How do you solve Goat Latin on LeetCode?

Goat Latin (LeetCode #824) can be solved using Brute Force or Optimal Solution. The optimal approach is Optimal Solution with O(n) time complexity and O(n) space complexity. Key insight: Understanding string manipulation is crucial for this problem.

What is the brute force solution for Goat Latin?

The brute force approach for Goat Latin is Brute Force, with O(n²) time complexity and O(1) space complexity. The brute force approach involves processing each word in the sentence individually and applying the Goat Latin rules directly. This method is straightforward but can be inefficient due to repeated string operations. The optimal Optimal Solution approach improves this to O(n).

What algorithm or data structure is used to solve Goat Latin?

Goat Latin uses the following concepts: String. The recommended patterns to study are: String Manipulation, Array Processing.

What are the interview tips for Goat Latin?

Always clarify the problem statement and constraints before jumping into coding. Think aloud to show your thought process, especially when dealing with string manipulations. Test your code with edge cases, such as single-word sentences or all consonants.

What are common mistakes when solving Goat Latin?

Failing to handle both uppercase and lowercase vowels correctly. Not accounting for the correct number of 'a's based on the index.

#824

Goat Latin

Easy

StringString ManipulationArray Processing

LeetCode ↗

Approaches

Brute ForceOptimal

Complexity Comparison

	Brute Force	Optimal Solution★
Time	O(n²)	O(n)
Space	O(1)	O(n)

💡

Intuition

Time O(n)Space O(n)

The optimal solution processes each word in a single pass, applying the transformations directly while building the result. This reduces unnecessary string operations and improves efficiency.

⚙️

Algorithm

5 steps

1Step 1: Split the sentence into words using spaces.
2Step 2: Initialize a list to hold the transformed words.
3Step 3: For each word, check if it starts with a vowel or consonant and apply the respective transformation.
4Step 4: Append the appropriate number of 'a's based on the word's index.
5Step 5: Join the transformed words into a single string and return it.

solution.py15 lines

1def toGoatLatin(sentence):
2    words = sentence.split()
3    result = []
4    vowels = 'aeiouAEIOU'
5    for i, word in enumerate(words):
6        if word[0] in vowels:
7            transformed = word + 'ma'
8        else:
9            transformed = word[1:] + word[0] + 'ma'
10        transformed += 'a' * (i + 1)
11        result.append(transformed)
12    return ' '.join(result)
13
14# Example usage
15print(toGoatLatin('I speak Goat Latin'))

ℹ

Complexity note: The time complexity is O(n) since we process each character in the sentence exactly once. The space complexity is O(n) due to the storage of the transformed words.

1Understanding string manipulation is crucial for this problem.
2Recognizing patterns in word transformations can simplify the implementation.

Solutions and explanations are original Tejav content. Problem titles © LeetCode — use the LeetCode button above for the full problem statement.