A rebus is a puzzle that uses pictures, symbols, or letters to represent words or parts of words. The name of each picture gives you a clue about what word or phrase you're trying to figure out. For example, a picture of an eye followed by a picture of a tin can spells out “I can.” A picture of a bee plus a leaf might mean “belief.”

Rebuses appear everywhere: in puzzle books, on cereal boxes, in ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics, and even in company logos. Some are simple, like using the number 2 to mean “to” or “too.” Others are trickier, requiring you to think about multiple meanings of words or sounds.

The puzzles work because they make you see connections between how things look and how they sound. When you solve a rebus, you're not just reading, you're decoding. Your brain has to switch back and forth between recognizing images and thinking about language. A picture of the sun might mean “sun,” but it might also mean “son” if the puzzle is playing with homophones (words that sound alike).

People have used rebuses for thousands of years, from ancient Sumerian clay tablets to medieval European family crests. Today you might see them in text messages where emojis create mini-rebuses, or in clever advertisements where images spell out brand names.