Passphrase Generator

What this generator does

Builds a passphrase from several random words rather than a string of random characters. The trade is deliberate: a passphrase is longer but far easier for a person to read, retype and remember, which makes it the better choice for the handful of passwords you actually have to know by heart — a device login, a password manager's own master password — where a generated character string would end up written down.

How to use this tool

1. Choose how many words to include.
2. Pick a separator character and whether to capitalise each word.
3. Optionally append a random number.
4. Generate, then copy your passphrase with one tap.

Understanding the controls

Number of words

The main strength control. Each additional word multiplies the number of possible passphrases by the size of the word list, so adding a word helps far more than capitalising one. Four words is a reasonable floor for anything that matters.

Separator

The character placed between words. It has almost no effect on strength — an attacker guessing passphrases would try the common separators immediately — and exists so the result fits services that demand a symbol or reject spaces.

Worked examples

Typed by hand often

Four words with hyphens, e.g. amber-thicket-lantern-quarry. Easy to read off a screen and type into a phone or a TV login box.

Where a site demands a number

Turn on 'append a number' to satisfy a form that insists on a digit, without breaking the words up.

Common use cases

• Creating a memorable master password
• Passphrases for password managers or encrypted drives
• Any account where you'll need to type the password by hand

How this generator works

Each word is drawn independently from a curated list of 178 short, unambiguous English words, using your browser's Web Crypto random generator. The list is an original hand-picked one, chosen so the words are easy to say aloud and hard to mistype — it is deliberately not the EFF or Diceware list. Strength comes from the number of independent choices: with 178 words to pick from, each word you add multiplies the possibilities by 178, or roughly seven and a half bits of entropy per word.

Limitations and good to know

• This word list is small by design — about 178 words, against the 7,776 in a standard Diceware list. That means each word here contributes noticeably less strength, so a passphrase from this tool needs more words to match a Diceware one of the same length.
• As a rough guide, six words from this list is around 45 bits of entropy. That is fine for a low-risk login, but for a password manager's master password prefer eight or more words, or use the character-based password generator instead.
• Choosing your own 'memorable' words instead of generated ones destroys the maths above — human-chosen words are far more predictable than random ones.
• Nothing is stored. Write the passphrase down or save it before leaving the page.

Frequently asked questions

Is a passphrase stronger than a password?

Not automatically — it depends on how many random words it uses and how large the word list is. A passphrase's advantage is that it can be long and still memorable, and length is what matters most. Because this word list is deliberately small and readable, use eight or more words if you want a passphrase to match a strong random character password.

Can I swap a word I don't like for one of my own?

You can, but it weakens the passphrase more than it looks. The strength calculation assumes every word was chosen at random; a word you picked because it means something to you is far more predictable. Generate again instead.