<bdo>: The BDO Element
Last updated: 2026-10-13
<bdo>The BDO Element
Bi-directional override: forces the text direction via dir, e.g. rendering English right-to-left.
| Category | Text Content |
|---|---|
| Content Model | Flow content |
| Allowed Parents | Any element that accepts flow content |
| Content Tag | Yes — requires closing </bdo> tag |
| Status | Standard |
📝 Syntax
<bdo dir="rtl">overridden direction</bdo>⚙️ Attributes
This element supports the global attributes plus the following:
| Attribute | Value | Description |
|---|---|---|
dir | Forced direction: ltr or rtl. |
▶ Example
Edit the code below and see the live result in the playground:
🌐 Browser Support
| Browser |  Chrome |
 Edge |
 Firefox |
 Safari |
 Opera |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| <bdo> | ✓ v1 | ✓ v12 | ✓ v1 | ✓ v1 | ✓ v1 |
| Supported in all major browsers | |||||
Tip： bdo overrides the natural direction—useful for demos; prefer bdi for everyday use.
❓ FAQ
QWhat is the difference between bdo and bdi?
AOpposite tools:
<bdo> (override) forces the text direction regardless of the content's own language; <bdi> (isolate) only shields, with the inner direction auto-detected. Use bdo to display backwards, bdi to stay undisturbed.QCan the dir attribute of bdo be omitted?
ANo —
dir is required on <bdo> (ltr or rtl); without it the element is meaningless. <bdo dir='rtl'>text</bdo> renders the text right-to-left.QWhat are practical uses for bdo?
ARare but real: password strength demos, mirror-text effects, debugging bidirectional algorithms, deliberate reversals (game easter eggs). Ordinary multilingual pages should use the dir attribute or
<bdi>; bdo is a special-case tool.🏷️ Related Tags
💡 Related Cases
More case studies coming soon — check back later.
📚 Related Tutorials
