Mirror text generator

A mirror does two things to a word: it reverses the order of the letters and flips the shape of each one. The generator copies both steps. It writes your text backwards, then replaces every letter that isn’t symmetrical with the closest mirrored shape it can find. Letters that look the same in a mirror, such as A, H, M, O, T, V, W, X and lowercase i, l, o, v, w and x, stay as they are.

Some characters have no mirrored twin to borrow, so the generator settles for something close or leaves them alone. Check for these before you post:

• h becomes ʜ, a small capital H. It has no direction to flip, so it passes in a line but looks different up close.
• Z and z stay as they are, so their diagonal still runs the normal way.
• Q turns into Ọ, an O with a dot under it standing in for the tail, and g, j and y borrow ϱ, į and γ from Greek and Latin.
• Numbers keep their shape but swap places: 2026 comes out as 6202, and “Open 9 to 5” becomes “5 oƚ 9 nɘqO”, so a date or phone number turns into a different one.
• Emoji made of several parts break apart. A thumbs-up with a skin tone, 👍🏽, comes out as a lone colour swatch followed by a yellow 👍.

Tip: Mirror the words first, then add emoji and any numbers that matter in normal text after you paste.

A mirror flips a line from left to right. Upside-down text turns it half a circle, which reverses the order as well but also flips every letter top to bottom, so it needs a different set of stand-ins, such as ɐ for a and ɥ for h. Hold mirror text up to a mirror, or turn your phone round for upside-down text, and each one reads normally.

Plain backwards text, like olleh for hello, is a third option. It only changes the order, so it uses ordinary letters and works anywhere plain text does, even in a username if the name is free.

Mirror writing has everyday jobs. Many ambulances carry the word AMBULANCE reversed across the front, so drivers ahead read it the right way round in their rear-view mirrors. Iron-on transfer paper that goes face down onto fabric has to be printed mirrored, or the design comes out backwards.

Those jobs need a true reflection of every stroke, which look-alike characters can’t give. Flip the real text instead:

• In Microsoft Word, put the text in a text box, open Format Shape, go to Effects and set the 3-D Rotation X value to 180°.
• Many printers’ settings screens have a mirror image or flip horizontal option, meant for transfer paper.
• In a photo or design app, save the design as an image and flip it horizontally before you print.

Phones play the same trick with the front camera. The preview behaves like a mirror, so the slogan on your T-shirt looks backwards while you line up a selfie, even though the saved photo may read normally.

Mirror text is a small puzzle by design, and that cuts both ways. Readers have to decode it, search can’t match it to anything, and a screen reader meets letters from several scripts in reverse order. Depending on the reader, it may spell them out, read nonsense or skip what it can’t name.

• Use it for a short line people can enjoy working out, not for dates, prices or instructions.
• Put the real message in plain text next to it, so nobody misses the point.
• Leave it out of your name if you want to be found: nobody searches for ɘmɒИ.