Unicode Converter
Convert text to Unicode and back
The Unicode Converter transforms text into Unicode escape sequences (\uXXXX) or hexadecimal codes and reverses the conversion back to readable characters. It is invaluable for inspecting emoji code points, escaping non-ASCII characters in source code, debugging character encoding issues in internationalization (i18n) workflows, and analyzing invisible Unicode characters. All Unicode planes including supplementary characters are supported.
๐ How to Use
- Enter text or Unicode in the input field
- Click the desired conversion button
- Convert to/from Unicode escape or HEX
- Copy the result for your use
โจ Features
- โUnicode escape conversion
- โHEX code conversion
- โBidirectional conversion
- โEmoji Unicode lookup
- โCharacter analysis
๐ก Use Cases
- โขFrontend Developers: Convert non-ASCII characters to \u escape sequences in JavaScript source code to avoid encoding issues across build tools.
- โขi18n Engineers: Inspect Unicode code points of multilingual strings to debug encoding errors in localization files.
- โขEmoji Researchers: Analyze emoji composition including combining characters, variation selectors, and Zero-Width Joiner (ZWJ) sequences.
- โขDatabase Administrators: Identify invisible characters (zero-width spaces, BOM marks) in data to resolve integrity and matching issues.
- โขTechnical Writers: Look up and document Unicode code points for character reference tables.
๐ฏ Tips
- โธPaste an emoji to inspect its surrogate pair or ZWJ sequence โ helpful for testing emoji-handling logic in your code.
- โธIf you suspect invisible characters in text, convert it to Unicode to reveal hidden zero-width spaces or BOM marks.
- โธWhen JSON files show Korean or CJK text as \uXXXX sequences, decode them here to read the original characters instantly.
- โธHEX conversion is useful for protocol analysis and byte-level data inspection.
โ FAQ
Q. What's the difference between Unicode and UTF-8?
A. Unicode is a character set, while UTF-8 is one way to encode Unicode characters.
Q. Does it convert emojis?
A. Yes, you can convert any Unicode character including emojis.
Q. What is the difference between \uXXXX and \u{XXXXX}?
A. \uXXXX represents 16-bit code points within the Basic Multilingual Plane (BMP). Characters outside the BMP, such as most emojis, require the \u{1F600} syntax or a surrogate pair like \uD83D\uDE00.
Q. What are zero-width characters?
A. These are invisible Unicode characters that occupy no visible space on screen. Examples include Zero-Width Space (U+200B), Zero-Width Joiner (U+200D), and BOM (U+FEFF). They can sneak into text via copy-paste and cause subtle bugs.
Q. What is the difference between a Unicode code point and a HEX byte value?
A. A Unicode code point (e.g., U+AC00) is the character's unique identifier. HEX byte values represent how that character is physically stored under a specific encoding like UTF-8. The same character can have different HEX representations depending on the encoding.
Q. Why do some emojis consist of multiple code points?
A. Many modern emojis are composed using Zero-Width Joiner (ZWJ) sequences. For example, a family emoji combines individual person emojis joined by U+200D. This is why one visible emoji can be many code points long.