TranspositionDifficulty: Easy
Reverse text
The simplest transposition: the letters stay, you just read them backwards - the whole text, word by word, or as a pyramid.
Try it
27 characters
Result · Reverse text
bulc eht rof egassem terceS
How it works
- 1Pick a mode: whole text, word by word, or pyramid.
- 2Whole text: write the message backwards, from the last character to the first. HELLO WORLD becomes DLROW OLLEH.
- 3Word by word: flip each word in place and keep the word order. HELLO WORLD becomes OLLEH DLROW.
- 4Pyramid: remove the spaces, split the letters into rows of 1, 2, 3, 4… characters and flip every row.
- 5Decoding works the same way: flip the whole text or the words again; for the pyramid flip each row separately.
Example
Hello world
dlrow olleH
Did you know
Reversing is a transposition: the letters are not replaced, only reordered, so accents and capitals survive untouched. It is a classic opener in scout and camp cipher games, often the first cipher in a series.
Try to decode
This message is encrypted with Reverse text using the default settings:
EGDIRB DLO EHT TA EM TEEM
Hint
The message is written backwards. Start reading from the last letter.
Show solution
MEET ME AT THE OLD BRIDGE
More ciphers in this category
- Rail fence cipherWrite the message in a zigzag across several fence rails, then read it off rail by rail. Tidy text turns into apparent chaos.
- Skip cipher (every N-th letter)Letters are stored at every N-th position, and after reaching the end you start again from the second slot. A scrambled text that hides your message.
- Grid cipherWrite the text into a square grid along diagonals, a spiral or a zigzag, then read it row by row. The letters only change places.
- Columnar transpositionWrite the message in rows under a keyword and read it off by columns in the alphabetical order of the key letters.