You cannot open STBL files with Notepad. They are compiled binaries. You will need specialized Sims 4 modding tools:
Note for Mac Users: Sims 4 Studio runs on Mac via WINE (though natively is difficult). Most advanced string editing is done on PC.
.package, put in Mods.Every Sims 4 player knows “Sul Sul” (hello) and “Dag Dag” (goodbye). But behind these playful sounds lies one of gaming’s most underrated linguistic achievements: a structured, emotive, and surprisingly consistent fictional language built entirely from string tables.
Introduce the idea that the game’s dialogue isn’t random—it’s procedurally assembled from thousands of pre-recorded sound clips mapped to emotional states, actions, and social interactions. The “strings” are the text labels and triggers developers use to call the right audio.
Language strings are text entries that appear in the game’s UI, notifications, item names, descriptions, dialogue options, etc.
They are stored in .stbl (String Table) files – one per supported language.
Each string has:
Want to rename "Bored" to "Meh"? Or change "Get A Glass of Water" to "Hydrate"? By extracting the game’s master STBL files (located in Data -> Client -> Strings), you can override specific strings to rename in-game actions without changing gameplay mechanics.