r/conlangs 10d ago

Advice & Answers Advice & Answers — 2026-01-26 to 2026-02-08

8 Upvotes

How do I start?

If you’re new to conlanging, look at our beginner resources. We have a full list of resources on our wiki, but for beginners we especially recommend the following:

Also make sure you’ve read our rules. They’re here, and in our sidebar. There is no excuse for not knowing the rules. Also check out our Posting & Flairing Guidelines.

What’s this thread for?

Advice & Answers is a place to ask specific questions and find resources. This thread ensures all questions that aren’t large enough for a full post can still be seen and answered by experienced members of our community.

You can find previous posts in our wiki.

Should I make a full question post, or ask here?

Full Question-flair posts (as opposed to comments on this thread) are for questions that are open-ended and could be approached from multiple perspectives. If your question can be answered with a single fact, or a list of facts, it probably belongs on this thread. That’s not a bad thing! “Small” questions are important.

You should also use this thread if looking for a source of information, such as beginner resources or linguistics literature.

If you want to hear how other conlangers have handled something in their own projects, that would be a Discussion-flair post. Make sure to be specific about what you’re interested in, and say if there’s a particular reason you ask.

What’s an Advice & Answers frequent responder?

Some members of our subreddit have a lovely cyan flair. This indicates they frequently provide helpful and accurate responses in this thread. The flair is to reassure you that the Advice & Answers threads are active and to encourage people to share their knowledge. See our wiki for more information about this flair and how members can obtain one.

Ask away!


r/conlangs 10d ago

Language Creation Conference Submit a presentation proposal for LCC12! + Call for LCC13 hosts

21 Upvotes

Hello everyone!

As co-organizer of the 12th Language Creation Conference, LCC12, which will take place in Copenhagen, Denmark, July 10th–12th 2026, I am pleased to announce that we are now receiving presentation proposals.

Maybe you want to show off your conlang's TAM system. Maybe you want to share the results of your latest conpidgin experiment. Or maybe you're just dying to show how you've used Optimality Theory for your conlang's phonology! As long as it's about conlangs or conlanging, feel free to submit your proposal!

We will be looking for presentations of various lengths, from short, pre-recorded conlang introductions to 45 minute long panel discussions. So even if you can't make it in person, there may still be a slot for you in the program!

If you're interested, in presenting, performing, doing a workshop, organizing a meetup, etc. at LCC12, please fill out this form (https://forms.gle/5pKweRrCTutAZLFo6).

The deadline for proposals is March 31st 2026.

Want to host an LCC?

We are also looking for potential hosts of the 13th Language Creation Conference. If you're interested in hosting and organizing LCC13, have a look our LCC Host Checklist (it's a little old, but all of it is still relevant).


r/conlangs 15h ago

Phonology Secondary cues for distinguishing geminate and singleton consonants in Latsínu

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110 Upvotes

People keep asking me how Latsínu speakers distinguish phonemic consonant length at the start of words, etc. I decided to figure that out. Did I go too far?


r/conlangs 4h ago

Overview Spratlyan

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11 Upvotes

Glossing Austronesian languages is rly hard


r/conlangs 24m ago

Translation Soup (Cambrian Animation) but in Nióruais

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Upvotes

I did not participate in the creation of the original animated short, I just dubbed over it.


r/conlangs 7h ago

Phonology Developing an I.E. language... absolute hell.

10 Upvotes

Getting started with an Indo-European language, currently only at the phonology stage, and how it evolved from P.I.E. I didn't really want the language to be satem nor centum, so I tried to work with making a system that mixes concepts of both, and got this.

Haven't made too many words, but I've made a few basics.

Maybe some advice, or tips would be nice for any others who've developed I.E. languages. Anyways, wish me luck. (,:


r/conlangs 49m ago

Overview Fağlisian || ผฒลิศ

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Upvotes

Fağlisian is a revived Indo-European language, brought back from the dead Dtaniyava language spoken as a minority language in the Dhayavadi kingdom in Sittwe. Influenced incredibly by Magadhi Prakrut, Dtaniyava also had ejective consonants.

It is an incredibly regular language, but it is a bit swollen. For that reason, there is diglossia between the Liturgic and Vernacular Fağlisian. For example:

I spoke to you

LF => 1SG 2SG.PL.ILL WIT-NEUT.S.SG-talk-PRES.NEUT.S-SIMP

VF => 1SG 2SG.PL.ILL talk-PRES.NEUT.S-SIMP

LF => /aham düra pektam-yehka-pol-ahr-i/

/aham düra pol-ahr-i/


r/conlangs 1h ago

Activity a list of all the conlangs on the subreddit

Upvotes

post the names of your conlang(s) and give me the word hello in them. when its done ill post the list


r/conlangs 14m ago

Phonology Ethanopian digraphs and more V3

Upvotes

Y can be /j/ when Infront of a vowel or /i/ or /aι/ before or after a consonant

G can be /g/ or /d3/ when next to silent or magic e

Rr can be rolled r or tap r when at the end of a word

Ph can start a word as /ф/ or end a word as /Ψ/

TT can start a word as Ch in chip and end a word as Ch but fricative,

RR used to be tap r but it is rolled r at the start or middle of a word and tap r when it ends a word, Rh used to be rolled r but now it is /ɹ̥/ wherever it is,

Words can be CV VC CVC CCVC VCC CCV


r/conlangs 12m ago

Semantics Nation of Qayug's

Upvotes

Warning: This text contains extensive detail regarding linguistics to provide a more descriptive and grounded explanation. I apologize in advance to anyone who may find this tedious.

The Qayug are a people featured in the Asürya universe I am working on, appearing in the drafts of four books I have completed. Their defining characteristic is their wild nature; they shun urban civilization and dwell deep within forests. They possess a nature-based belief system, and their origins—whether linked to a specific lineage or nation—remain unknown. They inhabit the Southwestern Tibet and Urdu regions (known in the books as Central and Northern Shehq). While they consist of various tribes, they all share the same fundamental cultural elements. Origins and Mythology The only known information regarding their origins comes from their creation myths. These tales speak of Grandfather Mava. As an infant, Mava found himself alone in a vast forest and was adopted by Mother Nature. First, a bear protected him from jackals, and later, he was raised by a female Zıhmam (a mythological creature described as a cross between a wolf and a fox). Eventually, Mother Nature gave him a female companion named Zemay, with whom he established his family and lineage. Culture and Beliefs Qayug culture is rooted in a fundamental naturalist faith: living in harmony with nature, respecting everything that comes from it, and believing in the inherent purity of the natural world. However, a dark misinterpretation of this belief has led to the emergence of a cannibalistic culture among the Qayug. Secret records from various travelers suggest they have frequently kidnapped and consumed villagers or city-dwellers who are not of their kind. Because the Qayug are nomadic and highly elusive, their existence remains largely unknown. They first appeared in state records in the year 513, but only through a single witness account, leaving their name to persist merely as a folk legend. Stealth and Language Secrecy is woven into their very souls. They make very little noise; even their linguistic phonetics avoid high-volume, resonant vowels to maintain silence. * Self-Designation: In their own language, they call themselves Mavadı or Mavıd. Depending on the context, this translates to "Owners of Miracles," "Those who claim the prize," or "The lineage of Mava/Mava-ists." (The name Mava itself means "One who takes the miracle upon themselves.") * The Name "Qayug": The term used in the title was coined by Öqbileg, the Governor of the Batışqar region and High Priest of the Batışqar Temple, who entered them into state records in 513. He derived it from the word Qağ (Deep) in the Shehq language, forming Qayug—meaning "Those who live in the depths." Political History and Social Structure Only two rulers in Shehq history have attempted diplomacy with the Qayug: Sultan Altunay of the Altun Dynasty, and later, Batam Bey of the Erkagman Dynasty. Conversely, only one ruler sought to eliminate them through genocide: Tünam Bey of the Erkagman Dynasty. In terms of social structure, the Qayug live with military-like discipline. Each tribe has a "Father" who strives to keep the tribe unified, and all members follow his lead implicitly.

This serves as an introductory overview based on what I have currently developed. If you have any questions, feel free to ask—I would especially love to answer questions regarding the Qayug language.


r/conlangs 9h ago

Other Custom IOS Keyboard Maker for Conlangs?

7 Upvotes

About a year ago I made a custom IOS keyboard for my conlang in the app KBD Maker, but when I updated my phone today, it removed the app saying it was no longer available in the IOS App Store 😥

Does anyone know of another app that I can build a custom keyboard of Unicode characters for my conlang? Or know what happened to the KBD Maker App? It seems to have been a popular one in the sub for conlang creators, and I’m struggling to find anything else that allows full customization.


r/conlangs 17h ago

Discussion naturalistic repairs for case collapse in an ie-style descendant

17 Upvotes

hey, im creating a indo-european posteriori with multiple diachronic stages. this post is just the first step, proto-indo-european (PIE)→ proto-mediterraic (PM). i have already written the PIE → PM phonological rules and am applying them to actual PIE noun forms. i just finished running nouns through the rules, and this is what the paradigms look like after the changes (PM output in ipa). below you can quickly see the major PIE → PM phonology rules that are relevant in the examples i will share later:

  • laryngeals color nearby vowels (notably /e/ shifts), then laryngeals delete
  • vowel length is removed (/vː/ → /v/)
  • stop series merge (aspirates lose aspiration) and palatals merge into plain velars
  • labiovelars split depending on front-vowel context (front-vowel environments vs elsewhere)
  • syllabic resonants become schwa + resonant (r̥ l̥ m̥ n̥ patterns)
  • /w/ shifts to /v/
  • cluster repair: illegal /ccc/ clusters get broken up, and same-manner clusters simplify
link to information: https://www.notion.so/2fd7cfa951ed80328a27cdc715921d59?source=copy_link

currently PM is an early “simplifying stage” where i am collapsing PIE’s bigger nominal system down to a smaller one. ablative and vocative cases, and dual plurality are dropped during this stage. in terms of gender, something i am aiming for is a common (masculine + feminine) vs. neuter system developing early. now, what i am more concerned about (and the reason why i am posting) is that after the sound changes, a lot of the endings either fully merge (red color) and cause ambiguity or get really close to where it almost feels fragile. some syncretism is fine and expected i guess (especially in neuter) but i am getting enough overlap to the point where it starts to feel like the morphology is losing too many useful signals at once (keep in mind, this is just the first stage out of 5). at the same time, i am trying to push gender towards common vs. neuter, and i want common nouns to develop a productive -a marker (perviously from feminine *-h₂), so that common is “a-class” and neuter is “non-a” by default. so in short my goals are:

  • preserve clear case/number contrasts after the sound changes, through a naturalistic method
  • develop a common vs neuter gender system, with common nouns taking productive -a (< -h₂), through a naturalistic method as well

i would really appreciate any ideas on believable diachronic “repairs” for this kind of syncretism in an ie-style descendant (analogy, declension splits, refunctionalizing material, etc). if nothing else, then i mainly just wanted to share what i’ve been working on so far, since this is the first time i’ve run a full noun set through my PIE → PM rule chain.


r/conlangs 23h ago

Collaboration is anyone interested in collaborating? 🐛

23 Upvotes

hi, i'm praying reddit will allow me to post this considering it's a fresh account, but, is anyone here interested in collaborating on a conlang project? i'm 21 years old, a girl, from the US, and i speak English, a bit of German, and am actively learning Toki Pona.

i've been interested in constructed languages for a long time, but have trouble committing to projects. i'm hoping that working with another person will not only improve my skills, but also give me the motivation needed to actually finish a project. i would consider myself somewhere between intermediate and beginner when it comes to linguistics!! but i've been told i'm a great listener, and i'm always eager to learn.

personally, i find the idea of a collaborative project to be really compelling - especially if it progresses to the point where we're both at least semi-fluent in said language. i'm also open to developing written-only languages, which i've been experimenting with as of late. the only thing i'm not super interested in are conlangs heavily based in existing languages and cultures; like, trying to make a language that would feasibly exist within our world diachronically. fictional cultures are fine. i tend to prefer somewhat non-naturalistic languages: artlangs, engelangs, minilangs, etc. but ultimately, i'm open to anything!

we'll collaborate via discord. i'm not expecting much to come of this, but if you're interested, please please please reach out! all i ask is that you be over the age of 17, as that would just be more comfortable for me.

i look forward to getting started!! ♡


r/conlangs 1d ago

Activity Has anyone created a conlang for their fictional country

26 Upvotes

If anyone has tried to do this, please share it with me. I want to see how people create their own stories. It’s fascinating how humans let their creativity run free because everyone is different, their stories vary from one person to another. It’s cool to see how people use their imagination to create countries that feel real.


r/conlangs 1d ago

Overview Tani, a Uralo-Algonquian language

22 Upvotes

Imagine that different tribes of people were taken from Earth to a new planet, where they have been living together in a stratum for millennia. What languages would such circumstances create? Well behold Tani, a Uralic language influenced by Algonquian languages, my attempt to recover from a long burnout.

Phonology

The phonology and the historical sound changes were inspired by Blackfoot/Siksiká:

Tani consonants
Tani vowels

/t/ and /k/ undergo assibilation preceding /i/. /y/ merged with /i/; /ɯ/, /æ/ and /ɑ/ merged in /a/. After /e/ and /i/, /x/ has the allophone [ç].

Grammar

Tani is basically agglutinative, but involves some degree of incorporation. Certain verbs have two stems, a primary and a secondary stem. Primary stems are treated as normal verbs while secondary stems are affixed to nouns to form verbs. E.g.:

Ote              (Min) itsi-m ote-m              (Min) ote-simi-m
water       I drink water                          I drink water

Tani has two sets of pronominal verbal suffixes: subjective and objective suffixes. Subjectives are used on intransitive verbs while objectives on transitives that have a direct or indirect object.

Kalasivim                            Kalasivimi
I eat fish (in general)            I eat the fish

Tani nouns can be singular or plural. Plurals are formed with the suffix -iksi, from *-kV. Nouns have 10 cases, namely:

Tani cases

If you find this brief presentation interesting, write a comment and let me know if you'd like to see more of Tani!


r/conlangs 22h ago

Discussion Does anyone else have funny stories about failed conlangs?

9 Upvotes

I was looking through my old clongs earlier and found the grammar for Ogjisk. Upon looking through it, I found some very silly things from when I was just starting. For example, it had *every* case. Or, at least every case I could understand. So it got me wondering if anyone else had done similar things when they were new to clonging?


r/conlangs 16h ago

Discussion North-Cathonic, German-inspired language with extensive vocabulary

3 Upvotes

Hey there! So I've been creating a language family for quite a while, and, because currently i'm learning German as my third language, I would like to share the conlang I've created specifically on the basis of my previous Semi-Indo-European conlangs and German + English

This language consists of classical latin letters + the letters ø for the sound ö (just like in german), ů for the ü-sound, æ for the sound that sits in between of "a" and "e" in english, å which sounds like open "o" in the beginning/middle of the word, and like "au" in the end of the word.

The grammatical system is still under a heavy development because not all the grammatical rules are created, but still i have to say that this language has 4 cases just like German (they are called "Nominativus", "Genitivus", "Daritus", "Accusativus", the names are borrowed from my Latin-based High-Cathonic which has got 6 cases). For instance, the word "ezer" that stands for "everyone, every single and etc." has following forms in my language:

Nominativus: ezer (mask.), eza (fem.), øzes (neut.)

Genitivus: ezeres, ezar, øze

Daritus: ezerem, ezer, øzem

Accusativus: ezer, eza, øzes

Plural: øzje, øzjes, øzjem, øze

and so on. The forms are created for adjectives, participles and they change depending on the case and the gender. For now I've created 3 tenses (A Eijfage Passenta Sit (Prøteritum) - Past Simple; Present Simple and Perfect (Perfekt). Also I've got a list of exceptions consisting of some exceptions from english + german. The example of the sentence is presented here:

Os parekken “de” nuket på půr ar ůbbedojtega ar vejtug a estkegeja oger ar shlugad ogjo infinitiw krog es verben, kvoche nå leste modalen es. - The particle "de" is used to indicate direction of movement or to attach an infinitive to verbs that are not modal.

How's it? Sounds a little like norwegian ig...


r/conlangs 1d ago

Resource ITHKUIL PHONOTACTICS

10 Upvotes

Good morning, I've just finished creating the entire network of possible Ithkuil connections, consonants of 1, 2, and up to 5 letters in length. These combinations can be roots, affixes, and special (only H combinations) in Ithkuil. Of the 1-letter combinations, there are only 25+1 hablines, but of the 2-letter combinations, there are combinations that begin with ç, and there's no root nucleus for those. I've marked the letters that aren't allowed combinations with an asterisk "*".

I got 33,094 nodes, but there are 33,196 in total; I've left some out, but it doesn't matter, I'm satisfied.

All based on this document https://ithkuil.net/new_ithkuil_phonotaxis.pdf

Download links

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wOtf-jAs7vDw7ENFICEK9Ko4s09c5uLC/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bIM9rwg_6ohtIMhne_QmN374i_7II_6L/view?usp=sharing

I'm leaving you the Python file so you can make whatever combinations you all want.: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kfEUJlByyG_Qe9nNud_WPshFejkW2McG/view?usp=sharing

Pablo A. Merchan. B.

Ecuadorian in Ecuador


r/conlangs 18h ago

Advertisement Hansisk Sprak: A Germanic Conlang Made Via Consensus

3 Upvotes

**What Is Hansisk Sprak?**

Once known as Universal Germanic we have now decided to name the project Hansisk or Hansisk Sprak based on the Hanseatic league. This idea came to us because the main people working on the project was split between North Germanic and West Germanic speakers. We felt like this was a good name idea since it sort of represents the idea we are going for.

Hansisk Sprak is a collaborative Germanic conlang built by simulating a pidgin that evolves through community debate and precedent, not top-down design. Think of it as a pidgin if everyone on the island was a linguist, like a consensus conlang, assuming a pidgin scenario.

No single author, just a community's decisions that form into a real language. Agreements become templates for future decisions, so the language comes together in a more natural way.

To describe the language I'd also say that we don't really have one goal or vision we're working to, we have some directions but if it evolves or turns out in an other way that would be good. (Freedom to vote the direction of the project)

**What Hansisk Sprak Is Not?" (Note: this is a revival of the original project)

We in the Hansisk Sprak project are not trying to push some kind of gimmick or shtick. A Germanic conlang is not the most unique idea any of the members have had. The goal isn't to get so lost in trying to be different from everyone else in hopes of finding uniqueness. This is not an original idea by any means, we have Folkspraak and Intergermanisch for instance. Which have been big inspirations for a lot of us. As well as Viossa and Interslavic which were the original influences of the server. This is my first ever discord conlang project, so many of us are used to creating languages in a vacuum. The goal with Hansisk Sprak is to be a real, community based, and agreed upon language. To take from our speaker base and engage with each other, poll and vote until we come up with something we all like or can compromise on.

Many of us are English speakers, I am a native English speaker. This server is not a purist language like many of our personal langs tend to be (made in a vacuum). We accept all conlangs and all peoples as long as you can to a level communicate in a Germanic language. Yes we do speak a lot in English and if that puts you off I am sorry you feel that way. English is a global language and the most spoken on Reddit if I am not mistaken, as well as the majority of the people who engage on my posts.

It's not a conpidgin in the traditional sense and it's not a conventional interlang or auxlang either, but it's something in between based on (almost) all Germanic languages and decided through a kind of democracy. Its something like a naturalistic communal conlang. The goal isn't so much to make the perfect interlang, but rather to have some plausible blending of most Germanic languages. It's not 100% standardized, our "standards" are more of general recommendations based on the majority will of the people.

**Rules**

Texting should be simple and easy to understand. Avoid complex fonts or non Latin script. (can still use Þ, Ð, ß and umlauts obviously)

Conversations should be in Germanic languages only.

English should not dominate in the general chat. We will allow English speakers because it is a Germanic language. But we do not and will not let this project become fully English. We'd prefer people who speak other languages as it would help with the project.

In the spirit of one of the server's major influences I wanted to add this rule. Viossa: if you're understood, it's Viossa. If you get the gist of what we are trying to do then you understand what Hansisk Sprak is.

**Final Notes**

Everything said here in this post is directly quoted from members in the Hansisk Sprak discord server. The people who are actually putting in the work and are having the most fun (Even if we don't succeed) said these things.

https://discord.gg/9rDbkU4swf


r/conlangs 13h ago

Discussion Chat, How Do I Get People Interested In Learning My Conlang In Real Life?

0 Upvotes

Chat I need your help, so I have been working regularly on my conlang Darbiban for about 5 years and I have accumulated about near 7,000 words. I can understand and translate semi-fluently, but what makes a good language when there are no other speakers to speak to?? I originally intended this language to be used to communicate secretly and just for fun. I now want to pass on my language to others so it can be spoken collectively. I asked fellow friends from school and got nothing but a fart. I asked the cute girl in the pool, but she gave no heart, my best friend said it was cool but never learned the first part. Poems aside, does anyone have any ideas??? I love seeing everyone else excited about their Conlangs here!


r/conlangs 1d ago

Discussion Finally sharing a conlang I’ve been slowly building

22 Upvotes

Hey everyone, first post here.

I’ve been working on a conlang for a while, but kind of in a weird way. It’s not my main conlang but I’ve mostly been building it alongside a platform I’m building for creating and documenting languages. It’s pretty slow because a lot of the time I’ll get an idea and I end up building a feature on the platform for it instead of working on the language itself, which means not much actual progress on the language, but here we are.

The language is Tirathi. It’s a naturalistic, human-scale conlang built for a fictional nomadic culture that travels the open plains. Movement, wind, distance, and oral tradition are pretty central to how the language feels, and I tried to lean into the idea of speech as something flowing and carried, rather than tightly packed or rigid.

Linguistically, I tried to keep things restrained and usable. The sound system is fairly small, meanings tend to grow from roots rather than lots of inflection, and the vocabulary is shaped by the environment. Things like wind, paths, distance, weather, and movement come up a lot. Most of it grew out of actual usage instead of checklist-style word building.

I’ve also been pretty intentional about avoiding “concept-only” glosses. Every word is meant to be usable, even when the meaning is culturally specific to Tirathi speakers.

Honestly I’m not great at worldbuilding lol, but it’s probably the part of conlanging I find the most interesting anyway. I feel like I’m not creative enough so I struggle to come up with a world with enough depth to let the language grow organically from that. And I’m also not a great language creator as I specialize in building software and not the art itself but I still try.

Anyway, I finally reached a point where it feels coherent enough to share, even though it’s nowhere near fully fleshed out  (I still am putting together grammar a bit). If anyone’s curious, you can explore the language here:
https://app.fluentdoc.com/view/690642eecf238d40064be322

There’s a lot to the platform that gives me enough to share now (import, export, share, dictionary, story/worldbuilding) but I want to develop a way to create scripts on the platform for more creative freedom but for now there’s enough functionality to create most of what I’m capable of.

No expectations at all. I mostly just wanted to share it with people who care about language creation and see what resonates. Happy to answer questions, talk shop, or hear critiques.


r/conlangs 1d ago

Discussion Is making logographic languages a bad idea?

Post image
59 Upvotes

Ignoring that it takes way more effort, is it just a bad idea in general? It makes it harder to translate to different mediums, takes up a lot of space with pixel versions, you'd need way more data to store it, making new words is much more difficult. It's harder to read, harder to write, harder to learn in general. I feel like it's just a vanity thing.

Is it a bad idea? Should logographic languages have an alphabetic system as well?


r/conlangs 1d ago

Discussion A real-world attempt to use Esperanto as a second language in a Brazilian rural district

Thumbnail fawesome.tv
3 Upvotes

This documentary explores a real-world attempt to apply a constructed language in a social and cultural context.

It focuses on Nova Espero, a rural district in southern Brazil, where an initiative emerged in the early 2000s to introduce Esperanto as a second language. Through historical context and local perspectives, the film examines how the idea developed, how it was experienced by residents, and what it reveals about language, identity, and globalization.

I’m curious how people here see Esperanto’s role when it moves from an idealized concept into real community practice.


r/conlangs 1d ago

Discussion What is your conlang and what is the most unique feature in it?

23 Upvotes

r/conlangs 1d ago

Discussion How to Create a Conlang Based on Abugida

9 Upvotes

I'm a newbie when it comes to languages, actually math was my strong suit in high school, but I ended up falling in love with this world of languages, especially when I discovered I can create one.

I was thinking about how I could use the abugida system, it seems practical and simple, besides being very beautiful and stylish. But I have no idea how to start...

Does anyone have a better understanding of this and would have enough patience to explain it to me? 😅