What Passphrase Generator does
This passphrase generator strings together random dictionary words instead of random characters, following the Diceware idea popularised by the xkcd comic 'correct horse battery staple': several unrelated words are, word for word, far harder to guess than they look, and much easier to type and remember than a scrambled jumble of symbols. Choose how many words to chain together, pick a separator, and optionally capitalise each word or tack on a random two-digit number, then read the resulting entropy in bits before you commit to one.
Where the Diceware idea comes from
Diceware, devised by Arnold Reinhold in 1995, works by rolling five physical dice and looking up the resulting five-digit number in a published 7,776-word list, repeating for each word in the passphrase. Rolling real dice guarantees a cryptographically sound source of randomness that no software bug or backdoor can quietly weaken, which is the whole reason the method still gets recommended by security professionals decades later. This tool automates the same idea in software — a seeded generator stands in for the dice, and a shorter curated word list stands in for the full Diceware list — trading some of that offline-dice rigor for convenience and instant results.
Why entropy per word matters more than word count alone
Every word drawn from a pool of size N contributes log2(N) bits of entropy, so a bigger pool makes each word worth more, not just each additional word. The canonical Diceware list's 7,776 words give about 12.9 bits per word, meaning five Diceware words already clear 64 bits. This tool's smaller pool of under 100 words gives roughly 6.6 bits per word, so matching that same 64-bit floor takes about ten words instead of five. The generator's Strength panel computes the real figure for your exact settings rather than assuming a textbook value, which is worth checking any time you change the word count.
How to use it
- 1
Set Number of words — five is a reasonable default, more for anything sensitive.
- 2
Choose a Separator: hyphen, space, period, or none at all.
- 3
Tick Capitalize each word and Append a random number if your target system wants mixed case or a digit.
- 4
Press Generate and check the Strength panel for the entropy in bits before you copy a passphrase.
What people use it for
A password you'll actually type by hand
Anything memorised for daily manual entry — a laptop login, a router admin panel — benefits from words you can read back to yourself, unlike a random character string.
A password manager master password
The one password you must remember without ever writing down deserves to be memorable. Seven or eight words here, or the same idea done offline with a full 7,776-word Diceware list, is a solid approach.
Wi-Fi passwords shared verbally
A guest network password read aloud across a room survives much better as distinct words than as a string of mixed-case letters, digits and symbols.
Meeting a 'must contain a number' policy
Turn on Append a random number to satisfy password policies that require a digit, while keeping the bulk of the password as memorable words.
A few pointers
- Use ten words or the offline full Diceware list for anything genuinely high-value, like an encryption key or a password manager master password.
- A separator makes no meaningful difference to entropy — pick whichever your target system's password rules actually accept.
- Note the seed if you need to reproduce a specific passphrase later for a test fixture or documentation example.