The ancient Greeks invented many word games. Anagrams reorder letters, metagrams only differ by one letter, and the pangram compiler has to use all the letters of the alphabet exactly once. The names of these games refer to the Greek word gramma, meaning letter. The king of playing with words is the palindrome – it can be read letter by letter in the same way and backwards.
Palindromes (also known as mirror sentences) used to be magical and religious. The ancients wrote palindromes on stone tablets. Archaeologists found such tablets in Italy and England. A joking legend says that Adam in Paradise introduced himself to Eve with a palindrome:
madam, i’m adam
Usually, palindromes cannot be translated into another language so that they become a palimpressedgain.
PORTUGUESE
“A base do teto desaba” (The base of the roof collapses) –
“Erro comum ocorre” (Common mistakes happen).
FRENCH
Engage le jeu que je le gagne – (Start the game so that I may win.)
Eh, ça va, la vache? – (And how is the cow?)
Et la marine va, papa, venir à Malte – (And the Navy, Dad, will come to Malta)
Esope reste ici et se repose – (Aesop remains here and rests)
Tu l’as trop écrasé, César, ce Port Salut! – (You mashed it too much, Cesar, this Port Salut (a kind of french cheese)!)
Elu par cette crapule – (Elected by this villain)
**Fun Fact: The longest published French-language palindrome is Georges Perec’s Le Grand Palindrome, a 5,566-word piece published in 1969.
SPANISH
La moral, claro, mal. (Morale, clearly, is bad.)
Alli trota la tortilla. (There jogs the tortilla.)
Anita lava la tina. (Anita washes the basin)
Dábale arroz a la zorra el abad. (The abbot would give rice to the fox)
Ligar es ser ágil – (Flirting is agile)
Ana lleva avellana – (Ana takes a nut)
Reconocer – (Recognise)
Luz azul – (Blue light)
Sobornos son robos – (Bribes are robberies)
Amor a Roma – (Love to Rome)
Somos o no somos – (Either we are, or we are not)
Ojo rojo – (Red eye)
ITALIAN
I topi non avevano nipoti. (The mice had no grandchildren.)
Autore, ero tua. (Author, I was yours.)
O mordo tua nuora o aro un autodromo – (Either I bite your daughter-in-law or I plough a racetrack)
I topi non avevano nipoti – (The mice had no grandchildren)
PORTUGUESE
A mala nada na lama. (The suitcase swims in the mud)
Socorram-me, subi no ônibus em Marrocos – (Help me, I took a bus in Morocco)
A base do teto desaba – (The base of the ceiling collapses)
O lobo ama o bolo – (The wolf loves the cake)
RUSSIAN
А тот суп – пустота. (That soup is emptiness.)
Нажал кабан на баклажан. (The boar pressed the eggplant.)
If you have any amazing palindromes you’d
SERBIAN
Ana voli Milovana – Ana loves Milovan;
Anja sebe sanja – Anja dreams of herself;
E sine, ženi se – Hey son, get married;
Nema Kata kamen – Kata doesn’t have a rock;
U Rimu umiru – In Rome they die;
Sir ima miris – Cheese has a smell;
Udovica baci vodu – The widow throws water;
FINNISH
saippua – soap
kivi – stone/rock
kauppias – merchant
Neulo taas niin saat oluen – (Knit again, so that you will get a beer)
Saippuakivikauppias – (A soapstone seller)
Saippuakuppinippukauppias – (A soap cup trader)
Solutomaattimittaamotulos – (The result from a measurement laboratory for tomatoes)
Innostunut sonni – (Enthusiastic bull)
ESTONIAN
Kuulilennuteetunneliluuk — (the hatch of the tunnel of the flight path of a/the bullet)
kuul – (bullet, non-soft ball)
lennutee – (flight path, trajectory)
lend – (flight)
tee – (path, road, way)
tunnel – (tunnel)
luuk – (hatch)
Aias sadas saia – (It was raining bread in the garden)
HUNGARIAN
A cápa ette apáca – (the nun eaten by a shark)
A császár ász ácsa -(the emperor’s ace carpenter)
Adósom a mosoda -(the laundry is my debtor)
A fasori pap papirosa fa – (the alley priest’s paper is wooden)
Akit a kanócra ma nyálaz, az a lány a marcona Katika – (who’s licked on the wick today, it’s grumpy Cathy)
GREEK (FROM THE BYZANTINE ERA)
ΝΙΨΟΝΑΝΟΜΗΜΑΤΑΜΗΜΟΝΑΝΟΨΙΝ – (Wash your sins not only your face)
ALBANIAN
Seç i numëronin orë mu Niçes – ( They were counting Nietzsche’s hours)
Na u rrit Emi, qimet i rruan – (Emi has grown, shaves hair)
AZERBAIJAN
Ey Babək, kəbab ye!
Hey Babekh, eat kebab!
BOSNIAN
Mače jede ječam – (The kitten is eating barley)
Udovica baci vodu – (The widow tossed the water)
Anja sebe sanja – (Anja dreams of herself)
Idu ljudi – (The people go)
BULGARIAN
Бял хляб (Bjal hljab) – (White bread)
CATALAN
Català a l’atac! – (Catalan attacks!)
No sap pas on.. – (S/He does not know where)
CROATIAN
Ana voli Milovana – (Ana loves Milovan)
Potop – (Flood)
Ratar – (Farmer)
Maja sa Nedom ode na sajam – (Maja went with Neda to the fair)
CZECH
Jelenovi pivo nelej – (Do not pour beer to a deer)
Kuna nese nanuk – (A marten is carrying ice cream)
DANISH
Selmas lakserøde garagedøre skal samles – (Selma’s salmon red garage doors must be assembled)
DUTCH
Koortsmeetsysteemstrook – (Thermometer (for measuring fevers)
Baas neem een Saab! – (Boss, buy a Saab!)
GERMAN
Eibohphobie – (fear of palindromes)
Trug Tim eine so helle Hose nie mit Gurt? – (Has Tim never worn such light-coloured pants with a belt?)
Sei fein, nie fies – (Be fine/nice, never be nasty)
Erika feuert nur untreue Fakire – (Erika only fires unfaithful fakirs)
O Genie, der Herr ehre dein Ego! – (O genius, the Lord shall honour your ego!)
GREEK
Nipson anomemata me monan opsin – (Wash off my sins, not only my face (written on the edge of a well or a font in Constantinople, where ps is ψ)
Σοφά ται και μη, γη μια και τάφος – (It makes no difference if you speak wisely or not, we walk on one earth and in the same earth we will be buried)
Νόμον, ο κοινός, έχε σον οικονόμον – (Have the law of the state, law at your home)
HUNGARIAN
Géza, kék az ég – (Géza, the sky is blue)
Indul a görög aludni – (The Greek goes to sleep)
IRISH
A Nóinín, níl an rí anocht ar Ráth Conair, ná linn in Iona – (Daisy, the king is neither on Conair’s fort tonight, nor with us in Iona)
LATIN
In girum imus nocte et consumimur igni – (We enter the circle after dark and are consumed by fire)
Roma tibi subito motibus ibit amor – (In Rome love will come to you suddenly)
LATVIAN
Sapals arī tad ēda tīras lapas – (Even then the chub ate pure leaves)
LITHUANIAN
Sedek užu kedes – (Sit behind the chair)
NORWEGIAN
Regninger – (Bills)
Agnes i senga – (Agnes in bed)
Grav ned den varg – (Dig down that wolf)
POLISH
Ada, panna pocalowana, wola: co pan napada? – (Ada, a kissed girl, exclaims: why are you attacking me, Sir?)
Może jutro ta dama da tortu jeżom” – (Maybe tomorrow that lady will give a cake to the hedgehogs)
Może jeż łże jeżom? – ( maybe yhe hedgehog is laying to other hedgehogs?)
Może jutro ta dama da tortu jezom – (Maybe tomorrow that lady will give a cake to the hedgehogs)
kobyła ma mały bok – (The mare has a small side)
Elf układał kufle – (An elf arranged mugs)
Ikar łapał raki – (Icarus caught crayfishes)
Zagwiżdż i w gaz – (Whistle, and get a move on)
A to idiota! – (What an idiot he is!)
ROMANIAN
Elevele – (The students (feminine)
Atașata – (The attached (feminine)
Ele fac cafele – (They (feminine) make coffee)
Ene purta patru pene – (Ene was wearing four feathers)
Ai rămas acasă, Maria? – (Did you stay at home, Maria?)
O ramă maro – (A brown frame)
El o să facă fasule – (He is going to cook beans)
Aerisirea – (Ventilation)
RUSSIAN
А роза упала на лапу Азора. (A roza upala na lapu Azora) – (A rose fell on Azor’s paw)
SLOVAK
Matej je tam – (Matej is there)
Na rabína gáni baran – (A mutton gazes on a rabbi)
V elipse spí lev – (A lion sleeps in an ellipse)
Jeleňovi pivo nelej – (Don’t serve beer to a deer)
Kobyla má malý bok – (The mare has a small hip)
Perica reže raci rep – (A washerwoman is cutting a duck’s tail)
SWEDISH
Ni talar bra latin – (You speak good latin)
Agnes i senga – (Agnes in bed)
Naturrutan – (Nature box)
TURKISH
Ilaç iç, Ali – (Drink the medicine, Ali)
Anastas, mum satsana? – (Anastas, why don’t you sell candles?)
At, sahibi gibi hasta – (Horse is ill like its owner)
