The Major System chart

Every number from 00 to 99 gets one peg word spelled from its consonant sounds, so 32 (M-N) is moon, 84 (F-R) is fire, and a PIN like 3284 becomes a moon on fire. Look up any number below, then learn the full list from the chart, an Anki deck or the timed numbers drill.

Try a two-digit number

A peg is a word you can picture, and its consonant sounds help you recover the number.

No account or timer. Answers stay on this page.

42rain

Match the word’s consonants to these sound groups, in order. Vowels add no digits.

See this peg and its alternatives

The 100 peg words, 00 to 99

Each row shows the crowned peg and links to its entry page, where you can vote on the alternative pegs for that number or suggest your own. Rows 01–09 use one-digit pegs with a padded zero; the word “sauce” in row 00 encodes both zeros.

Counting 1 to 100 instead? Rows 01 to 09 are 1 to 9 (tea, Noah, Ma), and 100 is thesis, the first peg in the 100 to 199 block. These are peg words in the peg system sense: one fixed picture per number, learned once and reused.

100 cards: the number on the front, the peg word on the back. Import it in the Anki desktop app, AnkiMobile or AnkiDroid; AnkiWeb cannot import a file but receives the deck when you sync. Importing a newer download updates the same cards (your edits to them included) rather than adding duplicates.

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.

The digits

Every peg on this page is built from these ten sounds. 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

Count sounds rather than letters: the b in “tomb” is silent. Vowels carry no digits, so “tea” and “toe” both encode 1. Choose a word you can picture, then use it consistently. Read the full guide for more examples and the reasoning behind the sound groups.

Three-digit pegs, 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. Where a word you can picture sounds out all three digits, that word is the peg (147 is truck); otherwise it is a short phrase that makes one picture (186 is hot fudge). Replace any peg that gives you nothing to see.

1,000 cards: the number on the front, the peg on the back. 001 to 099 reuse the two-digit words (000 is seesaws), and from 100 to 999 about 430 are single words (147 is truck) and the rest are two-word phrases (186 is hot fudge). Every peg decodes exactly, and you can edit any card in Anki.

s, z, soft c

000–099

The one block that bends the rules: the leading zero goes unsounded, so each peg is simply the two-digit peg for the last two digits, and 013 (tomb) is the same tomb that pegs 13 rather than an s-initial word.

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.

200–299

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

300–399

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

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.

500–599

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

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.

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.

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.

p, b

900–999

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

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