You probably know what a palindrome is. Most people do. It’s that basic "Racecar" or "Kayak" party trick where the word stays the same whether you read it left-to-right or right-to-left. But there is a much weirder, more linguistically playful cousin to the palindrome that doesn't get nearly enough credit. These are semordnilaps, or words that spell other words backwards.
Look at the word itself. Semordnilap. It is literally "palindromes" spelled in reverse.
It’s a clever bit of wordplay, though it isn't quite as ancient as the Latin Sator Square or other classic linguistic puzzles. The term was actually coined much more recently. You’ll find mentions of it in Martin Gardner’s "Mathematical Games" column for Scientific American back in the 1960s, though some word nerds trace the concept of "reversal pairs" much further back into the history of recreational linguistics. It is basically the ultimate "wait, let me see that" moment for anyone who likes puns or crosswords.
The Logic of Reversals
Why do some words do this while others just turn into a jumble of unpronounceable consonants? It’s mostly luck. English is a Germanic language that swallowed a French dictionary and then spent centuries stealing from Latin and Greek. Because our spelling is so chaotic, we have these strange clusters of letters that happen to be phonetically viable in both directions.
💡 You might also like: Short Funky Female Hairstyles: Why Your Stylist Might Be Playing It Too Safe
Take the word stressed. It’s a common enough feeling. But flip it around and you get desserts. There is something poetic about that, right? It feels like a secret message from the universe. If you are stressed, you need cake. It is one of the most famous semordnilaps because both words are long, common, and emotionally connected.
Then you have the shorter, punchier ones. Gulp becomes plug. Draw becomes ward. Diaper becomes repaid. That last one is a bit of a classic among new parents who feel like they are definitely not being repaid for their labor in anything other than more diapers.
Famous Semordnilaps You Use Every Day
Most of the time, we use these words without realizing they have a secret identity.
- Reward and Drawer: This is a high-tier reversal. Both are six letters long and incredibly common. You open a drawer to find a reward.
- Live and Evil: This one has been used in gothic literature and heavy metal lyrics for decades. It's a classic "dark side" flip.
- Gateman and Nametag: This is a rarer, more specific example. It’s almost a compound word reversal, which makes it feel much more intentional, even if it’s just a fluke of the English language.
- Smart and Trams: If you’re in a city like Melbourne or Prague, you’re taking a tram. If you’re smart, you probably didn't miss your stop.
- Stop and Pots: Simple. Clean. Effective.
Honestly, the list is longer than you’d think. There are hundreds of these things buried in the dictionary. Some are obscure—like spat becoming taps—and others are so common we stop seeing the letters as individual units.
Semordnilaps vs. Palindromes: The Big Difference
People get these confused constantly. It’s annoying.
A palindrome is a mirror. It reflects itself. Think level, noon, or radar. If you stand a palindrome in front of a mirror, it doesn’t change its meaning. It is a closed loop.
A semordnilap is a transformation. It is one thing going in and a completely different thing coming out. It’s more like a revolving door. You enter as denier and come out as reined. The change in meaning is what makes them interesting to writers and puzzle creators. They allow for puns that palindromes just can’t touch.
There are also anamonograms, which are a whole different beast involving anagrams, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Stick to the reversals. They are easier to wrap your head around at 2:00 AM when you're staring at a bowl of alphabet soup.
Why Do We Care?
Is this just useless trivia? Kinda. But it also tells us a lot about how our brains process language.
We don’t read letter by letter. We read in "chunks." This is why you can read a sentence where all the middle letters of the words are scrambled as long as the first and last letters stay the same. Because our brains are so good at pattern recognition, we often miss the fact that deliver spells reviled. We are looking for the meaning of the word "deliver" in the context of a pizza or a speech, not the geometric possibilities of its components.
Linguists like Dmitri Borgmann, who wrote the legendary book Language on Vacation, obsessed over these patterns. He called them "reversals" or "antigrams" depending on the context. For people like Borgmann, the English language wasn't just a tool for communication; it was a giant LEGO set. You could pull it apart and put it back together in ways the original "architects" never intended.
Semordnilaps in Pop Culture and Places
You see this stuff in fiction all the time. Writers love a hidden-in-plain-sight name.
In the world of Disney, the sorcerer in Fantasia is named Yen Sid. Reverse it. It’s Disney.
In the Pokémon franchise, the snake-like creature Ekans is just Snake backwards. Its evolution, Arbok, is Kobra (with a 'k'). It’s not subtle, but it works perfectly for a kid's game. It gives the player a little "aha!" moment once they realize the pattern.
There is also the fictional land of Erewhon from Samuel Butler’s 1872 novel. It’s almost "nowhere" spelled backwards. Butler had to fudge the 'w' and 'h' a little bit to make it pronounceable, but the intent was clear. He wanted a place that was the reverse of Victorian society.
Even in geography, we see this. Lana’i in Hawaii? Not a semordnilap. But Adanac Park in Vancouver? That’s just Canada backwards. Usually, when you see a place name that looks a bit "off," there’s a good chance some cheeky developer just flipped a common word to make it sound exotic or unique.
How to Find Your Own
If you want to find these, you have to train your eyes to stop reading for meaning and start reading for shapes.
- Look at word endings. Words ending in "s" are often candidates because the "s" will become the starting letter. That’s how we get swops and spows (okay, that one isn't a word, but you get the idea).
- Focus on consonants. Words with a lot of vowels, like queue, are terrible for this. You want words with a solid mix, like denim (mined).
- Think about verbs. Action words often flip into nouns. Step becomes pets. Flow becomes wolf.
It’s a fun mental exercise. It’s basically Sudoku but with the alphabet.
The Weirdest Ones You’ve Never Heard Of
While stressed/desserts is the king of the mountain, there are some truly bizarre ones that only word nerds usually know.
- Decals and Slaced: Wait, slaced isn't a word? Actually, it is an archaic term, but it’s a stretch. Let's try dog and god. Classic.
- Pans and Snap: Useful in the kitchen.
- Gulp and Plug: Useful in plumbing.
- Lived and Devil: Another one for the poets.
- Edam and Made: Because everyone loves Dutch cheese.
Some people try to force long ones that don't quite work. You might see people claim that "Snoops" and "Spoons" are semordnilaps. They aren't. Flip "Snoops" and you get "Spoons." Wait—actually, that one works perfectly. See? It's easy to second-guess yourself once you start looking at words as strings of data rather than vessels of meaning.
Limits of the English Language
English has about 170,000 words in current use. Only a tiny fraction of these are semordnilaps.
The reason is phonotactics. These are the rules about which sounds can follow other sounds. In English, we don’t mind the "st" sound at the start of a word (like star). But if you reverse a word that ends in "ts" (like cats), you get "stac," which isn't a word. The "mirror" version of English sounds often violates the rules of how we actually speak.
✨ Don't miss: The Symbol of the Shamrock: Why Most People Get It Mixed Up With a Four-Leaf Clover
This is why most semordnilaps are short. The longer a word gets, the statistically less likely it is that its reverse will follow English phonotactic rules. To get a seven-letter reversal like deliver/reviled, you basically need a linguistic miracle.
Putting This Knowledge to Use
So, what do you do with this?
If you're a writer, use them for foreshadowing. Name a character something that reveals their true nature when flipped. If you're a parent, name the toy box something that flips to "fun" (okay, that doesn't work, but you get the point). If you're just a person who likes being the smartest one at the dinner table, drop the term semordnilap next time someone points out a palindrome.
It’s a small, harmless way to appreciate the sheer weirdness of the language we speak every day. English isn't just a way to ask where the bathroom is; it's a playground.
Next Steps for Word Lovers:
Check your own name. Is it a semordnilap? If your name is Aidan, you are Nadia backwards. If your name is Noel, you are Leon.
🔗 Read more: Why Just Cream Ice Cream Boutique is Changing How We Think About Dessert
Grab a piece of paper and try to write a sentence where every word is a semordnilap. It’s incredibly difficult. "Wolf lived" (Devil flow) is about as close as most people get before their brain starts to hurt. Try scanning signs while you're driving or walking. Look for "Stop" signs and think "Pots." Look for "Market" and realize it doesn't spell anything backwards, and then feel a strange sense of disappointment. That disappointment is the first sign that you've officially become a word nerd. Welcome to the club.