maps English words like "hello" to "sul sul" and "baby" to "nooboo". In Simlish-to-English mode, the reverse lookup runs. Multi-word phrases are checked first, sorted by length descending, so "shoo wappa" matches as a single phrase before the individual words are tried separately. Words not found in the dictionary pass through unchanged. Non-word tokens (spaces, punctuation, line breaks) are preserved exactly. The mode setting syncs to a URL query parameter, so you can share a link that preserves your configuration.
How the Simlish language works
Will Wright created The Sims at Maxis. The first game shipped in 2000, published by Electronic Arts. According to Polygon's history of Simlish, Wright wanted the characters to speak a language that players could not understand literally, so they would project their own emotions onto the dialogue. He tried real languages first, including English, Spanish, and Navajo, but found that players got distracted trying to parse the words.
Voice director Claire Curtin and audio director Robi Kauker developed Simlish through improv exercises with voice actors. The EA official Simlish page describes how actors were asked to improvise gibberish that conveyed specific emotions. The team deliberately avoided repeating structure so players would not hear the same voice line over and over. Sound designers Kent Jolly and Jerry Martin composed the Simlish music tracks, and composer Jerry Martin wrote instrumental pieces that the vocal Simlish could sit on top of.
The most famous Simlish word is "sul sul," the greeting. The Verge reported that the franchise has sold over 200 million copies across all platforms as of 2019. Real-world musicians have recorded Simlish versions of their songs for the games, including Anitta, who recorded a Simlish track for The Sims 4. EA announced Project Rene as the next-generation Sims experience, currently in development. Simlish will continue as the language of the franchise.
How to use this tool
- Select the mode: "English to Simlish" to translate English words into Simlish, or "Simlish to English" to reverse the lookup.
- Type or paste your text in the input field. The output updates instantly as you type.
- Each word is looked up in the vocabulary dictionary. Multi-word phrases are matched first. Unknown words pass through unchanged. Punctuation and whitespace are preserved.
- Use the swap button to quickly switch translation direction without retyping.
- Search the vocabulary table in the settings panel to find specific words.
- Copy the result using the "Copy result" button or download it as a .txt file.
Real-world examples
Translating a greeting
A user types "hello" in English-to-Simlish mode. The tool looks up "hello" and finds "sul sul". The output reads "sul sul". If the user types "hello baby", the tool finds "sul sul" for "hello" and "nooboo" for "baby", producing "sul sul nooboo". Words not in the dictionary pass through unchanged.
Saying goodbye
Someone wants to say goodbye in Simlish. They type "goodbye" in the input. The dictionary looks up "goodbye" and returns "dag dag". The user copies the output and uses it in a Sims-themed forum post or chat message. The phrase is matched as a single word, so no individual word fallback is needed.
Decoding Simlish dialogue
A player encounters "sul sul" in a Sims mod description and wants to know what it means. They paste it into Simlish-to-English mode. The tool looks up "sul" and finds "hello". The output reads "hello". Words not in the dictionary pass through unchanged so the reader can identify them manually.
Comparison with similar methods
| Method | Complexity | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| Simlish (word-level) | Low | The Sims fan content, decorative text, social media posts |
| Minionese (word-level) | Low | Despicable Me fan writing, roleplay |
| Aurebesh | Low | Star Wars letter substitution, one glyph per letter |
| Standard Galactic Alphabet | Low | Minecraft enchanting table, one glyph per letter |
Limitations or considerations
This tool performs word-level dictionary lookup, not full grammatical translation. Simlish was designed to have no structure so players would not hear the same voice line over and over. The vocabulary covers attested words from The Sims games and EA promotional material, roughly 30 entries. Words outside the dictionary pass through unchanged. This is not encryption. For actual encryption, use the AES block cipher. For other fictional languages, try the Minionese translator, the Aurebesh translator, the Standard Galactic Alphabet, or the Hieroglyphics translator.
Frequently asked questions
Who created the Simlish language?
Will Wright created The Sims at Maxis. Voice director Claire Curtin and audio director Robi Kauker developed Simlish through improv exercises with voice actors. The team tried real languages first, including English, Spanish, and Navajo, but found that players got distracted trying to parse the words. They settled on improv gibberish that conveyed emotion without literal meaning.
Does this tool translate full Simlish sentences?
No. This tool performs word-level dictionary lookup. It matches each English word to its Simlish equivalent from a fixed vocabulary list. Simlish was designed to have no repeating structure, so real dialogue is improvised by voice actors rather than constructed from grammatical rules. The tool does not handle syntax or morphology. It is a vocabulary reference, not a full machine translation system.
What does 'sul sul' mean?
'Sul sul' is the Simlish greeting, equivalent to 'hello' in English. It is the most widely recognized Simlish word and appears in every game in The Sims series. Players use it in fan communities as a greeting. The phrase is included in this tool's dictionary and will be matched when you type 'hello' in English-to-Simlish mode.
Have real musicians recorded songs in Simlish?
Yes. Multiple real-world musicians have recorded Simlish versions of their songs for The Sims games, including Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, and Anitta. The artists learn the Simlish phonetics and perform the songs with the original instrumental tracks. This tradition started with The Sims 2 and has continued through The Sims 4.
Is Simlish a real language?
Simlish is a fictional language created for a video game franchise. It has no grammar, no syntax rules, and no consistent phonology. It is not a constructed language (conlang) in the same sense as Klingon or Na'vi, which were designed by linguists with full grammatical systems. Simlish is closer to an improvised performance vocabulary than a complete language.
Conclusion
The Simlish translator converts English text to and from the fictional language of The Sims video game series. Type your message, switch modes with one click, and copy the output. For more fictional language tools, try the Minionese translator, the Aurebesh translator, the Standard Galactic Alphabet, or the Hieroglyphics translator.