Lorem Ipsum Generator

What the generator makes

Pick a number and a type, then click Generate. Three paragraphs are already made when the page opens. Every click gives new random text.

The result is plain text with no HTML tags. Some details to know:

• It does not start with Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet. The tool picks each word at random from a list of 62 words taken from the best-known lorem ipsum passage. The first word is random too. If you want the classic opening, type it in yourself.
• There are no commas, and a word can repeat. Sentences sometimes contain the same word twice in a row, such as dolor dolor.
• Use Words when you need an exact length. Sentences and paragraphs change length on every click. To fill a 150-word box, choose Words and type 150. You can check any text with the Word Counter.
• The number has limits. You can make up to 100 paragraphs, 500 sentences or 5,000 words at once. Each limit gives about 30,000 to 50,000 characters, so the page stays fast. If you type a larger number, the tool makes the highest number and shows a message. 0 or a negative number gives 1, also with a message. An empty box or a decimal such as 2.5 gives a message that asks for a whole number.

Where lorem ipsum comes from

The words come from a Latin book by the Roman writer Cicero, De finibus bonorum et malorum (On the Ends of Good and Evil), written in 45 BC. The source is a passage in Book 1, sections 32 and 33. The original sentence begins Neque porro quisquam est, qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet… In simple English, it says that nobody loves pain just because it is pain.

The placeholder version starts in the middle of the word dolorem (pain), which is why it begins with lorem. That is not a real Latin word. Other words were cut, changed and mixed up, so the text cannot be read as Latin. The source in Cicero was found by Richard McClintock, a Latin scholar at Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia.

Many websites say printers have used lorem ipsum since the 1500s. That story is often repeated, but it is not well proven. What is clear is that it was widely used from the 1960s, when Letraset printed it on its dry-transfer lettering sheets. Later it spread with desktop publishing software such as Aldus PageMaker.

When placeholder text helps

• Early layouts and wireframes. You can judge the font, text size, line spacing and column width. People look at the shape of the page instead of reading the words.
• Templates and themes. A blog or shop theme can show how a post or product page will look before anyone writes the content.
• Quick checks while you build. A text box, card or page can be filled with several paragraphs to see how it grows and scrolls.

When to use real text instead

• Lorem ipsum can hide layout problems. The words in this tool average 5.6 letters, and the longest is reprehenderit with 13. Real content has long names, email addresses, links, prices and technical terms. German and some other languages have much longer words. A heading that fits on one line with four lorem words may wrap onto three lines with the real title.
• It has no structure. There are no commas, lists, links, numbers or headings in the output. So it cannot show you how those will look.
• It cannot be reviewed for meaning. A client or teammate cannot tell whether the page says the right thing. Use real or close-to-real text for the final review.
• It gets forgotten. Placeholder text that goes live makes a page look unfinished to visitors and to search engines. Before you publish, search your pages and files for lorem and ipsum.
• Screen readers read it out. People who use screen readers hear the Latin-like words as they are. Never leave it in image descriptions (alt text), buttons or labels.

A good habit is to test with the hardest real content you have: the longest product name, the longest translated heading, or a long word with no spaces. The Text Repeater can make that last one quickly.