Dissecting The Sims Language: Do You Speak Simlish?

Updated in 2022

Video game players try various types of games, from single-player to multiplayer games with different levels of sophistication and specially constructed language, such as the Sims language, Simlish, which sounds quite unique.

One type of video game is all about life simulation, and The Sims series falls under this. The Sims was created by Maxis. In 2000, it was published by Electronic Arts. The main series already has 4 releases, with The Sims 4 being the last release. The game is played on many platforms, making it available to as many players as possible. In fact, The Sims is one of the bestselling video games of all time. It has already sold 400 million copies around the world.

The games played in The Sims are categorized as sandbox games. They do not have defined objectives. The virtual people in the game, which the player creates, are called Sims. These characters are placed in houses that are either built by the players or in homes that are pre-constructed. The players also direct the moods of the Sims and their desires are satisfied by the players as well. In the console versions and the various expansion packs, the players have a wider range of actions and activities they can provide to their particular Sims.

The Sims Game Design

Will Wright, the designer of The Sims game lost his home in 1991 during the Oakland firestorm. While starting to rebuild his life, he created a virtual dollhouse, drawing inspiration from his experience in replacing his possessions and his home. He thought of turning it into a game and presenting his ideas to the board of directors of Maxis.

During that initial presentation, the directors were skeptical about the viability of the game, so the support they gave for its development was minimal. Wright said that he initially envisioned The Sims to be a satire of the consumer culture of people in the United States.

In 1997, Maxis was purchased by Electronic Arts and its directors showed better reception to the game. One game created by Will Wright, called SimCity, enjoyed great success, thus the company saw the possibility of long-term success for the franchise.

The Sims Language

Most video games franchise features a constructed language, which, in some instances, becomes quite popular among players, with a few of them even gaining a following as well.

For The Sims, the characters speak Simlish, a language created by the game creator himself, Will Wright. He revealed that the created the language because the video game needed to have a dialogue. However, unlike other game creators who used English as the primary language, in the absence of a constructed language, he thought that using a living language would make the dialogue repetitive and somewhat boring.

So, to avoid making several changes to the dialogue to avoid repetition, Wright decided to come up with a unique language that could be used across the board. The players can use their imagination to decipher the meaning of the Simlish words.

Wright said that the language he created is simply gibberish. Those are nonsense words that are a mash-up of different languages. There is no official confirmation about the languages used by Wright, although many people say that it has traces of Filipino, Irish, Romanian, Navajo, and Ukrainian, aside from the actual gibberish. With Simlish, the repetitious characteristic of the dialogue is masked.

Simlish is the (official) fictional language of The Sims Nation. It was first used in SimCopter and featured in the various games of the franchise and the spinoffs of the series.

Creating Simlish

Wright said that creating Simlish was the right decision as it enhanced the games and the user experience since the users are able to use their imagination with the language. Voice actors Gerri Lawlor and Stephen Kearin improvised the sounds, the emotional nuances, and the particular cadence of the language.

The hundreds of voice clips that were recorded allowed the players to have their Sims characters express different feelings, from being tired to happy, upset, laid back, flirtatious, or angry.

Simlish-ish Sounds

While Simlish is the core language of The Sims franchise, there are other non-Simlish words and phrases that are used within the game. Some of the most notable in each release include words and phrases in English and other real languages.

The Sims

In this release, some of the phrases that were noticed include yummy, ouch, I know, Yuck, Uh-oh, Hey man, and No way.

The Sims 2

In many scenarios, such as while a toddler is playing with a toy bear, throwing a tantrum, or trying to avoid a blocked path, here are some of the phrases:

• Stupid bear!
• No love for gerbits. (gebrit is the Simlish term for llama)
• Ayaw ko, bobo siya! (Filipino term meaning ”I don’t like her/him, she’s/he’s stupid.”)
• I went to the bath.
• I gotta poo.

The Sims 3

Just like in The Sims 2, several gibberish and non-gibberish words are phrases are used, such as:

• Urocka (silence) followed by lalala kondo
• Oh, hello!
• Awesome!
• Look at him go!
• Homeless dude?
• Happy birthday!

Some of these words are uttered at different audio levels, so you might have to listen closely before you can hear them.

In the succeeding releases and spinoffs, you are likely to hear words and phrases in English, Spanish, and contractions of some words.

Unofficial Simlish Language Phrases and Words

If you are planning to play The Sims or you are already playing the game and want to know the meaning of the various words created for the specific game, it’s fun to know and learn some of the Simlish words. They will heighten your experience while playing any of The Sims game. You will not be alone in trying to decipher the meaning of the words and phrases in Simlish, as there are many players around the world who are intrigued by the language. Players post questions regarding the Simlish language on the Electronic Arts community site and at The Sims site as well, asking how they can understand the language. Here are some of them.

• Hello – Sul sul
• Baby – Nooboo
• I’m hungry – Oh feebee lay
• Milk – Lalo
• Very good – Ooh be gah
• Dog – Woofum
• Goodbye – Dag dag
• This is cool – Whippna choba dog
• Shake – Sherb
• That’s awful – Sass awrful
• Thanks – Vadish (Badeesh)
• Cat – Minicule
• Move away – Araganda
• I’m bored – Awasa poa
• Hey, what’s up? – Bloo bagoo?
• I don’t like you – Boobasnot
• What’s up? – Hooba noobie
• Let’s play – Veena fredishay
• I’m so bored – Uhh shamoo ralla poo
• Go away! – Renato! Renato!
• Fast – Firbs
• Car – Abbi anar
• Pizza – Chum-cha
• Oh – Fro
• Damn – Garnar frash
• Listen – Grouw
• Interesting – Jowlenin
• Sweet – Kooj
• Anyone home – Nash na poof?
• Ow, man this is great – Oo krem letich
• Why me? – Ooo shanga day?
• Pain – Paba
• Is this a room? – Sisaroom?
• Speak – Sperk
• So hungry – So hungwah
• Everything – Fretishe
• Thank you – Litzergam
• One – Mik
• Two – Mak
• Three – Maka
• Does that feel better? – Turkey nurbler?
• Believe it or not – Delco webney
• Who cares? – Kabuna?
• Hey, great idea – Ah, gwanda blitz
• Hey, I know what you mean – Ah, docka morpher

More English

While Simlish features in The Sims 4, there’s much more English visible on the billboards in the latest versions of the Sims games. In some of the earlier releases, the billboards normally showed icons representing the Simlish versions of popular English words. Some of the characters still speak gibberish, like in the first Sims game, while other characters, even if new, use Simlish phrases and catchy sayings from the nonsense language. In the online versions, more texts appear in English.

Accurate Translations in Any Language

While Simlish phrases don’t come from a true constructed language, you can be assured that you are going to get the most accurate translation of any living and real language when you hire a translator from Day Translations, Inc. Day Translations only uses native-speaking translators, who live in-country, which guarantees that your translation project will be accurate and of high quality. Whenever you need language translation services anytime, anywhere you are located, you can get in touch with us quickly. You can call us at 1-800-969-6853 or send us an email at Contact us whenever you need translation services as we are open 24/7, every day of the year.