Anagram Checker

What this generator does

Verifies rather than generates, which is the gap it fills. The word scramble generator rearranges a word for you; this checks a rearrangement you already have, and shows its working so a disagreement can be settled by looking rather than arguing.

How to use this tool

1. Type the first word or phrase.
2. Type the second.
3. The answer updates as you type — no button to press.
4. Compare the sorted letters underneath if the answer surprises you.

Understanding the controls

The two phrases

Only letters are compared. Case, spaces, hyphens and punctuation are all ignored, which is the ordinary convention — "Dormitory" and "Dirty Room" count as anagrams despite the space.

Worked examples

Listen / Silent

Both sort to eilnst. Anagrams.

Dormitory / Dirty Room

Both sort to dimoorrty. The space is ignored.

Hello / World

ehllo against dlorw — different letters, so not anagrams.

Common use cases

• Checking an anagram you have constructed for a puzzle
• Settling an argument about whether two phrases really match
• A classroom demonstration of what an anagram actually is
• Verifying a pen name or a puzzle answer before publishing it
• Checking a crossword clue's anagram fodder

How this generator works

Each phrase is reduced to its letters in lower case, those letters are sorted alphabetically, and the two sorted strings are compared. That is the whole test, and it is exact: two phrases are anagrams precisely when their sorted letters are identical. Showing both sorted strings means a negative answer is explained rather than asserted — usually one has a letter the other does not.

Randomness and fairness

Nothing here is random. The check is a deterministic comparison of sorted letters, so the same two phrases always give the same answer.

For how randomness is produced across the whole site, see how Generate Random works.

Limitations and good to know

• Only the 26 letters A–Z are compared. Accented characters and other alphabets are stripped out, so "café" and "face" compare as equal, which may not be what you intend.
• Two empty phrases are not reported as anagrams, since a comparison of nothing to nothing is not a useful answer.
• It checks a pair you supply — it does not search for anagrams of a word. Finding them needs a dictionary, which this tool does not have.
• Being an anagram says nothing about whether the result is a real word or phrase; that judgement is yours.

Common mistakes

Expecting accented letters to be treated separately

They are stripped before comparison, so é counts as nothing rather than as e. Check by eye if accents matter to your puzzle.

Expecting it to find anagrams for a word

This verifies a pair you already have. Searching for anagrams needs a dictionary, which is a different tool.

Practical tips

• If the answer is no, compare the two sorted strings — the missing or extra letter is usually obvious at a glance.
• Check the letter counts first: different totals mean the answer is no whatever the letters are.

Privacy and your data

Both phrases are compared in your browser as you type. Nothing is uploaded, nothing is stored, and nothing is written into the page address, so what you type is not recoverable from a shared link. Analytics is not sent the text at all.

Frequently asked questions

Do spaces and capitals matter?

No. Only the letters are compared, so case, spaces and punctuation are all ignored.

Why are these not anagrams when they look like they should be?

Compare the sorted letters shown underneath. Almost always one phrase has a letter the other does not, or one more of a repeated letter.

Can it find anagrams of a word?

No — it checks a pair you supply. Finding anagrams requires a dictionary.