reference

The Major System chart

Every number from 00 to 99, the consonants it encodes, and a peg word to hang an image on. This is the list; the full guide is where the reasoning lives.

A peg word is not a translation. It is a hook: a concrete, picturable noun whose consonants spell the number back to you. The list below is the set this dictionary ships as a starting point, drawn from the pegs that have circulated in memory-sport practice for decades. Swap any of them. A peg you invented from your own kitchen beats a peg you inherited from a book, every time, because the image already has a place to live.

Vowels carry no digits, which is what makes the system workable: tea, toe and Thai all encode 1. You are never stuck for a candidate word. The cost is that you must pick one and stay with it, or recall turns into a guess between three equally plausible images.

The digits

Ten sounds, and every peg on this page is built from them. The reasoning behind each pairing (why 7 is k, why 6 collects four different sounds) is in the guide.

Digit	Sounds
0	s, z, soft c
1	t, d, th
2	n
3	m
4	r
5	l
6	sh, ch, j, soft g
7	k, hard c, hard g, q
8	f, v
9	p, b

The 100 pegs · 00 to 99

Each row links to its entry page, where the community's alternative pegs for that number are ranked by vote. The crowned peg is the one shown here.

No.	Sounds	Peg	Why it sticks
00	S·S	sauce	two soft hisses become a poured sauce.
01	T	tea	one stroke of the pen, one cup of tea.
02	N	Noah	two of every animal, captained by Noah.
03	M	Ma	three letters in MOM, call her up.
04	R	ray	R (4): a single ray cresting the hill.
05	L	law	five fingers raised, swearing the law.
06	Ch/J	shoe	Sh (6): the lucky shoe slides on, a leather hiss.
07	K	key	K (7): key clicks the tumbler open.
08	F/V	ivy	eight tendrils of ivy on a wall.
09	P/B	pie	nine slices, one missing.
10	T·S	toes	ten toes, count them.
11	T·T	tot	a small child, 1 + 1.
12	T·N	tin	tin can, twelve in a pack.
13	T·M	tomb	T+M = tomb · the mummy lies inside.
14	T·R	tire	T (1) + R (4): tire blows on the highway.
15	T·L	towel	T (1) + L (5): towel snaps in the locker room.
16	T·Sh	dish	T (1) + Sh (6): dish crashes, the Sh of broken china.
17	T·K	tack	T (1) + K (7): tack pressed into cork with a click.
18	T·F	dove	T (1) + V (8): dove takes flight, the whoosh of wings.
19	T·P	tape	T (1) + P (9): tape pulled from the dispenser, pop by pop.
20	N·S	nose	N (2) + S (0): nose twitches, then the sniffle.
21	N·T	knot	N (2) + T (1): knot pulled tight, the grunt of effort.
22	N·N	nun	two N's, two nuns in the cloister.
23	N·M	name	your name on a 23-page form.
24	N·R	Nero	N (2) + R (4): Nero's fiddle growls as Rome burns.
25	N·L	nail	N (2) + L (5): nail driven flush with one blow.
26	N·Sh	notch	N (2) + Sh (6): notch cut into the shaft.
27	N·K	neck	N (2) + K (7): neck craning over the fence to look.
28	N·F	knife	N (2) + F (8): knife drawn, the hiss of steel on leather.
29	N·P	knob	N (2) + B (9): knob turned, the click before entry.
30	M·S	mouse	M (3) + S (0): mouse darts, a squeak under the hedge.
31	M·T	mat	M (3) + T (1): mat scuffed at the door.
32	M·N	moon	M (3) + N (2): moon hums over the lake.
33	M·M	mummy	two M's, twin mummies side by side.
34	M·R	mower	M (3) + R (4): mower roars across the strip.
35	M·L	mule	M (3) + L (5): mule leans and won't budge.
36	M·Ch	match	M (3) + Ch (6): match struck, the scrape and flash.
37	M·K	mug	M (3) + K (7): mug clinks down on the saucer.
38	M·F	movie	M (3) + V (8): movie reel whirs in the dark.
39	M·P	map	M (3) + P (9): map rustles open at the crease.
40	R·S	rose	R (4) + S (0): rose stem rips from the soil.
41	R·T	rat	R (4) + T (1): rat claws scratch the plexiglass.
42	R·N	rain	R (4) + N (2): rain drums the windowpane.
43	R·M	ram	R (4) + M (3): ram locks horns.
44	R·R	rower	R (4) + R (4): two oar-strokes, the rower pulls.
45	R·L	rail	R (4) + L (5): rail leaned on, the long groan of wood.
46	R·Sh	rash	R (4) + Sh (6): a red rash spreads.
47	R·K	rock	R (4) + K (7): rock kicked off the path.
48	R·F	roof	R (4) + F (8): roof tiles rattle in the gale.
49	R·P	rope	R (4) + P (9): rope burned through your hands.
50	L·S	lace	L (5) + S (0): lace whispers as the bow tightens.
51	L·T	lad	L (5) + T (1): lad bolts out the door.
52	L·N	lion	L (5) + N (2): lion's low warning rumble.
53	L·M	lamb	L (5) + M (3): lamb bleats at the gate.
54	L·R	lure	L (5) + R (4): lure flashes and rattles in the current.
55	L·L	lily	two L's, twin lilies.
56	L·Sh	leash	L (5) + Sh (6): leash snaps taut, the lurch forward.
57	L·K	lake	L (5) + K (7): lake surface cracks in the cold.
58	L·F	leaf	L (5) + F (8): leaf falls, the dry crunch underfoot.
59	L·P	lip	L (5) + P (9): lips kiss-pop into the mic.
60	Ch·S	cheese	Ch (6) + S (0): cheese oozes.
61	Ch·T	sheet	Sh (6) + T (1): sheet snapped taut over the mattress.
62	Ch·N	chain	Ch (6) + N (2): chain dropped, the ringing noise.
63	Ch·M	jam	J (6) + M (3): jam slops off the spoon.
64	Ch·R	chair	Ch (6) + R (4): chair scrapes across the stone.
65	Sh·L	shell	Sh (6) + L (5): shell held up, the long ocean hush.
66	Ch·Ch	judge	J (6) + J (6): judge's gavel, strike and echo.
67	Ch·K	chalk	Ch (6) + K (7): chalk snaps against the slate.
68	Sh·F	chef	Ch (6) + F (8): chef's pan flares, the whoosh.
69	Sh·P	ship	Sh (6) + P (9): ship parts the fog, horn blast.
70	K·S	case	K (7) + S (0): case clicks open, papers fan.
71	K·T	cat	K (7) + T (1): cat lands, the soft thump.
72	K·N	can	K (7) + N (2): can opener clicks.
73	K·M	comb	K (7) + M (3): comb crackles through dry hair.
74	K·R	car	K (7) + R (4): car coughs, then the engine roars.
75	K·L	coal	K (7) + L (5): coal clinks into the scuttle.
76	K·Sh	cash	K (7) + Sh (6): cash riffles under a thumb.
77	K·K	cake	two K's, double-layer cake.
78	K·F	cave	K (7) + V (8): cave drips far back in the dark.
79	K·P	cap	K (7) + P (9): cap strap snaps shut.
80	F·S	face	F (8) + S (0): face flat, the shutter clicks.
81	F·T	fat	F (8) + T (1): fat drips off the rack.
82	F·N	fan	F (8) + N (2): fan whirrs, papers flutter.
83	F·M	foam	F (8) + M (3): foam pops along the tide line.
84	F·R	fire	F (8) + R (4): fire crackles, sparks rise.
85	F·L	file	F (8) + L (5): file slides from the drawer.
86	F·Sh	fish	F (8) + Sh (6): fish slaps the wicker creel.
87	F·K	fog	F (8) + K (7): fog swallows the headlights.
88	F·F	fife	two F's, twin fifes.
89	F·P	fob	F (8) + B (9): fob chimes against the waistcoat.
90	P·S	pose	P (9) + S (0): hold the pose.
91	P·T	pot	P (9) + T (1): pot lid lifts and drops.
92	P·N	pen	P (9) + N (2): pen nib scratches the fibre.
93	P·M	poem	P (9) + M (3): poem's page turns with a soft hum.
94	P·R	pier	P (9) + R (4): pier boards creak underfoot.
95	P·L	pail	P (9) + L (5): pail sloshes at the rim.
96	P·Sh	peach	P (9) + Ch (6): peach splits with a squelch.
97	P·K	puck	P (9) + K (7): puck cracks off the post.
98	P·F	puff	P (9) + F (8): puff of steam breathes out.
99	P·P	pipe	two P's, twin pipes.

Three digits · 000 to 999

Two digits give you 100 pegs, which is enough for a shopping list and not enough for a deck of cards or a long number. Three-digit pegs give you 1,000, and they let you chunk a digit string three at a time instead of two: a 30-digit number becomes ten images rather than fifteen. The trade is a tenfold increase in what you have to build.

The ten blocks below hold the full table. Each is grouped by its leading digit, so every peg in a block opens on the same sound, which is the order you want to learn them in. The pegs shipped here are a scaffold: the twenty-one anchor numbers are authored, the rest are composed from the phoneme table and are meant to be overridden with something you can actually see.

s, z, soft c

000–099

The one block that bends the rules: its pegs are built from the two-digit peg for the first two digits plus a suffix, so the leading zero goes unsounded and 013 is teamy rather than an s-initial word.

open the block →

t, d, th

100–199

Every peg here starts with t or d, which makes the block unusually easy to build: English is thick with t-initial nouns.

open the block →

200–299

A thin block to build, because English offers fewer n-initial nouns than t- or r-initial ones.

open the block →

300–399

The most-used block in the whole table, because 314 (matter) is pi and 365 (mesh hole) is the year.

open the block →

400–499

The r sound leads, and r-initial English is rich, so these pegs tend to come out as real words with little effort.

open the block →

500–599

L leads every peg in this block, which gives it a liquid, easy-to-say quality: 500 (lassos), 555 (lily law).

open the block →

sh, ch, j, soft g

600–699

Six carries four sounds (sh, ch, j, soft g), so this block has the widest choice of any and the loosest procedural pegs: the composer picks sh first and it does not always land on English.

open the block →

k, hard c, hard g, q

700–799

A hard k or g opens every peg, which makes the block percussive and easy to recall under time pressure.

open the block →

f, v

800–899

F and v lead every peg here, and the v ones are the awkward half: English has few v-initial nouns, so 888 lands on vivify rather than a picture you can see.

open the block →

p, b

900–999

P and b lead, and the block holds two numbers everyone already carries: 911 (put out) and 999.

open the block →

Why any of this works

The history, the phonetic reasoning, worked examples, and when not to use the Major System at all.

read the guide →