palindrome

Everyday

A palindrome is a word, number or sentence that reads the same backwards as forwards, like «level», «racecar», «12321» or «Was it a car or a cat I saw?» tree →

In the lessons

In English and maths lessons and puzzles, palindromes are fun: words (mum, dad, noon, kayak, civic), names (Anna, Otto, Hannah) and sentences («Never odd or even»), where spaces and punctuation are ignored. In maths, palindromic numbers read the same both ways (121, 4004, 12321); a puzzle: reverse a number and add it to itself again and again until you get a palindrome (e.g. 56 + 65 = 121). Phrases: «palindromic numbers», «a palindrome puzzle».

Examples

• «Level» is a palindrome. tree →
• My name, Hannah, is a palindrome. tree →
• 12321 is a palindromic number. tree →
• «Never odd or even» is a palindrome sentence. tree →
• Can you write a palindrome that is a whole sentence? tree →
• 47 + 74 = 121, and 121 is a palindrome. tree →
• «Kayak» reads the same backwards and forwards. tree →
• Madam, in Eden, I'm Adam. tree →

Note

Plural «palindromes». In sentence palindromes, spaces, capitals and punctuation are usually ignored. In maths, a palindromic number has the same digits in reverse order; every one-digit number is a palindrome. Trap: «stressed» → «desserts» is a reversal of two different words (a «semordnilap»), not a palindrome.