What is the \u escape for the Chinese character 中?

中 is code point U+4E2D, so its JavaScript/JSON escape is \u4e2d and the ES6 code-point form is \u{4e2d}. The HTML decimal entity is 中 (0x4E2D is 20013 in decimal), the HTML hex entity is 中, and the CSS escape is \4e2d followed by a space. Paste any one of those into the decode side and you get 中 back. Most CJK characters live in the Basic Multilingual Plane, so a single four-digit \uXXXX covers them.

Why does an emoji come out as two \u escapes (a surrogate pair)?

Emoji like 😀 sit above U+FFFF (😀 is U+1F600), and a single \uXXXX only holds four hex digits — up to U+FFFF. JavaScript strings are UTF-16, so it stores 😀 as two code units called a surrogate pair: \ud83d\ude00. That is why JS/JSON style shows two escapes for one emoji. The ES6 form \u{1f600} keeps it as one token because the braces allow up to six digits. The decoder rejoins \ud83d\ude00 back into the single 😀 automatically.

What is the difference between \uXXXX and \u{...}?

\uXXXX is the classic form: exactly four hex digits, valid everywhere from old JavaScript to JSON, but it cannot express a character above U+FFFF on its own — those need a surrogate pair like \ud83d\ude00. \u{...} is ES6-only (ES2015+) and accepts one to six digits, so \u{1f600} writes a full emoji in a single token. Use \uXXXX when you need JSON compatibility; use \u{...} when you are in modern JS and want readability for astral characters.

How do I turn a string of \u codes back into readable text?

Switch to the \u → Text direction and paste the escapes. The decoder reads \u4e2d as 中, \u{1f600} or the pair \ud83d\ude00 as 😀, 😀 and 😀 as the same emoji, and CSS \1f600 too. You can even mix styles in one paste, like "\u4e2d 😀 \u{6587}", and it returns 中 😀 文. Plain text between escapes is left untouched, so a JSON snippet with both literal letters and \u codes decodes cleanly.

When should I use HTML entities versus \u escapes?

Use HTML entities (😀 or 😀) inside HTML markup and email templates, where the browser renders the entity into the real character. Use \uXXXX or \u{...} inside JavaScript, JSON and most config files, where the language parser interprets the escape. Use CSS escapes (\1f600) only inside stylesheets, typically for the content property. Picking the wrong one means the escape shows up as literal text instead of the character you wanted.

Will this break my Chinese text or emoji?

No. The tool walks every input by Unicode code point rather than by UTF-16 unit, so a CJK character such as 文 (U+6587) and a four-byte emoji such as 🎉 (U+1F389) are handled as whole characters in every style. Encode then decode any mix of English, Chinese, Japanese, Korean and emoji and you get the exact original string back, byte for byte, with no half-characters or replacement boxes.

Read a \u-escaped string out of a log or JSON dump

A server logged a user's name as "张伟" and you cannot tell who it is. Paste it into the decode side and it resolves to 张伟 instantly. The same trick works on JSON API responses that escape every non-ASCII character — drop the whole blob in, get readable text back, and stop squinting at hex.

Embed non-ASCII safely in a JavaScript or JSON file

You need to ship a label like "日本語" but the build pipeline mangles raw UTF-8 in some legacy step. Encode it to 日本語 in the JS/JSON style and paste that into the source — it survives any ASCII-only transport and renders identically. Switch to escape- everything if even the ASCII has to be hidden.

Write an emoji into CSS or an HTML template correctly

You want a 🎉 in a CSS content property or an HTML page and the raw character keeps getting re-encoded by your editor. Encode 🎉 to the CSS escape \1f389 for the stylesheet, or to the HTML entity 🎉 for the markup, and paste the escape instead of the character so it renders the same everywhere.

Debug why an emoji shows up as two pieces

Your code prints 😀 where you expected one emoji. Paste that surrogate pair into the decoder and confirm it is 😀, then re-encode in ES6 style to get the single-token \u{1f600} your modern runtime can read. Seeing the pair join back proves the bytes were fine and the display was the only problem.

Unicode Escape Converter — Text ⇄ \uXXXX, \u{}, HTML, CSS

Text ⇄ Unicode escapes — \uXXXX, \u{1F600}, 😀, CSS \1F600 — emoji + CJK done right, browser-only

Runs locally
Category Encoding & Crypto
Best for Checking small payloads, tokens, hashes, and encoded values quickly.

Style

Escape

Case

Input

Output

Output appears here.

What this tool does

Convert text to Unicode escape sequences and back, both ways, right in your browser. Encode in the style you actually need: JavaScript/JSON \uXXXX (with proper surrogate pairs for emoji), ES6 code-point braces \u{1F600}, HTML decimal entities 😀, HTML hex entities 😀, or CSS escapes \1F600. Choose to escape only non-ASCII characters and leave plain English alone, or escape every character, and pick upper or lower-case hex. The decoder is the forgiving half: paste a messy blob that mixes \uXXXX, \u{...}, &#...;, &#x...;, \xHH and CSS escapes all at once and it reassembles the original text, rejoining surrogate pairs into a single emoji. Everything iterates by code point, so Chinese, Japanese, Korean and astral-plane emoji round-trip exactly instead of breaking into half-characters. 100% client-side, instant output, one-click copy, and a shareable URL that reopens the same conversion. Nothing is uploaded.

Tool details

Input: Text + Numbers; The page exposes text boxes, numeric controls, file pickers, or structured inputs depending on the tool.
Output: Live result + Copy; The result area focuses on usable output, with copy, download, or preview actions when supported.
Privacy: Browser-side processing; The main tool logic does not call an external API, so inputs normally stay in the current tab.
Save / share: Shareable URL state; Key settings are encoded in the URL so another person can reopen the same setup.
Performance budget: Initial JS <= 9 KB; No WASM budget is declared, keeping the tool quick to open on mobile.
Best fit: Encoding & Crypto · Developer; Category and role tags drive related tools, internal links, and quick fit checks.

How to use

1. Input

Paste or drop your content into the tool panel.
2. Process

Click the button. All processing is local in your browser.
3. Copy / Download

Copy the result or download to disk in one click.

How Unicode Escape Converter fits into your work

Use it for quick browser-side encoding, decoding, hashing, token checks, and share-safe transformations.

Encoding jobs

Checking small payloads, tokens, hashes, and encoded values quickly.
Preparing values for APIs, URLs, docs, or support tickets.
Avoiding account-based tools when the input might be sensitive.

Encoding checks

Do not paste live secrets unless you are comfortable with local browser handling.
Confirm whether the operation is reversible before sharing the result.
For hashes, compare the exact algorithm and casing expected by the receiver.

Good next steps

These links move the current task into a more complete workflow.

Real-world use cases

Read a \u-escaped string out of a log or JSON dump
A server logged a user's name as "张伟" and you cannot tell who it is. Paste it into the decode side and it resolves to 张伟 instantly. The same trick works on JSON API responses that escape every non-ASCII character — drop the whole blob in, get readable text back, and stop squinting at hex.
Embed non-ASCII safely in a JavaScript or JSON file
You need to ship a label like "日本語" but the build pipeline mangles raw UTF-8 in some legacy step. Encode it to 日本語 in the JS/JSON style and paste that into the source — it survives any ASCII-only transport and renders identically. Switch to escape- everything if even the ASCII has to be hidden.
Write an emoji into CSS or an HTML template correctly
You want a 🎉 in a CSS content property or an HTML page and the raw character keeps getting re-encoded by your editor. Encode 🎉 to the CSS escape \1f389 for the stylesheet, or to the HTML entity 🎉 for the markup, and paste the escape instead of the character so it renders the same everywhere.
Debug why an emoji shows up as two pieces
Your code prints 😀 where you expected one emoji. Paste that surrogate pair into the decoder and confirm it is 😀, then re-encode in ES6 style to get the single-token \u{1f600} your modern runtime can read. Seeing the pair join back proves the bytes were fine and the display was the only problem.

Common pitfalls

Iterating by character index instead of code point. charCodeAt and string[i] return a single UTF-16 unit, so an emoji gets cut in half and you escape two broken surrogates. This tool walks by code point, but if you write your own escaper, use codePointAt and for…of so 😀 stays one character.
Using a bare \uXXXX for a character above U+FFFF. ὠ0 is not 😀 — it is ὠ followed by a literal 0, because \uXXXX only reads four digits. For astral characters use the surrogate pair 😀 or the ES6 form \u{1f600} instead.
Pasting an HTML entity into JavaScript or a \u escape into HTML. 😀 stays literal text in a JS string, and \u{1f600} stays literal text in HTML. Match the escape style to where it lives. Use \u for JS/JSON, &#…; for HTML, \1f600 for CSS.

Privacy

Every conversion runs as plain JavaScript inside your browser tab. The text you encode or decode never leaves the page and is never logged. The one thing to know: the shareable URL puts your input in the query string, so a link pasted into chat records that text in the recipient server's access log. If you are escaping something sensitive, use the copy button and paste the result rather than sharing the link.

FAQ

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Unicode Escape Converter — Text ⇄ \uXXXX, \u{}, HTML, CSS

What this tool does

Tool details

How to use

1. Input

2. Process

3. Copy / Download

How Unicode Escape Converter fits into your work

Encoding jobs

Encoding checks

Good next steps

Real-world use cases

Read a \u-escaped string out of a log or JSON dump

Embed non-ASCII safely in a JavaScript or JSON file

Write an emoji into CSS or an HTML template correctly

Debug why an emoji shows up as two pieces

Common pitfalls

Privacy

FAQ

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