How To Solve A Cryptogram (2025)

A cryptogram is a puzzle with an encrypted message, where each letter in the message has been substituted by another letter of the alphabet. As you guess each substitution, add the letter everywhere it occurs in the puzzle, and the message will start to reveal itself.

The example puzzle below contains an encrypted quotation by the late great Robbie Coltrane.

How To Solve A Cryptogram (1)

Getting started

These can help you start solving a cryptogram:

1 Words with the given letter

2 One-letter words

3 Words with an apostrophe

4 Letter patterns in words

5 Letter frequency in the puzzle

1 Words with the given letter

First, look at the words containing the given letter (‘G’ in the example). In this puzzle, the best starting point is probably G_ _ _G. The most likely answer is GOING (as GULAG is unlikely in a celebrity quote!). You could pencil in GOING now or look for further confirmation — up to you.

2 One-letter words

Turning to the other letters in the word G_ _ _G, we see that one of the letters (‘E’) also appears at the start of the puzzle, on its own as a one-letter word.

There are two commonly found one-letter words in English: ‘A’ and ‘I’. (‘O’ is found in exclamations only.) This message contains two different one-letter words, represented by the letters ‘E’ and ‘F’ in the cryptogram.

Substituting the letter ‘E’ in G_ _ _G with ‘A’ or ‘I’ would give ‘G_ A _G’ or ‘G_ I _G’ respectively. This again makes GOING the most likely answer. And, logically, if the one-letter word ‘E’ is ‘I’, then the other one-letter word ‘F’ must be ‘A’.

How To Solve A Cryptogram (2)

3 Words with an apostrophe

A single letter following an apostrophe could represent ‘S’, ‘T’ or ‘D’. In a long word (as in this puzzle), the letter after the apostrophe is likely to be ‘S’.

4 Letter patterns in words

Keep an eye out for double letters and any other repeated letter patterns in words, as these are often the easiest words to decipher, especially in combination with the given letter. In English, double letters could be the vowels EE or OO, or the consonants BB, CC, DD, FF, GG, LL, MM, NN, PP, RR, SS, TT, ZZ.

In this puzzle, if ‘H’ after the apostrophe represents ‘S’, then the word HBBXH in the third row is S_ _ _S. ‘B’ in that word must represent a vowel, and it can’t be ‘UU’, ‘AA’ or ‘II’, so it must be ‘OO’ or ‘EE’. We’ve already had ‘O’ in GOING, so we can be fairly certain that ‘B’ represents ‘E’, which gives SEE_S.

SEE_S could be SEEDS, SEEKS, SEEMS, SEEPS or SEERS, so look at the words that follow it: ‘_O _E GOING’. A reasonable guess is SEEMS TO BE GOING.

Before the apostrophe is the letter pattern E-T-L, which is repeated at the end of the word we’ve guessed to be GOING. So, E-T-L is the common letter pattern I-N-G.

5 Letter frequency in the puzzle

If you’re struggling to get started with any cryptogram, look for the most common letter in the puzzle. In English texts, the most frequently occurring letter is ‘E’. In this puzzle, the letter ‘B’ is the most common letter, so you can pencil in ‘E’ as a likely substitution for ‘B’.

Taken together, this gives us the word E_E_ _ _ _ING’S, which is likely to be EVERYTHING’S.

Making progress

These will help you polish off a cryptogram:

1 Knowing how English works

2 Keeping track of letters, especially vowels

3 Guessing what the celebrity might say

1 Knowing how English works

Short words in cryptograms can be helpful, as two- and three-letter words in English are often grammatical words. For example, prepositions, such as ON, IN, TO, AT; the articles A, AN and THE; conjunctions, such as AND, OR, BUT, IF; personal pronouns, such as ME, HE, WE, SHE.

‘S’ is often found at the end of English words as a plural noun or verb form.

2 Keeping track of letters, especially vowels

Every English word contains at least one of the five vowels or Y, and many cryptogram puzzles contain all the vowels and Y. Keep track of which vowels you’ve already used, and which are still to go in. ‘Q’ in English is almost always followed by ‘U’.

3 Guessing what the celebrity might say

Unsurprisingly, quotes by famous people often have ‘I’, ‘my’ or ‘me’ in them. Film stars love to talk about films, musicians about music, and sportspeople about winning!

Practicalities

  • Jot down the letters A to Z to the side of the puzzle, keeping a note of the substitutions as you go. For example, E=I, H=S, L=G.

  • Solve the puzzle in pencil so you can erase guesses if needed.

And, in case you were wondering, here’s the completed cryptogram:

How To Solve A Cryptogram (3)

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How To Solve A Cryptogram (2025)

FAQs

How to solve a cryptogram step by step? ›

Cryptography 101: Basic solving techniques for substitution ciphers
  1. Scan through the cipher, looking for single-letter words. ...
  2. Count how many times each symbol appears in the puzzle. ...
  3. Pencil in your guesses over the ciphertext. ...
  4. Look for apostrophes. ...
  5. Look for repeating letter patterns.
Sep 27, 2021

How do you decode a cryptogram puzzle? ›

A cryptogram is a puzzle with an encrypted message, where each letter in the message has been substituted by another letter of the alphabet. As you guess each substitution, add the letter everywhere it occurs in the puzzle, and the message will start to reveal itself.

How to solve cryptic quote puzzle? ›

6 Simple Strategies for Solving a Cryptoquote/Cryptogram Puzzle
  1. Look for Common Words to Start. When starting off a new cryptoquote, the best thing to do is look for common words that people use. ...
  2. Using Letters to Formulate Words that Make Sense. ...
  3. Double Letters. ...
  4. Contractions. ...
  5. Author Names. ...
  6. Sounding Out Phrases.

What is a cryptogram pattern? ›

A cryptogram is a type of puzzle that consists of a short piece of encrypted text. Generally the cipher used to encrypt the text is simple enough that the cryptogram can be solved by hand. Substitution ciphers where each letter is replaced by a different letter or number are frequently used.

What is the strategy for solving cryptograms? ›

The basic strategy is to continually build on what you have, using the letters you know to help figure out other letters and words in the message. Check the list of letters you've used (which are marked off automatically at the top of the puzzle) as you go to help you think about your possibilities.

How do you solve the codebreaker puzzle? ›

The key to doing so is understanding the rules of the English language – what letters often appear together (eg, Q and U), how words begin and end (eg, words starting with 'ck', 'dt' and 'fg' do not exist), and common repetition of vowels and consonants ('ss', 'tt', 'rr', 'oo', 'ee' etc).

What is the easiest cipher to decode? ›

In cryptography, a Caesar cipher, also known as Caesar's cipher, the shift cipher, Caesar's code, or Caesar shift, is one of the simplest and most widely known encryption techniques.

How do you decrypt a cipher? ›

The decryption of a ciphertext is carried out by inputting the encryption key that was used to encrypt it in the first place. Once the correct key is applied, the plaintext is revealed. Decryption is a one-time process.

What is a cryptogram key? ›

In cryptography, a key is a string of characters used within an encryption algorithm for altering data so that it appears random. Like a physical key, it locks (encrypts) data so that only someone with the right key can unlock (decrypt) it.

How to fill out a cryptogram? ›

Find every time the character appears in your puzzle and put the correct letter above it. As you fill in the letters, check that its location makes sense in each word. For example, if you fill in the letter I and it's the last character in a word, it might be incorrect since not many common words end with I.

How do cryptogram puzzles work? ›

A cryptogram is a kind of word puzzle, like a crossword puzzle. Instead of definitions, though, a cryptogram gives you the actual words of a quotation, but with each letter replaced with a different letter. For example, each letter A in the original text might be replaced with an F.

How do you answer cryptic clues? ›

8 powerful ways to solve cryptic crossword puzzles
  1. Look for “anagram” clues. ...
  2. Consider whether a word needs to be reversed. ...
  3. Find the hidden answer indicator. ...
  4. Double definition. ...
  5. Soudalike. ...
  6. Don't take clues literally. ...
  7. Use previous crosswords to improve. ...
  8. Acrostic clues.

What is the difference between a cipher and a cryptogram? ›

A cipher is a type of cryptographic algorithm. Cryptography is the broader field that encompasses all methods of protecting information, including encryption, decryption, digital signatures, and more. A cipher specifically refers to the mathematical process used for encryption and decryption.

What is cryptograms substitution code? ›

General Substitution Ciphers substitute one letter of the alphabet with another letter or symbol. For example, in a piece of text the word THE may be replaced by the word FSQ, where F represents T, and S represents H, and Q represents an E. This will keep the message secret from prying eyes.

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