In the early morning hours, a TikTok clip titled “Does speaking Japanese with a California valley girl accent sound like Simlish?” appeared on my For You page. The algorithm truly understands my interests.
In this entertaining video, creator oyasumisushi explores the idea by first familiarizing themselves with the California valley girl accent—think of characters like Cher from Clueless or Elle Woods from Legally Blonde. They begin by saying “Hajimemashite,” which means “Nice to meet you,” but inflected with that distinctive vocal fry and nasal tone typical of valley girls.
The conclusion? Absolutely! It sounds remarkably similar to Simlish, the fictional language from The Sims series. The video is a hit, sparking excitement across social media and leading me down an intriguing path of exploration.
After diving into an overwhelming number of comments—nearly 6,000—I stumbled upon another viral sensation from earlier this year. In this clip, creator lildummydev humorously asks for assistance while admitting it’s two in the morning and they can’t stop speaking French in a frat bro voice.
“Qu’est-ce que tu vas faire, mon amie?” lildummydev says. This translates to “What are you going to do, my friend?” However, when delivered in that slow and exaggerated manner characteristic of fraternity culture, it also sounds strikingly like Simlish.
Almost every one of the over 5,000 comments on lildummydev’s post highlights this amusing observation.
“I love how adding a bro accent makes about 70% of languages sound like Simlish,” quips one user named silliest_of_all_geese.
Another commenter named starborn suggested: “Please try doing French in a valley girl style; it probably resembles Simlish too.”
It’s worth noting that both accents share several similarities—a point highlighted by etymologynerd in another TikTok video discussing their characteristics.
The origins of Simlish are equally fascinating: Maxis Studios—the developer behind The Sims—initially aimed to create this language based on real-world tongues such as Ukrainian. As reported by Polygon’s Ana Diaz back in 2022, most elements of Simlish emerged organically as voice actors improvised dialogue while observing character animations during recording sessions.
While much of what constitutes Simlish may seem nonsensical at first glance, it’s interesting to consider that Maxis was located in Redwood City—a short distance from Los Angeles—where some voice actors might have brought their own regional accents into play during recordings (perhaps even those classic valley girl or frat bro tones). Or maybe that’s just an imaginative theory I concocted late at night while following these curious threads online!
Regardless of its origins or influences, hearing Katy Perry perform her hit “Last Friday Night” in Simlish adds yet another layer to its cultural significance—and I’m all for it!
Ananya Upadhyay is an experienced freelance journalist specializing in investigative reporting on health and environmental issues. She is a college student and contributes to The Right Opinion, she delivers impactful news with deep analysis to inform and engage global audiences.
