How it works
These words that spell words upside down were found by rule, not from memory: each was turned half round and kept only when a word list knows the result. Tap one to copy it as it looks turned over.
Read the full guide
The letter table
Turned half round, some letters become other letters. Exact pairs in small letters: b and q, d and p, n and u, while l, o, s, x and z stay themselves. In capitals H, I, N, O, S, X and Z stay, and M swaps with W. Near pairs: m and w, h and y, a and e, and i with its dot underneath.
Calculator words
On a seven-segment display read upside down, 0 is O, 1 is I, 2 is Z, 3 is E, 4 is h, 5 is S, 6 is g, 7 is L, 8 is B and 9 is G. Type the number, turn the calculator over and read the word.
- A word ending in o gives a number starting with 0, so it needs a decimal point: 0.7734, not 07734.
- Capitals and small letters turn differently. NOON holds in capitals. In small letters it turns into uoou.
- A turned line can show empty boxes on a device with no font for ɐ, ǝ or ʍ. The exact entries use plain letters only.
Questions and answers
What words spell another word upside down?
MOM turns into WOW, NO into ON and WHO into OHM, letter for letter. With near shapes allowed, wool turns into loom, leap into deal and sumo into owns.
Which words are the same upside down?
NOON, SWIMS, MOW and SIS in capitals, and dollop, solos, suns and pod in small letters. Those are exact. Words such as passed and yeah hold only if a turned a may pass for an e.
How do you write hello upside down on a calculator?
Type 0.7734 and turn the calculator over. Read from the far end: 4 is h, 3 is E, each 7 is L and 0 is O. Wikipedia's article on calculator spelling notes 0.1134 as another way to write it.
What decides that something is a word here?
The ENABLE word list, 173,528 English words that its makers released into the public domain. A turned word is listed only when ENABLE holds it, and rude ones are left out.