Iterate over the characters in the backward direction
import java.text.CharacterIterator; import java.text.StringCharacterIterator; public class Main { public static void main(String[] argv) throws Exception { CharacterIterator it = new StringCharacterIterator("abcd"); for (char ch = it.last(); ch != CharacterIterator.DONE; ch = it.previous()) { System.out.println(ch); } } }