Water-image (mirror-image in water) reasoning is a favorite non-verbal topic in every Railway exam under the General Intelligence & Reasoning section.
A water-image is the reflection you would see if the object/paper were placed on the surface of still water and you looked at it from above.
The rule is simple: the top and bottom of the figure interchange, while the left-right remains unchanged.
In other words, only the vertical axis is inverted; the horizontal axis stays as it is.
Letters/numbers that have a horizontal line of symmetry (B, C, D, E, H, I, K, O, X, 8, 0, etc.) look identical after water reflection, whereas asymmetric characters (F, G, R, P, 2, 3, 5, 7, etc.) change their shape and orientation.

For quick solving, first eliminate options whose left-right is flipped (that is a mirror-image trap).
Next, look at the top-bottom inversion: the head of the arrow/letter that was pointing up must now point down.
Finally, remember the water-image twins—pairs that reflect into each other (6 & 9, p & q, b & d, etc.).
With 2-3 seconds of mental flipping you can tick the correct option without drawing anything on rough sheet.

Practice Set – 25 MCQs

1. Choose the water-image of A.
   A) ∀ B) Ɐ C) A D) V

   Answer

   Correct: Option A. A has no vertical symmetry; top becomes bottom → upside-down A = ∀.

2. Water-image of 2 is
   A) 5 B) 2 C) Ƨ D) ↓

   Answer

   Correct: Option C. Top-bottom flip of 2 gives Ƨ.

3. Select the water-image of M.
   A) M B) W C) ꟼ D) Ʌ

   Answer

   Correct: Option A. M has horizontal symmetry → looks same.

4. Water-image of p is
   A) p B) b C) q D) d

   Answer

   Correct: Option C. p flips top-bottom → q.

5. Water-image of Δ (triangle pointing up)
   A) ∇ B) Δ C) ◁ D) ▷

   Answer

   Correct: Option A. Top-bottom inversion turns Δ to ∇.

6. Water-image of R
   A) ɹ B) Я C) R D) Ɽ

   Answer

   Correct: Option A. R has no symmetry; upside-down gives ɹ.

7. Water-image of 8
   A) 8 B) ∞ C) ⋈ D) 0

   Answer

   Correct: Option A. 8 has horizontal symmetry → unchanged.

8. Water-image of →
   A) ← B) ↑ C) ↓ D) →

   Answer

   Correct: Option C. Left-right same; top-bottom flip → ↓.

9. Water-image of B
   A) ꓭ B) B C) q D) d

   Answer

   Correct: Option B. B has horizontal symmetry → identical.

10. Water-image of Z
    A) Z B) N C) S D) Ƶ

    Answer

    Correct: Option A. Z has 180° rotational symmetry → looks same.

11. Water-image of 4
    A) 4 B) ᔭ C) h D) γ

    Answer

    Correct: Option B. Top-bottom flip of 4 gives ᔭ.

12. Water-image of F
    A) ꟻ B) 𝘍 C) ⅎ D) Ⅎ

    Answer

    Correct: Option A. F flips to ꟻ.

13. Water-image of ♥
    A) ♠ B) ♣ C) ♥ D) ♦

    Answer

    Correct: Option C. Heart has vertical symmetry → unchanged.

14. Water-image of 6
    A) 9 B) 6 C) σ D) ɔ

    Answer

    Correct: Option A. 6 ↔ 9 under water reflection.

15. Water-image of L
    A) ⅃ B) Γ C) ∣ D) ⊣

    Answer

    Correct: Option A. L upside-down = ⅃.

16. Water-image of 3
    A) ε B) 3 C) ↋ D) ℇ

    Answer

    Correct: Option C. 3 flips to ↋ (mirror-3).

17. Water-image of ↑
    A) ↓ B) ↑ C) → D) ←

    Answer

    Correct: Option A. Vertical arrow inverts direction.

18. Water-image of P
    A) d B) q C) P D) ꟼ

    Answer

    Correct: Option D. P upside-down = ꟼ.

19. Water-image of □
    A) ◇ B) □ C) ○ D) △

    Answer

    Correct: Option B. Square has both symmetries → unchanged.

20. Water-image of S
    A) S B) Ƨ C) 2 D) 5

    Answer

    Correct: Option A. S has 180° symmetry → same.

21. Water-image of ⌒ (arc opening up)
    A) ⌓ B) ⌒ C) ) D) (

    Answer

    Correct: Option A. Arc flips to ⌓ (opening down).

22. Water-image of ↔
    A) ↕ B) ↔ C) ↨ D) ⇵

    Answer

    Correct: Option B. Horizontal double-arrow has horizontal symmetry → unchanged.

23. Water-image of ∃ (math “there exists”)
    A) ∃ B) ꓯ C) E D) Ǝ

    Answer

    Correct: Option B. ∃ upside-down = ꓯ.

24. Water-image of ∪ (cup)
    A) ∩ B) ∪ C) ⋂ D) ⊃

    Answer

    Correct: Option A. Cup flips to cap (∩).

25. A clock shows 12:30. Its water-image will read
    A) 12:30 B) 11:30 C) 06:30 D) 05:30

    Answer

    Correct: Option C. Water-image of clock is vertical flip; 12:30 → 06:30 (actual mirror-time rule: subtract from 18:00 → 18:00 – 12:30 = 05:30, but visually hour hand at 12½ flips to 6½ → 06:30).

Quick Shortcuts & Tips

1. Left-Right untouched – eliminate any option that reverses left-right first; those are mirror-image traps.
2. Symmetry cheat-sheet – characters unchanged in water: A H I O X T 8 0 □ ○ ♦.
3. Twin pairs – 6↔9, b↔q, p↔q, d↔b, ∆↔∇, ∪↔∩, ∃↔ꓯ.
4. Arrow rule – ↑→↓, ↗→↘, ↖→↙; direction vertically flips, slope remains.
5. Clock shortcut – water-image time = 18:00 – given time (24-hr format); take modulo 12 for hour hand position.
6. Two-second mental flip – just imagine the figure falling forward; what you see is the answer—no need to draw.

Master these 25 questions and the 6 shortcuts; 3-4 water-image marks are yours in every Railway paper.