What the random word generator does
The generator picks random English words from a list of 2,821 common words and shows them as a row of word chips. You choose how many words you want, from 1 to 100, how long they may be, and which letters they should start with, end with or contain. Copy words puts the list on your clipboard with the separator you picked, ready to paste into a document, a spreadsheet or a game.
What people use random words for
- Drawing and guessing games. One player draws the word on paper or a whiteboard while the others guess, as in Pictionary-style games. Generate one word per round, or a list of 20 for the evening.
- Writing prompts. Take three random words and write a short story, a poem or a scene that uses all of them. Unrelated words push you away from the first idea.
- Names and ideas. Two random words in Title case, such as Copper Lantern, can start a name for a team, a project, a character or a fictional place.
- Teaching. Spelling practice, words for a quick vocabulary quiz or a word of the day. With a seed, every student gets the same list.
- Passphrases. Several random words make a password that is long and easy to remember. For that, use the password generator, which is built for it.
How the word list was made
The list was written for Freebiefy as a word list for passphrases: 2,821 common, easy to type English words, each 3 to 10 letters long, all in lowercase letters. The password generator uses the same list for its passphrases. By length, it holds:
| Letters | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Words | 111 | 497 | 721 | 713 | 544 | 198 | 29 | 8 |
A short list of common words is much smaller than a dictionary. If you need every English word that fits a pattern, the word finder searches a far larger list.
How the randomness works
First the generator keeps only the words that pass your filters. Then it draws from them. With Secure random, each draw comes from crypto.getRandomValues, which MDN describes as a source of cryptographically strong random values. A random 32-bit number is turned into a position in the list. A plain remainder would make some positions a tiny bit more likely whenever the list size does not divide 232 evenly, so the generator throws away the few numbers at the top of the range that cause this and draws again. This is called rejection sampling, and it makes every matching word exactly as likely as every other.
With No repeats, the generator shuffles only as much of the list as it needs (a partial Fisher-Yates shuffle) and takes the first words, so no word appears twice. Without it, each word is drawn on its own, and the same word can come up again.
With Seed, the 32-bit numbers come from a small generator started from your seed text instead of from the browser. The same seed and the same settings always give the same words. That makes lists easy to share and repeat, but anyone who knows the seed can rebuild the list, so a seeded list must never protect anything.
A worked example
Say you need five words for a drawing game, all short enough to sketch in a minute. Set How many words to 5, Min length to 4 and Max length to 6, leave the letter fields empty and keep No repeats on. The line under the words reports that 1,931 words match, and five different words from them appear as chips. For a list everyone in a class can reproduce, switch to Seed, type class3 as the seed and press Copy link. The link stores the settings and the seed, and opening it on any device shows the same five words.
Limits
The list has 2,821 words, so narrow filters can leave very few. Ends with x, for example, leaves 18 words, and Starts with x leaves 1. The words are English only. Letter filters accept the letters A to Z; accents, digits and spaces are not allowed. Up to 100 words are generated at a time.
How to use the random word generator
- 1Set how many words you want and the shortest and longest length.
- 2Optionally type letters for Starts with, Ends with or Contains, and choose the letter case.
- 3Press Generate. Press it again for a new set, or switch to Seed for a list you can repeat.
- 4Pick a separator and press Copy words, or Copy link to share the settings.
Sources
- MDN: Crypto.getRandomValues(), the browser's cryptographically strong random number source
Related guides
- How to Pick a Random Winner Fairly: Draws People Trust
- How Long Should a Password Be? What NIST Recommends
- Credit Freeze vs Fraud Alert: Which One Stops Identity Theft
Frequently asked questions
Where do the words come from?
From a list of 2,821 common, easy to type English words, 3 to 10 letters long, that was written for this site as a word list for passphrases. The password generator uses the same list.
Are the words really random?
With Secure random, yes: every pick comes from crypto.getRandomValues, the random number generator built into your browser for cryptographic use, and each matching word has exactly the same chance. With Seed, the words come from a small generator that always gives the same words for the same seed and settings. That is useful for sharing a list, but it is not for secrets.
Why did I get fewer words than I asked for?
No repeats was on and fewer words match your filters than you asked for. The generator then shows every matching word once, in random order, and says how many matched. Loosen a filter or turn off No repeats to get the full number.
Can I use this to make a passphrase?
You can, with Secure random and No repeats off, but the password generator is made for it. Each word drawn from all 2,821 words adds about 11.5 bits of entropy, so four words give about 46 bits and six give about 69. Filters shrink the list and lower that number, and a seed makes the words easy to reproduce, so never use Seed for a password.
What does the seed do?
A seed is any short text, like class3. The same seed with the same settings always gives the same words in the same order, on any device. Copy link stores the seed with the settings, so a teacher can send the link and every student sees the same list. New seed picks a fresh random seed.
Can I get words of one exact length?
Yes. Set the same value for Min length and Max length, for example 5 and 5 for five-letter words. Starts with, Ends with and Contains narrow the list further, and the line under the words says how many words match.