What is mirror text?
Mirror text is writing flipped left to right, so it reads normally when you hold it up to a mirror. Two things change at once: the order of the letters runs from right to left, and each letter faces the other way. "Hello" becomes "ollɘH". This generator does both, using Unicode lookalike characters for the flipped letters, so the result is real text you can paste anywhere.
Most online tools only do the first half. They reverse the order and leave the letters facing forwards, which gives you backwards text rather than a mirror image. Both are useful, so this page shows them as separate rows, with upside-down text as the third option people often mean.
What's the difference between mirror, backwards and upside-down text?
- Mirror image (ɿoɿɿim). Letters flipped and order reversed. Reads correctly in a mirror. This is what's painted on the front of ambulances.
- Backwards (sdrawkcab). Only the order reversed. Every letter still faces the normal way. Good for puzzles and "read this backwards" jokes.
- Upside down (uʍop ǝpᴉsdn). Letters rotated half a turn. It reads correctly if you turn your phone over. The upside down text generator has more on that one.
Which letters can be mirrored?
All of them, in one of two ways. Symmetric letters like A, H, I, M, O, T, U, V, W, X, Y, i, l, m, o, v, w and x look the same in a mirror, so they stay as they are. The rest are swapped for a flipped lookalike: b becomes d, e becomes ɘ, R becomes Я, N becomes И, S becomes Ƨ, and so on. Brackets swap too, so ( becomes ).
The lookalikes come from other alphabets, including phonetic symbols, Cyrillic and Latin extensions. That's why a few of them can look slightly heavier, lighter or smaller than the letters around them, depending on the font your app uses. Numbers are the weak spot. Only 3 and 7 have a convincing flipped form, so the other digits stay as they are.
Why is AMBULANCE written backwards?
So drivers can read it in their rear-view mirror. The word is painted as a mirror image on the front of the vehicle, and a mirror flips it back to normal. It's the best-known real use of mirror writing, and it's a good way to test this tool: type AMBULANCE, copy the mirror row and hold your screen up to a mirror.
Mirror writing has a longer history too. Leonardo da Vinci filled his notebooks with it, writing right to left with each letter reversed. Nobody knows for certain why. He was left-handed, and writing that way avoids smudging wet ink, which is the most common explanation.
Backwards text reverses the order. Mirror text reverses the order and flips every letter.
What can I use mirror text for?
- Names and bios. A mirrored name looks unusual enough to make people stop and work it out.
- Secret messages. A note that only makes sense to someone who thinks to use a mirror, or a phone's selfie camera.
- Puzzles and treasure hunts. Mirror clues are a classic for kids' parties and escape-room style games.
- Stickers and prints. Text that needs to read correctly through glass, like a sign stuck to the inside of a window, has to be mirrored first.
One caution: screen readers read the lookalike characters by their real names, so mirrored text is gibberish to anyone listening. Keep important information in plain text.