Last reviewed 22 Sept 2026 · 5 min read
What each does
- A mirror image reflects the figure left to right. The top stays the top.
- A water image reflects it top to bottom. The left stays the left.
The mirror in these questions is placed vertically to the right or left unless the paper says otherwise, so the reflection is left-to-right. If the paper places the mirror above or below, the image is exactly what the water image would be.
Letters and digits that do not change
| Unchanged in a mirror (vertical symmetry) | A, H, I, M, O, T, U, V, W, X, Y, and 0, 8 | | Unchanged in water (horizontal symmetry) | B, C, D, E, H, I, K, O, X, and 0, 1, 3, 8 |
These lists assume the plain block capitals used in exam papers. A word made entirely of the first row, such as MAT or WAX, has a mirror image that reads the same, letter for letter — though the order still reverses, so MAT becomes TAM.
- Reverse the order of the letters.
- Replace each letter by its own mirror image (unchanged for the symmetric ones above).
Both steps are needed. Reversing alone is the commonest half-answer.
For a water image of a word, the order of the letters stays the same and each letter is flipped top to bottom.
Clocks
The mirror image of a clock time is minus the time (for times from 1:00 to 11:59). So 3:25 becomes 8:35 and 9:10 becomes 2:50. A clock face reflected in water is not asked as often, because it produces no valid time.
Figures
For a figure, reflect every element's position as well as its shape:
- A mark at the top-left goes to the top-right in a mirror image, and to the bottom-left in a water image.
- An arrow pointing north-east points north-west in a mirror image, and south-east in a water image.
- Rotation is not reflection: a rotated option will keep the clockwise order of the elements, a reflected one will reverse it.
Worked examples
What is the mirror image of INDIA?
Solution. Reverse the order: AIDNI. Each of A, I, D, N, I is then mirrored — A and I are unchanged, D and N are not — so the image reads AIDNI with the D and N themselves reversed.
What is the mirror image of MAT?
Solution. Every letter is symmetric, so only the order reverses → TAM.
What is the water image of BOOK?
Solution. The order is unchanged; each letter is flipped vertically. B, O and K keep their shape under a top-to-bottom flip only if they are horizontally symmetric — B, O and K are, and so the image reads BOOK flipped, with the letters in the same order.
What is the mirror image of 4:40?
Solution. 7:20.
What is the mirror image of 10:15?
Solution. 1:45.
Which of 0, 1, 3, 8 look the same in a water image?
Solution. All four — 0, 1, 3 and 8 are horizontally symmetric in the plain block form.
An arrow points north-east. Where does it point in (a) a mirror image, (b) a water image?
Solution. (a) North-west (left and right swap). (b) South-east (top and bottom swap).
A dot sits in the bottom-left corner of a square. Where is it in the water image?
Solution. Top-left — the left stays left, the bottom becomes the top.
A triangle has marks P, Q, R clockwise. One option shows them clockwise, another anticlockwise. Which is the mirror image?
Solution. The anticlockwise one — reflection reverses the order; the other option is a rotation.
What is the mirror image of the sentence "GO HOME"?
Solution. The whole line reverses, so the words swap places and each word's letters reverse: EMOH OG, with each letter itself mirrored.