pyphen

Pure Python module to hyphenate text

pyphen Copyleft license Active ★ 230 v0.18.0 released 2026-08-13

Install

pyphen on PyPI

pip

pip install pyphen

uv

uv add pyphen

poetry

poetry add pyphen

Package facts

License	not declared (copyleft)
Python support	supports the current Python release (>=3.10)
Install friction	low — pure-Python wheel
Runtime dependencies	none
Maintenance	actively maintained — 0 days since the last release
Last repo commit	2026-08-13
First released	2013-01-07
Popularity	one of the top 1,000 most-downloaded packages on PyPI (30-day window, as of 2026-08-13)
Known vulnerabilities	none known (OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-13)

Evidence: pyphen-0.18.0-py3-none-any.whl

Keywords: hyphenation

Development Status :: 4 - BetaIntended Audience :: DevelopersLicense :: OSI Approved :: GNU General Public License v2 or later (GPLv2+)License :: OSI Approved :: GNU Lesser General Public License v2 or later (LGPLv2+)License :: OSI Approved :: Mozilla Public License 1.1 (MPL 1.1)Programming Language :: PythonProgramming Language :: Python :: 3Programming Language :: Python :: 3.10Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12Programming Language :: Python :: 3.13Programming Language :: Python :: 3.14Programming Language :: Python :: Implementation :: CPythonProgramming Language :: Python :: Implementation :: PyPyTopic :: Text ProcessingTopic :: Text Processing :: Linguistic

About pyphen

from the package's own PyPI description — quoted content, verbatim

Pyphen is a pure Python module to hyphenate text using existing Hunspell hyphenation dictionaries.

This module is a fork of python-hyphenator, written by Wilbert Berendsen.

Many dictionaries are included in Pyphen, they come from the LibreOffice git repository and are distributed under GPL, LGPL and/or MPL. Dictionaries are not modified in this repository. See the dictionaries and LibreOffice's repository for more details.

https://git.libreoffice.org/dictionaries

Free software: GPL 2.0+ or LGPL 2.1+ or MPL 1.1 for the code
For Python 3.10+, tested on CPython and PyPy
Documentation: https://doc.courtbouillon.org/pyphen
Changelog: https://github.com/Kozea/pyphen/releases
Code, issues, tests: https://github.com/Kozea/pyphen
Code of conduct: https://www.courtbouillon.org/code-of-conduct
Professional support: https://www.courtbouillon.org
Donation: https://opencollective.com/courtbouillon

Pyphen has been created and developed by Kozea (https://kozea.fr). Professional support, maintenance and community management is provided by CourtBouillon (https://www.courtbouillon.org).

Copyrights are retained by their contributors, no copyright assignment is required to...

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AI interpretation — verify before relying

AI-generated interpretation of the package facts above; every digit, version, license, or vulnerability id it cites is grounded in the facts already shown on this page

Pyphen hyphenates text using Hunspell dictionaries bundled from LibreOffice, enabling proper word breaking for text layout and display in Python applications.

Installation is straightforward with zero runtime dependencies and a pure-Python wheel distribution. The package is actively maintained with a recent release and 230 GitHub stars.

Pyphen is licensed under a copyleft triple-license (GPL 2.0+, LGPL 2.1+, MPL 1.1). Bundled hyphenation dictionaries carry their own GPL/LGPL/MPL terms from LibreOffice. Verify compatibility with your project's license before use.

Usage

pip install pyphen
from pyphen import Pyphen
dicta = Pyphen(lang='en')
print(dicta.inserted('hyphenation', '-'))

Requires Python 3.10 or later; tested on CPython and PyPy.

Verdict: Pyphen is a well-maintained, dependency-free text hyphenation library with no known vulnerabilities. Its copyleft licensing (GPL/LGPL/MPL) requires careful review if your codebase has restrictive license constraints, but the active maintenance and broad Python version support make it reliable for text processing tasks.

Needs verification

Whether the triple-license (GPL/LGPL/MPL) can be satisfied by choosing one license or if all three apply simultaneously to derivative works
Performance characteristics and dictionary coverage for languages beyond English

text hyphenation pythonword breaking libraryhunspell hyphenationtext layout hyphenationlinguistic text processingline breaking hyphenationmultilingual hyphenation