Binary Translator: Text to Binary
Enter text to see it as binary, one 8-bit byte per character for plain English text. Paste binary to turn it back into readable text.
Result
01001000 01101001
- Bytes
- 2
- Bits
- 16
Formula
- Each character is stored as one or more bytes, and each byte is 8 bits
- H = 72 = 01001000 and i = 105 = 01101001
- Bit values from left to right: 128, 64, 32, 16, 8, 4, 2, 1
How the Binary Translator works
Computers store text as numbers. In ASCII and UTF-8, the capital letter H is the number 72. Written in base 2 with eight digits, 72 is 01001000, because 64 + 8 = 72.
Plain English letters, digits and punctuation take one byte each. Accented letters, other scripts and emoji take two to four bytes in UTF-8, which is why some characters produce more than eight bits.
Worked example
"Hi" is two characters. H is 72, which is 01001000. i is 105, which is 01101001. The binary is 01001000 01101001.
Frequently asked questions
How do I read binary code?
Split it into groups of eight bits. Add the place values where a 1 appears, using 128, 64, 32, 16, 8, 4, 2 and 1 from left to right. Look up the resulting number in an ASCII table.
What is 01100001 in text?
It is the lowercase letter a, which has the code 97.
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