How to Reverse the Order of Characters in a String in MySQL

If you ever need to reverse the order of a string value in MySQL – that is, return a string with the order of the characters reversed – the REVERSE() function is what you need.

Syntax

Here’s how it works:

REVERSE(str)

Where str is the string you want reversed.

Example

Here’s an example you can copy and paste into MySQL and change the values to suit:

SELECT REVERSE('Cat');

Result:

+----------------+
| REVERSE('Cat') |
+----------------+
| taC            |
+----------------+

Multiple Words

Note that the whole string is reversed (not just each word within a string). So in a string with many words, the first word will come last and vice-versa.

Example:

SELECT REVERSE('plug snub leg') AS Result;

Result:

+---------------+
| Result        |
+---------------+
| gel buns gulp |
+---------------+

A Database Query Example

Here’s an example of using REVERSE() on values returned in a database query:

USE Music;
SELECT 
  ArtistName, 
  REVERSE(ArtistName) AS Reversed
FROM Artists
LIMIT 5;

Result:

+------------------+------------------+
| ArtistName       | Reversed         |
+------------------+------------------+
| Iron Maiden      | nediaM norI      |
| AC/DC            | CD/CA            |
| Allan Holdsworth | htrowsdloH nallA |
| Buddy Rich       | hciR ydduB       |
| Devin Townsend   | dnesnwoT niveD   |
+------------------+------------------+