The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog
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"The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" is a pangram that has been used to test typewriters and computer keyboards because it is coherent, short, and contains all the letters of the English alphabet. The pangram was developed by Western Union to test Telex/TWX data communication equipment for accuracy and reliability. It was often used for testing the teletype services (a procedure known as "foxing") when these machines were still used.[citation needed] In the age of computers, it is often used as a sample text in font selection contexts.
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[edit] Alternate phrases
The pangram is sometimes written in the past tense, with the word "sleeping" included: The quick brown fox jumped over the sleeping lazy dog.
In Windows 3.1 and later versions, the built-in font viewer added "1234567890" to the end, so that numbers could also be tested. Windows XP uses "Jackdaws love my big sphinx of quartz. 123456890" for some fonts.
Localized versions of Microsoft Windows use different sample texts when viewing local language fonts:
| Language | Localized message | Translation | Pangram? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Czech | Příliš žluťoučký kůň úpěl ďábelské ódy. | Too yellow horse moaned devil odes. | no |
| Danish | Quizdeltagerne spiste jordbær med fløde, mens cirkusklovnen Walther spillede xylofon. | The quiz contestants ate strawberries with cream while Walther the clown was playing the xylophone. | no |
| Dutch | Pa's wijze lynx bezag vroom het fikse aquaduct. | Dad's wise lynx piously 'saw' the firm aqueduct. | yes |
| French | Servez à ce monsieur une bière et des kiwis. | Serve to this man a beer and kiwis. | no |
| French | Voix ambiguë d'un coeur qui au zéphyr préfère les jattes de kiwis | Ambiguous voice of a heart which, in the breeze, prefers dishes of kiwis [used in Windows XP] | yes |
| German | Franz jagt im total verwahrlosten Taxi quer durch Bayern. 1234567890 (XP) | Franz hunts in a totally dilapidated Taxi all through Bavaria. | no |
| Hungarian | Árvíztűrő tükörfúrógép ÁRVÍZTŰRŐ TÜKÖRFÚRÓGÉP 1234567890 | Flood-resistant mirror-drilling machine | no |
| Italian | Cantami o diva del pelide Achille l'ira funesta. 123456890 | Sing, O Goddess, the anger of Achilles son of Peleus. 123456890 (Iliad incipit) | no |
| Japanese | Windowsでコンピュータの世界が広がります。 1234567890 | The world of computers opens with Windows. | no |
| Norwegian (bokmål) | En god stil må først og fremst være klar. Den må være passende. Aristoteles. | A good essay must first and foremost be clear. It must be appropriate. Aristotle. | no |
| Portuguese | A rápida raposa castanha salta acima do cão preguiçoso. | The quick brown fox jumps above the lazy dog. | no |
| Polish | Zażółć żółcią gęślą jaźń 1234567890 | A set of untranslatable nonce words that have all Polish diacritical marks | no |
| Brazilian Portuguese | A rápida raposa marrom ataca o cão preguiçoso. | The quick brown fox attacks the lazy dog. | no |
| Swedish | Flygande bäckasiner söka hwila på mjuka tuvor 1234567890 | Flying snipes look to rest on soft grass beds 1234567890 (in old Swedish) | no |
| Finnish | Viekas kettu punaturkki laiskan koiran takaa kurkki. | The cunning red-coated fox peeped from behind the lazy dog. | no |
| Russian | Съешь ещё этих мягких французских булок, да выпей чаю | Eat more of these soft French loaves and drink tea | no |
| Korean | Windows가 지원하는 한글 글꼴 1234567890 | Hangul font supported by Windows 1234567890 | no |
| Romanian | Agera vulpe maronie sare peste câinele cel leneş. | The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. | no |
| Spanish | El veloz murciélago hindú comía feliz cardillo y kiwi. La cigüeña tocaba el saxofón detrás del palenque de paja. | The quick Hindu bat was happily eating thistle and kiwi. The stork played the sax behind the straw palisade. | yes |
| Simplified Chinese | Windows 中文字型范例 1234567890 | Windows Chinese font example 1234567890 | no |
| Traditional Chinese | 視野無限廣，窗外有藍天 | Infinite field of view, outside window is blue sky | no |
| Windows 興國安邦，巨擘八方！ (XP) | Windows makes the nation prosperous and safe, Jack of all trades! | no |
The phrase "Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country" has also been used to test the skills of typists, but it is not a pangram.
[edit] Trivia
- In the novel Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn, the inventor of the phrase lives on the fictional island of Nollop off the coast of South Carolina. The phrase is instrumental to the plot.
- In the novel The Dark Half by Stephen King, the psychotic writer George Stark almost goes on a rampage through a public library when he discovers in the library's typing room that he has a form of writer's block featuring the pangram. No matter what he tries to type, his fingers end up typing the phrase, over and over again.
- A card was made in the card game Magic: The Gathering with a flavor text quote "The quick onyx goblin jumps over the lazy dwarf." (Also a pangram.) The card was called "Now I know my ABC's", and was itself a joke card from Magic's Unhinged series, a set of all humorous and nonsense cards not actually meant for serious play.
- The phrase appears in a song in the musical How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.
- In the "Peanuts" comics by Charles M. Schulz the phrase is often typed by Snoopy acting as if he was a "Famous Writer".
- The phrase was said by the HAL 9000 computer as its higher levels of intelligence were shut down in Arthur C. Clarke's novel 2001: A Space Odyssey.
- In Microsoft Word 12 and 2003 when you type =rand(200,99) it makes 235 pages of the sentence "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.".
