Midjourney

Midjourney Text in Images Wrong — How to Fix Garbled or Misspelled Text

When you ask Midjourney to render text inside an image, the result is often misspelled, distorted, or completely unreadable. This is one of the most commonly reported frustrations among designers and content creators using Midjourney. The issue stems from how AI image models process language visually rather than linguistically, making accurate text rendering a persistent challenge.

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Why does this error happen?

Midjourney, like most diffusion-based image generation models, does not 'write' text the way a word processor does — instead, it predicts pixel patterns that statistically resemble text based on its training data. The model has no true understanding of spelling or typography; it generates shapes that look like letters without guaranteeing they form real words. This means longer phrases, complex fonts, or stylized text requests are especially prone to producing garbled, fused, or entirely fabricated characters. Midjourney v6 introduced improved text rendering by incorporating more text-aware training, but even v6 is not fully reliable for multi-word or sentence-length strings.

How to fix it

1

Use Short Words Only (1–2 Words Per Text Element)

Limit each text element in your prompt to one or two simple, common words. The shorter and more familiar the word, the higher the probability the model will render it correctly. Avoid punctuation, numbers mixed with letters, or rare vocabulary, as these dramatically increase the chance of garbled output.

2

Add 'Legible Text, Correct Spelling' to Your Prompt

Explicitly instruct Midjourney to prioritize readability by appending phrases like 'legible text, correct spelling, clean typography' to your prompt. While this does not guarantee perfect results, it biases the model's output toward cleaner letter forms. Combine this with a negative prompt using '--no distorted text, blurry letters' for better control.

3

Switch to Midjourney v6 for Better Text Support

Midjourney v6 offers significantly improved text rendering compared to earlier versions and is the recommended model when in-image text is a requirement. Append '--v 6' to your prompt to activate this version. Even with v6, keep text short and test multiple generations using the variation tools to find the most accurate output.

4

Use Photoshop or Canva to Add Text Post-Generation

For professional or production-ready results, generate the image without any text and add typography afterward using a tool like Adobe Photoshop, Canva, or Figma. This approach gives you full control over font choice, spacing, and spelling accuracy. Export the Midjourney image, place it as a background layer, and overlay your text using your preferred design tool.

Pro tip

Always generate your base image without text first, then use a dedicated design tool to add text overlays. This workflow guarantees spelling accuracy, gives you font flexibility, and saves time re-generating images hoping the AI gets the letters right.

Frequently asked questions

Does Midjourney v6 fully fix the text rendering problem?
Midjourney v6 significantly improves text accuracy but does not completely eliminate garbled output, especially for longer phrases or stylized fonts. For guaranteed correct spelling, adding text in post-production is still the most reliable method.
Can I use quotation marks in my prompt to specify exact text?
Yes, placing your desired text in quotation marks within the prompt (e.g., a sign that says "OPEN") can help Midjourney understand what text to render. This works best in v6 with short, common words and simple font styles.
Why does Midjourney sometimes invent random letters or symbols?
The model generates pixel patterns that resemble text rather than actually spelling words, so it can produce plausible-looking but meaningless character combinations. This is an inherent limitation of diffusion models that are not natively designed as text rendering engines.
Are there AI image tools better than Midjourney for in-image text?
Adobe Firefly and DALL-E 3 (via ChatGPT) tend to handle short in-image text more reliably than earlier Midjourney versions. However, for complex or lengthy text, post-production editing in Photoshop or Canva remains the gold standard.

Upgrade to Midjourney Pro for access to v6 and faster generations to perfect your text-in-image results.

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