Unicode Converter
Convert text to Unicode escape sequences (\uXXXX) and back. Supports all Unicode characters including emoji, CJK, and special symbols. Free, instant, no installation required.
What is Unicode?
Unicode is a universal character encoding standard that assigns a unique number (code point) to every character in every writing system, covering over 149,000 characters across 161 modern and historic scripts.
What is a Unicode escape sequence?
A Unicode escape sequence is a way to represent any Unicode character using the format \uXXXX, where XXXX is the four-digit hexadecimal code point. For characters outside the Basic Multilingual Plane, the surrogate pair format \uXXXX\uXXXX is used.
How does this Unicode converter work?
Simply type or paste your text, then choose to encode it to Unicode escape sequences or decode existing escape sequences back to readable text. The conversion happens instantly in your browser.
Is my data safe when using this tool?
Yes, completely safe. All processing happens locally in your browser. No data is ever sent to any server, making it suitable for sensitive content.
Can this tool convert emoji to Unicode?
Yes, this tool supports all Unicode characters including emoji. Emoji characters are converted to their surrogate pair escape sequences since they exist outside the Basic Multilingual Plane (code points above U+FFFF).
What is the difference between \uXXXX and \UXXXXXXXX?
\uXXXX uses 4 hex digits and covers the Basic Multilingual Plane (U+0000 to U+FFFF). \UXXXXXXXX uses 8 hex digits and can represent all Unicode code points including those above U+FFFF, such as emoji.
What programming languages use Unicode escape sequences?
Unicode escape sequences are used in Java, JavaScript, C#, Python (\uXXXX), JSON, CSS (\XXXXXX), and many other languages and formats for representing characters that may not be directly typeable.
Can I convert Chinese characters to Unicode?
Yes, this tool fully supports CJK (Chinese, Japanese, Korean) characters. Each CJK character is converted to its \uXXXX Unicode escape sequence, which is useful for ensuring cross-platform text compatibility.
What is the Basic Multilingual Plane (BMP)?
The BMP is the first group of planes in Unicode, containing code points from U+0000 to U+FFFF. It includes most commonly used characters. Characters above U+FFFF require surrogate pairs in \uXXXX format.
Does this tool work offline?
Yes, once the page is loaded, all conversions work entirely offline in your browser. No internet connection is needed after the initial page load.
What is the maximum text length supported?
There is no hard limit on text length. The tool can handle large texts efficiently since all processing is done client-side in your browser.
Can I use this tool for JSON string encoding?
Yes, Unicode escape sequences produced by this tool are fully compatible with JSON format, as JSON natively supports \uXXXX escape sequences for Unicode characters.
How to Use Unicode Converter
Convert text to Unicode escape sequences and back, entirely in your browser. Emoji, CJK characters, and special symbols are all supported, and nothing is uploaded.
- Type or paste your text into the input field.
- Pick a notation under "Format:" — \uXXXX, U+XXXX, HTML &#xXXXX; hex, or &#DDDD; decimal.
- Press "Encode" to turn characters into escapes, or "Decode" to turn escapes back into readable text.
- Enable "Encode all" when ASCII letters and digits must be escaped too, not just non-ASCII characters.
Use U+XXXX when documenting code points, and \uXXXX when embedding strings in JavaScript or JSON.
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