How to Reverse a String in Ruby: Simple Syntax and Examples

In Ruby, you can reverse a string by calling the reverse method on it, like "hello".reverse. This returns a new string with characters in reverse order.

Syntax

The basic syntax to reverse a string in Ruby is using the reverse method on a string object.

• string.reverse: Returns a new string with characters reversed.

ruby

"your_string".reverse

Example

This example shows how to reverse the string "hello" and print the reversed string.

ruby

str = "hello"
reversed_str = str.reverse
puts reversed_str

Output

olleh

Common Pitfalls

One common mistake is trying to reverse the string in place using reverse without assignment, which does not change the original string. Use reverse! if you want to modify the string itself.

Also, calling reverse on nil will cause an error.

ruby

# Wrong way: does not change original string
str = "hello"
str.reverse
puts str  # prints "hello"

# Right way: assign reversed string
str = "hello"
str = str.reverse
puts str  # prints "olleh"

# Or use reverse! to modify in place
str = "hello"
str.reverse!
puts str  # prints "olleh"

Output

hello
olleh
olleh

Quick Reference

Summary tips for reversing strings in Ruby:

• Use string.reverse to get a reversed copy.
• Use string.reverse! to reverse the string in place.
• Remember reverse returns a new string; original stays unchanged unless you assign or use reverse!.

Key Takeaways

Use the built-in reverse method to reverse strings in Ruby easily.

reverse returns a new reversed string without changing the original.

Use reverse! to reverse the string in place if needed.

Always assign the result of reverse if you want to keep the reversed string.

Avoid calling reverse on nil to prevent errors.