Palindromic words

Main article: Palindrome

This article lists examples of single-word palindromes in a variety of different languages. For multi-word palindromes see Palindromic phrases''.

Within each section words are sorted by length (longest first). Words of the same length are sorted alphabetically.

English

This list includes some proper names, hyphenated words and archaic words, as well as some names and words of foreign origin. The primary criterion for inclusion here is that the word is listed in one or more of the dictionaries or encyclopedias referenced by the OneLook dictionary search. However, some entries have been included on the basis of plausible evidence from other websites, or the application of living prefixes or suffixes (such as -er, meaning agent). Surnames are excluded. Some place names have also been omitted on the grounds of being too obscure.

12 letters

tattarrattat – the longest palindrome in the Oxford English Dictionary, coined by James Joyce in Ulysses for a knock on the door

11 letters

aibohphobia – a joke word meaning "fear of palindromes", deliberately constructed so as to be one
detartrated – past tense of to detartrate, a chemical term meaning to remove tartrates; alternatively an adjective indicating that tartrates have indeed been removed (this is the longest English palindrome in the Guinness Book of Records, though it is not listed in dictionaries and is rarely, if ever, encountered in the wild)
kinnikinnik – variant of kinnikinnick, a Native American smoking mixture

9 letters

evitative – a grammatical case indicating fear or aversion
Malayalam – a language spoken in Kerala, India
redivider – someone or something that redivides (tied for longest 'real' palindrome that is not a proper noun & appears in English dictionaries)
releveler – someone or something that levels again (tied for longest 'real' palindrome that is not a proper noun & appears in English dictionaries)
Rotavator – a type of machine for breaking up soil (trademark)

7 letters

Adinida – a suborder of planktonic organisms
Akasaka – an area of Tokyo
deified – past tense of to deify, meaning to consider as a god
Hagigah
Glenelg – a number of towns around the world
halalah – a variant of halala, a monetary unit of Saudi Arabia
Hamamah – a town in Saudi Arabia
Hararah – an Egyptian town
murdrum – in old English law, a secret killing
Nauruan – the language spoken in Nauru
peeweep – a type of bird, often understood to be a lapwing
racecar – a racing car
reifier – someone who reifies (considers an abstract concept to be real)
repaper – to cover again with paper
reviver – someone or something that revives or restores
rotator – a thing that rotates
seities – plural of seity, the essence of an individual
sememes – plural of sememe, the interpretation given to a morpheme (a language unit)
Senones – an ancient people who lived in part of what is now France
soosoos – plural of soosoo, a type of dolphin

6 letters

denned – past tense of to den, meaning to live in a den
Ele'ele – in Polynesian mythology, the first woman
Eleele – a Hawaiian town
hallah – a variant of challah, a type of bread traditionally eaten by Jews
Hannah – a girl's name
mallam – in West Africa, a learned man
marram – a type of grass
pip-pip – an old-fashioned British word for goodbye
pullup – a variant of pull-up, an exercise in which one pulls oneself up by the arms
redder – more red
renner – an archaic variant of runner
revver – someone or something that revs (an engine)
selles – plural of selle, an archaic word for a saddle
Serres – a city in Greece; any of various other places
sesses – plural or third-person present tense of sess, an archaic word for tax (a variant of assess)
succus – any of various liquids excreted by animals or plants
terret – a metal ring on a harness, through which the reins pass
Tippit – a leading VoIP news company
tirrit – according to Webster's Dictionary (1913): "A word from the vocabulary of Mrs. Quickly, the hostess in Shakespeare's Henry IV., probably meaning terror"
Tumut – a large town southwest of New South Wales, Australia, Earth. Also home of Visy Pulp and Paper, Tumut.
tut-tut – a disapproving sound; to make such a sound

5 letters

Aeaea – a location in Greek mythology
Aiaia – variant of Aeaea (q.v.)
alala – a type of Hawaiian crow
alula – a structure forming part of a bird's wing
Anona – a genus of plants
Ardra – a Hindu goddess
arara – a type of Australian cockatoo
Capac – a town in Michigan, USA
civic – relating to a city
deked – past tense of to deke, meaning to deceive (especially in ice hockey)
deled – past tense of to dele, meaning to delete (a passage of text)
dered – past tense of to dere, an archaic word meaning to harm
dewed – past tense of to dew, meaning to cover with dew
Hamah – variant of Hama, a city in Syria
Igigi – a class of Sumerian gods
kaiak – variant of kayak
Kanak – a native of New Caledonia
kayak – a light Inuit canoe
Kazak – a member of a people inhabiting the central Asian republic of Kazakhstan; their language
kelek – a type of raft used in the Middle East
Kodok – a town in Sudan
Laval – a city in Quebec
level – various common meanings
Liril – a cosmetic soap popular in India
madam – a polite form of address for a woman
minim – a musical note having half the duration of a full note
Navan – the administrative capital of Co. Meath, Ireland
neven – "To name; to mention; to utter. ^*" (definition from Webster's Dictionary, 1913)
Noyon – a town in France
Oruro – a city in Bolivia
put-up – deceitful, as in a put-up job
radar – a method of detecting objects using radio waves (acronym from Radio Detection And Ranging, so it's self-defining too - i. e., the word "bounces back" like a radar signal)
refer – various common meanings
rotor – something that rotates
sagas – plural of saga, a long narrative story
semes – plural of seme, a linguistic element
seres – plural of sere, a series of stages of ecological development
sexes – plural of sex
shahs – plural of shah, a former name for the king of Iran
Sinis – variant of Siris (q.v.)
siris – a type of tree; (with cap.) a figure in Greek mythology
solos – plural of solo
stats – contraction of statistics
stets – third-person present tense of to stet, meaning to indicate that a passage of text should remain unchanged
stots – third-person present tense of to stot, meaning to leap or bounce
sulus – plural of sulu, a type of sarong
Susus – plural of Susu, a member of a West African people
Tebet – the fourth month of the Jewish civil year
Tevet – variant of Tebet (q.v.)
tenet – a belief or principle
torot – see [http://orion.mscc.huji.ac.il/symposiums/3rd/papers/Hempel98.html
Xanax – an anti-anxiety drug (trademark)
xenex – the sword wielded by Xenophon.

4 letters

Abba – a title given to a bishop in various Middle Eastern and African Christian churches; a Swedish pop goup
acca – see ^*
adda – a type of lizard; see ^*; (with cap.) a river in Italy
affa – "A weight used on the Guinea coast, equal to an ounce" (definition from Webster's Dictionary, 1828)
alla – see ^*
Akka – a city in Israel; various other meanings
Amma – mother, especially in a spiritual sense
anna – an Indian coin; (with cap) a girl's name
Atta – a genus of ants
Beeb – an informal name for the BBC
boob – a blunder; a breast
deed – various common meanings
Elle – a girl's name
esse – existence or essence
goog – an egg (Australian slang)
immi – a Swiss unit of volume
keek – to peep
kook – a crazy person
maam – variant of ma'am, a contraction of madam
naan – a type of Indian bread
noon – midday
oppo – see ^*
otto – variant of attar, an essential oil; (with cap) male name
peep – various common meanings
poop – a raised deck at the stern of a ship; various other meanings
sees – third-person present tense of to see
toot – the sound made by a horn or whistle

3 letters

aba – a fabric woven of the hair of camels or goats
aga – title for a civil or military leader, especially in Turkey
aha – used to express surprise, pleasure or triumph
aka – 'also known as'
ala – a wing or winglike structure or part
ama – a housemaid, especially a wet nurse, in India and the Far East
ana – a collection of various materials that reflect the character of a person or place, e.g. 'early 1900's Americana'
ava – a species of Macropiper (M. methysticum), the long pepper, from the root of which an intoxicating beverage is made by the Polynesians
awa – UNKNOWN - Scrabble Dictionary (US)
bib – a piece of cloth or plastic secured under the chin and worn, especially by small children, to protect the clothing while eating
bob – to float on thr surface of water (also a common man's name)
bub – used as a term of familiar address, especially for a man or boy ('See you around, bub.')
dad – father
did – past tense of 'do'
dud – something that doesn't work or succeed
eme – a distinctive unit of linguistic structure
ere –' before'
eve – period immediately preceding a certain event
ewe – female sheep
eye – organ used to see with
gag – something forced into or put over the mouth to prevent speaking or crying out; the act or an instance of gagging or choking
gig – a music event; also, a light 2-wheeled carriage
gog – roof, covering
hah – variation of 'Ha!'
heh – used to express contempt; also, part of a snigger 'heh-heh'
huh – used to express interrogation, surprise, contempt or indifference
lol – 'laughing out loud'; also, 'lots of love' (chat/email)
mem – the 13th letter of the Hebrew alphabet
mom – mother (US)
mum – mother
nan – variation of 'nanny'
non – prefix meaning 'not' or 'against'
nun – female clergy
oho – used to express surprise, comprehension, or mock astonishment
omo – prefix; shoulder: omohyoid; also, a brand of washing powder sometimes used as the generic term for all washing powder
ono – 'grief or strength or iniquity of him' (Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary)
oxo – oxime; also, a brand of stock cubes for cooking with
pap – (midland US) a teat or nipple
pep – energy and high spirits
pip – seed; also, to get the better of
pop – cola; also, to burst
pup – variation of 'puppy'
tat – tattoo
tit – small bird (UK)
tot – a small child; also, a small quantity of liquid
tut – used to express annoyance, impatience or mild reproof ('Tut, tut, child!')
vav – the sixth letter of the Hebrew alphabet
waw – variation of 'vav'
wow – used to express amazement
yay – used to express happiness/delight

2 letters

aa – lava having a rough surface (pron. a'a')
ee – an extinct Hawaiian bird (pron. e'e')
mm – used to express satisfaction
oo – a rare Hawaiian bird (pronounced "oh-oh"); also a Scottish word for "wool"; also 'one' (obs. Chaucer English)

TOTAL: 185

Arabic

تُوْت tuut (consonant letters t-w-t) – "mulberry"
خَوْخ khawkh (consonant letters kh-w-kh) – "peach"
لَيْل layl (consonant letters l-y-l) – "night"

The Arabic word for Libya ليبيا looks the same when viewed in a mirror (though it is not a palindrome by letters).

Bulgarian

недоходен (9 letters): "unprofitable"
незапазен: "unpreserved"
ненаранен: "unhurt"
непотопен: "unsunk"
атаката (7): "the attack"
етиките: "the ethics"
етилите: "the ethyls"
навиван: "rolled"
напипан: "found by touching"
откакто: "since"
шавваш (6): "you stir for a while"
довод (5): "argument"
доход: "income"
казак: "Cossack"
капак: "lid"
кибик: "kibitzer"
лапал: "one who has gobbled"
лишил: "one who has deprived someone of something"
махам: "to wave"
мацам: "to stain"
невен: "marigold" (Calendula officinalis)
нежен: "tender"
потоп: "flood"
радар: "radar"
ревер: "lapel"
рефер: "referee"
ротор: "rotor"
тачат: "they hold in respect"
тъчът: "the touch" (football)
хаках: "I have banged"
хапах: "I have bitten"
хилих: "I have laughed"
шаваш: "you stir"
шириш: "you are living in a wide space"
леел (4): "one who has moulded"

Croatian

kisik: "oxygen"
Krk: a Croatian island
oko: "eye"
Ana voli Milovana (Ana likes Milovan)
Anja voli milovanja (Anja likes pettings)
radar: "radar"
ratar: "plowman"

Dutch

Nepparterrestaalplaatserretrappen (33 letters) "fake stairways from the ground floor to the sun lounge, made of steel plate"
Koortsmeetsysteemstrook (23): "a strip of a fever measuring system" (quoted by the Guinness Book of Records as the longest one-word palindrome in Dutch)
Parterretrap (12): "stairway to the ground floor"
Meetsysteem (11): "measuring system"
Droomoord (9): "A dreamworld"
Legovogel: "a bird made of lego"
Maandnaam: "name of a month"
Nogawagon: "nougat wagon"
Lepel (5): "spoon"
Daad (4): "deed, act"
Deed: "did"
Dood: "dead"
Kaak: "jaw"
Neen: "no"
Raar: "weird"
Soos: "club"
Kak (3): "shit"
Kok: "cook"
Lal: "drunken talking"
Lel: "earlobe"
Lil: "shudder"
Lol: "fun"
Lul: "penis"
Non: "nun"
Pap: "porridge"
Pep: "zest"
Pop: "doll"
Pup: "pup, puppy"
Sas: "sluice"
Sis: "hiss"
Sus: "soothe"
Tot: "until"
Tut: "nitwit"
Ee (2): "small stream"

Estonian

Kuulilennuteetunneliluuk (24 letters): "bullet flying trajectory tunnel's hatch" (the longest one-word palindrome in Estonian)
Soomemoos (9): "Finnish jam"
munaanum (8): "egg bowl"
ujutuju (7): "swimming-mood"
Kirik (5): "church"
Emme (4): "mummy"
Issi: "daddy"

Finnish

Finnish has two 25-letter palindromes:

Saippuakuppinippukauppias: "soap cup batch trader"
Solutomaattimittaamotulos: "the measurement laboratory result for tomato cells"

Other palindromes:

Saippuakalasalakauppias (23 letters): "soapfish smuggler". While the word is grammatically correct, soapfish isn't exactly a contraband, though.
Saippuakivikauppias (19): "saippuakivi vendor" (saippuakivi is a type of stone; some argue that this is the longest palindrome that is both grammatically correct and sensible, and that could possibly be used in everyday speech)
Saippuakauppias (15): "soap vendor" (perhaps the best known Finnish palindrome; the longest single word palindrome in the world that is in everyday use)
Lammassammal (12): "sheep moss"
Taloussuolat : "household salts"
Tavuttuvat (10) "syllablizables"
Seimimies (9): "a manger man"
Taiveviat : "joint faults"
Tofu-ufot (8): "tofu ufos"
Rotator (7): (company name)
Sammas (6): "thrush"
Oivio (5): (surname)
Sokos: (company name)
Takat: "fireplaces"
Telet: "telecommunications"
Tikit: "stitches"
Tilit: "bank accounts"
Tukut: "wholesalers"
Tokot: "gobies"
Akka (4): "crone"
Alla: "below", also a Russian female name
Anna: imperative of antaa (give), also a female name
Ekke: (male name)
Emme: "we don't"
Enne: "omen"
Ette: "you don't"
Otto: "withdrawal", also a male name
Okko: (male name)
Siis: "therefore"
Syys: "autumn"
Teet: "teas"
Ämmä: "crone", also phonetics for letter M
Olo (3): "feeling"
Isi : "daddy"
Ii (2): (river and parish in Pohjanmaa)

French

Ressasser (9 letters)
Senones (7 letters): a French town; an ancient Celtic people
kayak (5)
Laval: a French town
Noyon: a French town
radar
rêver: "to dream"
rotor
sèmes
sèves
sexes
elle (4): "she"
Sées: a French town
non (3): "no"
Ici: Here

German

Lagertonnennotregal (19 letters): "emergency storage rack for barrels"
Retsinakanister (15): "retsina wine jar"
Reliefpfeiler (13): "relief depicting a pillar"
Lagerregal (10): "storage rack"
Reittier (8): "mount"
Rentner (7): "pensioner"
Hannah (6): (proper name)
Otto (4): (proper name)

Greek

Σάββας – Savvas (male name)
Σοφός – wise man
Άννα – Anna (female name)

Hebrew

ולכשתשכלו – "and when you will bereave" (the longest palindromic word in Hebrew with meaning)
לאיתיאל – (the longest palindromic word in the Bible)
סוס – horse
ישי – Yishai, David's father (male first name)
דוד – David, Yishai's son (also uncle)
נתן – Nathan or Natan, David's son

Hungarian

lakkal (6 letters): "with lacquer"
lappal: "with page"
tettet: "pretend", "make someone put something somewhere", "achievement, act, action" in accusativus
előle (5): "ahead of him"
görög: "Greek"
legel: "pasture" (the verb)
lepel: "veil"
lehel: "breathe"
Lehel: ancient Hungarian male name
lohol: "he walks/runs in a hurry"
magam: "myself"
mosom: "I wash"
rájár: "goes on it"
saras: "muddy"
sebes: "wounded" or "fast"
soros: "serial" or "the next one (in the line)"
sörös: "beery"
tavat: "lake" in accusativus
tehet: "may do", "can do"
tejet: "milk" in accusativus
telet: "winter" in accusativus
temet: "bury"
teret: "square" or "space" in accusativus
tököt: "pumpkin" in accusativus
kerek: "round" (round form)
kezek: "hands"
köbök: "cubes"
ködök: "fogs"
kölök: "kid"
konok: "obstinate"
köpök: "I spit"
körök: "rounds"
kötök: "I knit"
közök: "lanes", "intervals"
abba (4): "into that"
Anna: female name
arra: "that way"
ebbe: "into this"
enne: "he would eat"
erre: "this way"
inni: "to drink"
aha (3): "uhum"
ama: "that, yon"
apa: "father"
ara: "bride"
bab: "bean"
búb: "casque"
Ede: a male name
eke: "plow"
eme: "this"
gőg: "haughtiness", "pride"
jaj: "ouch"
juj: "ouch"
lel: "find"
pap: "priest"
púp: "hump"
sas: "eagle"
sós: "salty"
tat: "stern"
tát: "open" (one's mouth)
tét: "stake"
ürü: "ram"
vív: "he fences"
zúz: "bruise"

Indonesian

Katak: "frog"
Kodok: "toad"
Malam: "night"
Ini : "This"

Inuit

qajaq: "kayak" (also a palindrome in English and some other languages)

Italian

accavallavacca (14 letters): "cow-crosser"
Alla (4): "to the" (feminine singular)
Ebbe: "(he) had" (past historic)
Osso: "bone"
Otto: "eight"

Japanese

See also Kaibun.

Korean

기러기
기름기
다시다
별똥별
아리아
아시아
왕중왕
오디오
전면전
토마토

Latin

"Anna"-female name

Marathi (मराठी)

नवजीवन – "new life"

Norwegian

Regninger: "bills" (the longest palindromic word in Norwegian)
Leseesel: "reading donkey"

Persian

شو همدم بلبل بلب هر مهوش---

شکر بترازوی وزارت برکش

گرگ
دود

Polish

kajak: "kayak" (canoe)
ala: (female name)
anna: (female name)
oko: "eye"
sos: "sauce"

Punjabi

ਸ਼ਖ਼ਸ਼: "individual"
ਤਖਤ: "throne"
ਦਰਦ: "pain"
ਸੱਸ: "mother-in-law"
ਡੰਡ: "sit-up"
ਦੰਦ: "teeth"
ਲਾਲ: "red"

Romanian

aerisirea (9 letters), aerarea: the act of aerating or ventilating
calabalâc: "goods and chattels"
anilina (7): the aniline
apocopa: to produce an apocopation
atacata: the attacked woman
ataşata: the attached woman
elenele: the Greek women
elevele: the schoolgirls
etajate: (fem. pl.) placed in vertical columns
etalate: (fem. pl.) ostentatiously displayed
mărirăm: we increased
nauruan: inhabitant of Nauru
rolelor: to the transmission belts
rotitor, rotator: that rotates
tartrat: tartrate
caiac (5): kayak
capac: cap (as for a bottle), limit
cojoc: sheepskin coat
etate: age, era
minim: minimum
potop: downpour
rever: coat collar
soios: dirty, slimy, stained
tivit: hem sewing
uiuiu: (interjection) a joyful cry in folk dances
aba (3): thick white woolen fabric
aia: that woman
ana: type of rope used in fishing
apa: the water
aşa: so, thus, in this way
aţa: the thread
ele: they (fem. pl.)
pap: glue, paste
pop: pole, beam
sos: sauce
ţâţ: winter wren, Orphean Warbler

Russian

апокопа: "apocope"
заказ: "order"
казак: "cossack"
потоп: "flood"
радар: "radar"
ротор: "rotor"
топот: "tramping"
шалаш: "hut"
поп: "priest"

Serbian

kisik: "oxygen"
oko: "eye"
Ana voli Milovana
Anja voli milovanja
Oni vole belo vino
ratar: "plowman"

Slovene

kisik: "oxygen"
oko: "eye" (twin palindrome)
ratar: "plowman"

Spanish

Reconocer: "to recognize"
Sometemos: "we submit"
Neuquen: a city and a province in Argentina
Menem: a former president of Argentina
Somos: "we are"
Ananá: "pineapple"
Arenera: "sandbox"
Arepera: a place that sells arepas. (actually a Venezuelan colloquialism).
Ara: (he/she) plows.
Oro: gold.
Ere: The spelling out of the letter R; also the spelling out of the letters F, L, LL, M, N, Ñ, RR, S.

Swedish

Dallasmygelmadamlegymsallad (27 letters): "a wangling lady in Dallas' green salad"
Naturrutan (10): "The Nature Square" (name of a TV show)
Retsyster (9): "teasy sister"
Varggrav (8): "wolf-grave"
Gnupung (7): "antelope-scrotum"
Kivik (5): name of a small Swedish fishing village
Apa (3): "monkey"

Thai

The Thai script does not follow a linear sequence of symbols. Vowels that sound after a consonant can be written before, above, below or around that consonant. Tone and length diacritics occur only above initial consonants. The silent symbol occurs only above a final consonant in a syllable. All these characteristics make written palindromes relatively rare. A few are:

กนก (IPA ): "gold" (note: not a palindrome in speech)
กาก (IPA ): "residue"
บวบ (IPA ): "loufah" (note: not a palindrome in speech)
บอบ (IPA ): "frail"
นาน (IPA ): "long"
นอน (IPA ): "sleep"
กก (IPA ): "base", "cuddle up"

Võro

hämähämäh (9 letters): "dip, water, plunge (inessive case)"
nälävälän: "in field of hunger"
miiliim (7): "honey drink"
sütütüs: "therapy"
jallaj (6): "elm"
süvvüs: "depth"
hõpõh (5): "in silver"
nälän: "in hunger"
süküs: "autumn"

Lists of words

Gourt Home::Gourt :: Palindromic words

English

Japanese

Korean