How the Atbash Cipher Works
Master the ancient art of Hebrew encryption with our step-by-step guide
Follow along with our Interactive Tool to practice as you learn!
✓ Core Concepts
- • How the Atbash substitution works
- • The relationship between letters
- • Why it's called "Atbash"
- • Historical context and usage
✓ Practical Skills
- • Encode messages by hand
- • Decode cipher text easily
- • Recognize Atbash patterns
- • Apply to different alphabets
What is Atbash?
The Atbash cipher is a substitution cipher where each letter is replaced with its mirror letter from the reversed alphabet. It's like folding the alphabet in half and matching letters from opposite ends.
Why "Atbash"?
The name comes from Hebrew: Aleph-Taw-Beth-Shin. These are the first, last, second, and second-to-last letters of the Hebrew alphabet, demonstrating the cipher's principle.
The Alphabet Mapping
Each letter in the top row corresponds to the letter directly below it
Key Insight
The Atbash cipher is its own inverse! This means applying it twice returns the original text. Encoding and decoding use the exact same process.
Ready to Master the Atbash Cipher?
Now that you understand how it works, put your knowledge to practice!