Palindrome
A palindrome is a word, phrase, number or any other sequence of units (like a strand of DNA) which has the property of reading the same in either direction (the adjustment of spaces between letters is generally permitted). The word palindrome comes from the Greek words palin ("back") and dromos ("racecourse"). Writing literature in palindromes is an example of constrained writing.According to Bill Bryson's Mother Tongue: English & How It Got That Way (p. 227): "Palindromes … are at least 2,000 years old. The ancient Greeks often put "ΝΙΨΟΝΑΝΟΜΗΜΑΤΑΜΗΜΟΝΑΝΟΨΙΝ" (or, in mixed case with [modern] accents and divided into words, Νίψον ανομήματα μη μόναν όψιν: "Nipson anomēmata mē monan opsin") on fountains—(ps is one letter in greek: psi), meaning "Wash the sin as well as the face." The Romans admired them, too, as demonstrated by "In girum imus nocte et consumimur igni" ("We enter the circle at night and are consumed by fire"), which was said to describe the action of moths.
The Latin palindrome "Sator Arepo tenet opera rotas" is remarkable for the fact that it reproduces itself also if one forms a word from the first letters, then the second letters and so forth. Hence it can also be arranged into a square which can be read either horizontally or vertically:
S A T O R
A R E P O
T E N E T
O P E R A
R O T A SPalindromes occur in many western languages, but they are particularly prevalent in English due to the wide variety and frequent reversal of letter pairs within words. Finnish, however, has been described as "the language of palindromes."
Japanese palindromes, called kaibun, rely on the hiragana syllabary, like the word "shinbunshi" (newsprint). Their syllabary makes it possible to make very long palindromes.
Chinese palindromes are relatively easy to create due to the structure of written Chinese. For example: 我愛媽媽,媽媽愛我 ("I love Mom; Mom loves me")—this is usually the first palindrome learned by Chinese kids. Numerous palindromes can be created by replacing "媽媽"(Mom) with any person. As a result, only very special palindromes are worth mentioning.
Examples of palindromic words and phrases:
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2 Symmetry by the characters 3 Symmetry by the words 4 Symmetry by the lines 5 Symmetry of Dates and Times 6 See also 7 External link |
In Japanese:
Symmetry by sound
The Icelandic music-band Sigur RÃÂós composed a song on their album ÃÂÃÂgÃÂætis Byrjun, which partly sounds the same, playing forwards or backwards. Not only symmetric from the notes, but also symmetric in the sound by mixing the reverse music over the original. The song - named Staralfur - can be downloaded at their website under http://www.sigur-ros.co.uk/media/index.html.
The interlude from Alban Berg's opera, Lulu is a palindrome.
See also crab canon, in classical music: a canon in which one line of the melody is reversed in time and pitch from the other.
Symmetry by the characters
Remark: Characters include letters and CJK characters.
In Chinese:
- 我愛媽媽,媽媽愛我: "I love Mom, Mom loves me"
- 客上天然居,居然天上客.
- 人過大佛寺,寺佛大過人.
- 人人為我,我為人人: "Everybody cares about me, I care about everybody"
- 船上女子叫子女上船: "The woman on the boat is calling her children to go onboard" --- copy from 回文遊戲 (Palindrome Games)''
- En af dem der red med fane: "One of these riding with standard"
- Gid da den dame sÃÂÃÂ¥ de sÃÂørens asner ÃÂøse dÃÂÃÂ¥semad ned ad dig: "If only that lady saw those bastards pour canned food over you"
- parterretrap: "stairway to the ground floor"
- nepparterreserretrappen (less serious extension of the previous): "fake stairways from the ground floor to the sun lounge"
- Aias sadas saia: "It rains white bread in the garden."
- Solutomaattimittaamotulos: "the result from a measurement laboratory for tomatoes"
- saippuakuppinippukauppias: "soap cup batch trader"
- Atte kumiorava, varo imuketta!: "Rubber squirrel Atte, beware the cigarette holder!"
In French:
- elle: "she"
- Laval
- ÃÂélu par cette crapule: "elected by that toad"
- la mariÃÂée ira mal: "the married woman will be ill"
- "Eh, ca va la vache ?": "Hey, how you doing, cow ?"
- Ein Neger mit Gazelle zagt im Regen nie.
- Reliefpfeiler
- Rentner
- Lagerregal
- GÃÂéza, kÃÂék az ÃÂég: "GÃÂéza, the sky is blue."
- RÃÂám nÃÂémet nem lel, elmentem ÃÂén mÃÂár: "The Germans won't find me, I'm already gone." (1943)
- Indul a gÃÂörÃÂög aludni: "The greek goes to sleep."
- RÃÂémes tÃÂóga bagÃÂót sem ÃÂér: "Crap chiton worths nothing."
- Erőszakos kannak sok a szőre: "Aggressive males have lots of hair."
- Keresik a tavat a kis erek: "Small streams look for the lake."
- Kis erek mentÃÂén, lÃÂáp sÃÂÃÂk ÃÂölÃÂén odavan a bÃÂánya rabja: jaj, BaranyÃÂában a vadon ÃÂélő Kis PÃÂálnÃÂét nem keresik!: "Along the small streams and in the flat lap of the moorland gone the prisoner of the mine: oh, nobody looks for Ms. Kis PÃÂál who lived in the woods of Baranya." (Created by Demők BÃÂéla.)
- qajaq: "kayak" (and so also a palindrome in English and some other languages).
- acca: the letter H
- alla: "to the" (feminine singular)
- ebbe: "(he) had" (past historic)
- elle: the letter L
- emme: the letter M
- enne: the letter N
- erre: the letter R
- esse: the letter S
- osso: "bone"
- otto: "eight"
- Roma tibi subito motibus ibit amor. (Quintilian)
- Si bene te tua laus taxat, sua laute tenebis. (Plinius)
- Subi dura a rudibus. "Endure hardships from the rude."
- Signa te, signa, temere me tangis et angis.
- Adoro te animo, domina et oro da.
- Meritis servi sinum munis ivres sitirem.
- Aspice'nam raro mittit timor arma nec ipsa.
- Si se mente reget non tegeret Nemesis.
- Sum summus mus. ("I am the mightiest mouse.")
- sėdėk užu kėdės: a phrase. Means "Sit over the seat!".
- Regninger: The longest palindrome norwegian word. Means "bills".
- oko: eye.
- "Kobyła ma mały bok": ("A mare has small side.")
- "Zakopane na pokaz"
- Perica reže raci rep: "Laundress cuts duck's tail."
- Reconocer "to recognize"
- Anita, la gorda lagartona, no traga la droga latina. "Anita, the big fat lizard, does not carry the Latin drug."
- DÃÂábale arroz a la zorra el Abad. "The abbot was giving the vixen rice."
- SÃÂé verlas al revÃÂés.
- La ruta natural. "the natural way"
- Las NemocÃÂón no comen sal. "The Nemocons don't eat salt."
- AnÃÂás usÃÂó tu auto, Susana. "Anas used your auto, Susana."
- AdÃÂán no cede con Eva, YavÃÂé no cede con nada.
- AsÃÂàMario oirÃÂá misa.
- ÃÂáAbusÃÂón, acÃÂá no suba!
- Se corta Sarita a tiras atroces.
- Amigo, no gima.
- Anita lava la tina.
- Es AdÃÂán, ya vÃÂé, yo soy Eva y nada sÃÂé. "It is Adam, I have seen, I am Eve and I know nothing."
- ÃÂÃÂtale, demonÃÂÃÂaco CaÃÂÃÂn, o me delata.
- ÃÂÿBÃÂérgamo?, ÃÂáno, Magreb!.
- Mal si le das la fÃÂé falsa del Islam. "Evil if you give her the false faith of Islam."
- ÃÂáOro! ÃÂáYa hay oro! "Gold"! There's gold already!"
- O rey, o joyero. "The king, the jeweler."
- AlÃÂá, yo soy de Mahoma el dios. OÃÂÃÂdle a Mohamed: yo soy AlÃÂá. "Allah, I am the God of Mahoma. Hear Mohammed: I am Allah."
- O sacÃÂáis ropa por si acaso.
- Sometamos o matemos. "We submit or we kill."
- OÃÂÃÂr Aida en ÃÂópera: la lÃÂÃÂrica Cirila la repone a diario.
- AllÃÂàpor la tropa portado, traÃÂÃÂdo a ese paraje de maniobras, una tipa como capitÃÂán usar boina me dejara, pese a odiar toda tropa por tal ropilla.
- Du har bra hud: Meaning "You've got good skin"
- Ni rakar bra Karin: Meaning "You shave good Karin"
- Ni talar bra latin: Meaning "You speak good latin"
- Naturrutan: Meaning "Nature Square"
- I Reval sitta ni, inatt i slaveri: Meaning "In Reval (Tallinn) you will sit, tonight in slavery"
- Sirap i Paris: Meaning "Syrup in Paris"
- God apa gavs galna anlag, svag apa dog: Meaning "Good monkey was given crazy abilities, weak monkey died."
- MÃÂärk stupid abrakadabra: ur fin rÃÂänsel lyfta rappa japaner samma mimosa som i mammas rena pajapparat fylles nÃÂär ni fruar bada karbad i putskrÃÂäm: Meaning "Notice stupid abracadabra: from fine backpack swift Japanese the same mimosa as in mother's clean pie machine filles when you vifes bathed med bath in shoecream"
- http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/ikiw/gro.aidepikiw.www//:ptth (links back here)
Symmetry by the words
Some palindromes use words as units rather than letters. They Might Be Giants released a single called I Palindrome I, the lyrics of which include the word palindrome: "Son I am able," she said, "though you scare me." "Watch," said I, "beloved," I said, "watch me scare you though." Said she, "able am I, Son."
Other examples:
- You can cage a swallow, can't you, but you can't swallow a cage, can you?
- Fall leaves as soon as leaves fall.
Symmetry by the lines
Still other palindromes take the line as the unit. The poem Doppleganger was composed by James A. Lindon.
Doppelganger
In genetics, a palindromic DNA sequence can form a Hairpin_(genetics).
Palindromes can also be constructed using dates and times. The exact dates and times may differ according to the local style of writing dates and times.
Symmetry of Dates and Times
See also
External link