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What is the term for two kanjis, that when written in the reverse order, have
the same meaning? For example, "northeast". I have seen this situation
occasionally.
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2017-06-30T11:27:58.923
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2019-08-29T21:34:37.520
2019-08-29T21:34:37.520
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words kanji
What is the term for two kanjis, that when written in the reverse order, have the same meaning?
There is no widely-known specific term for this.

There is [a website maintained by a Japanese amateur kanji
fan](http://www.h-dc.com/hantai/hantaigotop.htm), where you can find the list
of kanji compounds that makes sense when written in the reverse order (not
necessarily the same meaning). The owner of the site calls such words
反対語（はんたいご, literally "opposite word"）. But normally 反対語 means _antonyms_ such
as 男/女 and 大きい/小さい, and he owner admits this is his own definition of 反対語
which is usable only on his site. He just could not find a better specific
word, and ended up borrowing the word 反対語 for his own purpose.

Yoshinori Sakai, another amateur kanji researcher, published [a book called
可逆語を探す](https://www.kinokuniya.co.jp/f/dsg-01-9784873022680) in 2004, where
可逆語（かぎゃくご, literally "reversible word"） appears to be defined as a kanji
compound that still makes sense when written in reverse order (again, not
necessarily the same or similar meaning). But apparently almost no one have
accepted this term after this book.
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2017-06-30T23:33:10.053
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2017-06-30T23:40:32.033
2017-06-30T23:40:32.033
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answer