Cryptograms are solved by making good guesses and testing them to see if the results make sense. Through a process of trial and error, you can usually figure out the answer. Knowing some facts about the English language can help you to solve a simple substitution cipher. For example, did you know that an E is the most commonly-used letter in the English alphabet? It’s also the most commonly-used letter to end a word. Watch the video below to learn some more tips and tricks to get you on the right track to being an expert cryptogram solver!
Download Student Worksheet & Exercises
So, it helps to have a lot of words to work with so that you can begin to recognize patterns in the code. Here are some examples from the video:
- single letter words will most likely be either A or I
- the most frequent two-letter words in English are OF, TO, and IN
- the most frequently used three-letter words are THE and AND
- finally, the most frequently occurring four-letter word in English is THAT
Additional tips include the fact that Q is almost always followed by U, and that N often (but not always) follows a vowel. Finally, if two code symbols occur in a row, they could be a consonant combination such as LL, EE, SS, OO, TT, etc. The real trick to this is to try something, and then if it doesn’t work, go back and try something else. Get lots of practice by checking in newspapers and magazines for these popular puzzles. If you really like them, you can find puzzle books full of cryptograms. You’ll be an expert cipher solver in no time!
Exercises
- What does it mean by “cracking a cipher?”
- In there a difference between cracking and decoding a cipher?
- What is very important that a person should know before beginning the cracking process?
- What is the most common letter of alphabet that is usually at the end of a word?
- What is the most common letter that is usually at the beginning of a word?
- If you have a letter all by itself, what is it most likely to be?
- What are two of the most common two character words in sentences?
- What are two of the most common three character words in sentences?
- What is the most common four character word in sentences?