Leet

Leet, or leetspeak, is a stylized writing system that replaces conventional Latin letters with similar-looking numbers and symbols. It originated in online communities during the 1980s and 1990s among hackers and gamers as a way to disguise text and signal membership. The term leet derives from elite, reflecting the perceived skill of those who used it.

Common substitutions include A -> 4 or @, E -> 3, I or L -> 1 or !, O -> 0, S -> 5 or $, T -> 7. Others use B -> 8, G -> 6, Z -> 2, H -> |-, and punctuation or capitalization to further differentiate words. There is no single standard; leet evolves with communities and tools, and writers may mix case and insert extra symbols.

Leet has been used to obfuscate messages from automated moderation, to evade simple keyword filters, or as a playful way to display belonging to a subculture. In everyday online contexts, it appears in usernames, memes, and informal posts. In some security contexts, obfuscated strings rely on similar substitutions, though this does not provide real cryptographic security.

Over time, leet has become a cultural artifact of early internet and gaming culture; variants such as 1337 and L337 are commonly cited. Today, it is often viewed as retro or humorous, even as new forms of stylization persist in online communities.