UTF-8 to UTF-16 Converter | Text Encoding Conversion
Convert text between UTF-8 and UTF-16 hex representation. Supports Little Endian (LE) and Big Endian (BE) byte orders.
How to Use This Tool
- 1
Select 'Encode' to convert text to UTF-16 Hex.
- 2
Select 'Decode' to convert UTF-16 Hex back to text.
- 3
Choose the Endianness: Little Endian (LE) or Big Endian (BE).
- 4
Enter your text or hex string.
- 5
The result updates instantly. You can copy the hex output for analysis.
Use Cases & Examples
Debugging Windows Text Files
Windows often uses UTF-16LE. Use this tool to inspect the raw hex values of text files to verify encoding.
Network Protocol Analysis
Some network protocols require Big Endian (Network Byte Order). Convert text to verify the correct byte sequence.
Understanding Surrogate Pairs
See how emojis (like 🌍) are split into two 16-bit code units in UTF-16, unlike UTF-8.
UTF-16 and Endianness
UTF-16: Uses 16-bit (2-byte) code units. Characters are represented by one or two units (surrogate pairs).
Endianness: Determines the order of bytes. Little Endian (LE) stores the least significant byte first (common in Windows/Intel). Big Endian (BE) stores the most significant byte first (Network Byte Order).
BOM (Byte Order Mark): A special character (U+FEFF) at the start of a file to indicate endianness.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q.What is the difference between LE and BE?
A. Little Endian (LE) stores the smallest byte first (e.g., 'A' is `41 00`). Big Endian (BE) stores the largest byte first (e.g., 'A' is `00 41`).
Q.Why is the output longer than UTF-8?
A. UTF-16 uses at least 2 bytes per character, even for ASCII. UTF-8 uses 1 byte for ASCII. For Asian languages, UTF-16 can sometimes be more efficient.
Q.Does this tool add a BOM?
A. This tool shows the raw hex values of the text itself. It does not automatically prepend a Byte Order Mark (BOM) unless you explicitly include it.
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