Mirror Image Puzzles
A mirror stands upright beside the figure. Which of the four options is exactly what it would show? Sixty patterns across letters, words, numbers, codes, arrows, shapes and clock faces — with the reasoning after every attempt, including why each wrong option is wrong.
Also known as mirror images and reflection puzzles.
What A Figure Looks Like In A Mirror
A mirror image puzzle asks what a figure, word or number looks like reflected left to right, as though a mirror stood beside it. Everything swaps sides and the order reverses — which is what separates it from a water image. Some characters survive a mirror unchanged, and knowing which is half the skill.
How To Solve Mirror Image Puzzles
- Place the mirror mentally on the right of the figure.
- Swap left and right for every part of the figure.
- Reverse the order of any row of characters.
- Check each character against the symmetry table below.
- Reject options that rotated the figure instead of reflecting it.
Reflection is not rotation. A quarter turn can look like a flip, and wrong options exploit exactly that confusion — check handedness before anything else.
| Family | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Capital letters | Capitals in a row, where the order reverses and each glyph reverses with it. |
| Small letters | Lower case adds ascenders, descenders and the b/d/p/q mirror twins. |
| Digits & numbers | Numbers behave like letters, but 0, 1 and 8 survive a mirror unchanged. |
| Words | Real words, where the brain wants to read rather than reflect. |
| Alphanumeric codes | Mixed letters and digits, the format used in registration-plate style items. |
| Arrows & symbols | Direction reverses left to right but never top to bottom. |
| Geometric figures | Shapes with handed details — a marker, a corner dot, an inner shape. |
| Clock faces | A reflected clock reads 12 minus the time. The most counter-intuitive item of the lot. |
The Letters And Digits That Survive A Mirror
A, H, I, M, O, T, U, V, W, X and Y read the same in a mirror, as do 0, 1 and 8; B, C, D, E and K do not. The full table below is derived from the same character data the puzzle generator uses, so the table and the puzzles cannot disagree. Clock faces follow one rule: the reflected time is 11:60 minus the real time.
Mirror Image Puzzles Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between a mirror image and a water image?
A mirror image is a reflection in a vertical mirror standing beside the figure, so left and right swap. A water image is a reflection in a horizontal mirror lying beneath it, so top and bottom swap instead. Water images are offered here as wrong answers, and get their own puzzle type shortly.
Why is a rotated figure not a mirror image?
Because rotation preserves handedness and reflection reverses it. If you could reach the option by sliding and turning the original around the page without lifting it, it is a rotation, not a reflection.
Which letters look the same in a mirror?
A, H, I, M, O, T, U, V, W, X and Y among the capitals, and 0, 1 and 8 among the digits. Several patterns here deliberately hide one of them in a group, because their position still changes even though their shape does not.
How many puzzles are there?
There is no fixed number. Each puzzle is rebuilt from the short seed in the page address, so the supply is effectively unlimited. Copying the puzzle link saves that exact puzzle permanently.
Can I practise one pattern at a time?
Yes. Pick any pattern from the catalogue above and the board switches to that pattern only, with its own address you can bookmark or hand out.
What is a mirror image question?
A mirror image question shows a figure — letters, a number, an arrow, a shape or a clock face — and asks which option shows its reflection in a vertical mirror placed beside it. Left and right swap over; top and bottom do not.
Which numbers look the same in a mirror?
Only 0, 1 and 8. Each is symmetrical about a vertical line, so a left-to-right reflection leaves it unchanged. Everything else reverses into a shape that is not a digit at all, which is why a number made only of 0, 1 and 8 makes a genuinely hard mirror question: the digits survive, but their order still flips.