Revocal › How to speak backwards
How to speak backwards
Say a line, hear it backwards, copy what you hear, then reverse your try and hear how close you got. The quickest way to learn how to talk in reverse, right here in your browser.
Up to 10 seconds a take. Your recordings stay in this browser and are never uploaded.
Go further in the app
Revocal spells out how the backwards version sounds, films video reveals that play forwards, and lets you send a reverse challenge to friends.
What does talking backwards mean?
Talking backwards means saying the sounds of a phrase in reverse order, so that when a recording of you is played in reverse, the original phrase comes out forwards. It is not saying the words in reverse order ("you love I"), and it is not spelling words backwards ("olleh"). Both of those still sound forwards when you play them back.
That is why speaking in reverse feels so strange at first: you are making sounds in an order your mouth has never practised. The tool above does the hard part, the listening, for you.
Go further in the app
Revocal spells out how the backwards version sounds, films video reveals that play forwards, and lets you send a reverse challenge to friends.
How to talk in reverse, step by step
- Record a short line. Three to six words is plenty. Something you know by heart is easiest.
- Play it backwards as many times as you like. Listen to the sounds, not the words, and say them along with it in chunks of two or three syllables.
- Record yourself saying what you heard, at the same pace, backwards sounds and all.
- Play it reversed. Your try is reversed. If you copied it well, you hear your line forwards.
Not quite there? Record step three again. Most people get a recognisable result within a handful of tries.
How to pronounce words backwards
Reverse the sounds, not the letters. Vowels that glide, like the I in "I", turn into a different glide, and a breathy h at the start of a word turns into a breath at the end. A few common phrases, as they sound backwards:
| Phrase | Say it like | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| hello | oo-OHL-uh | The h becomes a breath at the very end. |
| I love you | ooy VUHL ee-ah | "I" turns into "ee-ah" and moves to the end. |
| happy birthday | ee-ed THURB ee-PAH | Finish on a breath for the h of "happy". |
| good morning | ngin RAWM dug | It starts with ng, a sound English never starts a word with. |
More examples and why some sounds refuse to reverse cleanly: how to talk backwards, step by step.
Sing backwards: the reverse song challenge
The tool works for singing too. Record a short line of a song, listen to it reversed and sing what you hear. The melody reverses as well as the words, so keep it short. That is the idea behind the reverse song challenge, sometimes called the reverse song and voice challenge: learn a line backwards, film yourself singing it, then play the video in reverse so the song comes out forwards.
Read how to sing backwards and how the reverse singing challenge works.
Go further in the app
Revocal spells out how the backwards version sounds, films video reveals that play forwards, and lets you send a reverse challenge to friends.
Questions
What does talking backwards mean?
Talking backwards means saying the sounds of a phrase in reverse order, so that a recording of you played in reverse comes out as the phrase forwards. It is not saying the words in reverse order, and it is not spelling words backwards.
How do you speak in reverse?
Record the line you want, play it backwards and copy the sounds you hear, a few syllables at a time. Record your copy, then play that recording in reverse. If your copy was close, you hear the original line forwards.
How do you pronounce words backwards?
Reverse the sounds, not the letters. Hello is not olleh. Played backwards it sounds closer to oo-OHL-uh, because the h becomes a breath at the very end and the vowels reverse.
Can you sing backwards?
Yes. Record a short line of a song, listen to it reversed and sing what you hear. The melody reverses as well as the words, so pick a line of four to six words.
What is the reverse song challenge?
In the reverse song challenge, also called the reverse song and voice challenge, you learn a song line backwards, film yourself singing it, then play the video in reverse so the song comes out forwards.
Is this free, and is my voice uploaded?
The practice tool on this page is free. Your recordings are made and reversed in your browser and are never uploaded. They are gone when you close the page.