How to gloss your conlang
For a full worked example, see the conlang custom-font gloss: an invented language in its own script, glossed with morpheme labels, an IPA tier, and an English translation. The steps below explain how to build the same thing.
Why gloss your conlang
A gloss documents how your morphology works, so a reader on a forum or in your own grammar can see what each affix does. It also keeps you honest: when you write out the morphemes and their labels, gaps and inconsistencies in the grammar show up. The same gloss doubles as a teaching aid when you introduce the language to other people.
The same three lines apply
Stack the source line in your language, a gloss line under it, and a free translation below. Mark morpheme boundaries with a hyphen and keep the hyphen counts equal between the source and the gloss. If a single morpheme needs two English words, join them with a period, as the Leipzig rules describe. The Lojban example shows a constructed language glossed this way.
Choose and document your labels
Reuse standard labels wherever your language has a familiar category: NOM, ACC, PST, PL, and the rest. Start from the glossing abbreviations cheat sheet. When your language has a category the standard set does not cover, invent a short label in the same style and list it once so readers can follow. Consistency matters more than picking the perfect tag.
Custom script and font
If your conlang uses an invented script or characters a default font lacks, upload a font file under Settings → Fonts and set it per line. The source line can carry your script while the gloss and translation stay in a readable Latin font. This is the part that markup tools handle poorly, and a visual editor makes it routine. The custom-font example shows a constructed language in its own alphabet.
Add an IPA tier
Many conlang glosses add a pronunciation line in IPA between the source and the gloss. Add it as another line, then hide the connectors between the source, IPA, and gloss so the block reads as one unit and links only point to the translation. The Turkish IPA example shows that four-line layout.
Export and share
Export the finished gloss as PNG or SVG for a wiki or a post, or as PDF for a printed grammar. You can also copy a share link that encodes the whole layout, so anyone who opens it sees the same diagram. For r/conlangs and similar venues, an exported image reads better than retyped plain text.