Punycode Converter
Enter a domain name that has accents or letters from another alphabet and get the ASCII form that DNS uses, such as xn--mnchen-3ya.de, or paste an xn-- name and see it in readable Unicode. Each part of the domain is converted on its own, and the tool tells you when a part is too long for DNS. Everything runs in your browser.
| Label | Result | Changed |
|---|---|---|
| münchen | xn--mnchen-3ya | yes |
| de | de | no |
DNS only carries the letters a to z, the digits and the hyphen, so a domain with other characters is stored in Punycode (RFC 3492). Each label with a non-ASCII character is encoded on its own and given the prefix xn--, so münchen becomes xn--mnchen-3ya and the domain becomes xn--mnchen-3ya.de. Labels that are already ASCII are left as they are, and a DNS label can be at most 63 characters long once encoded. Text is normalized to NFC and lowercased first, which covers common names, but this is not the complete UTS 46 mapping that browsers apply. Everything is worked out in your browser and nothing is uploaded.
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Format ConversionAbout the Punycode Converter
The domain name system only carries the letters a to z, the digits and the hyphen. To allow other characters, an internationalized domain name is stored as Punycode, defined in RFC 3492. Each label that contains a non-ASCII character is encoded separately and given the prefix xn--. The ASCII letters of the label are kept at the front, then a hyphen, then the other characters packed into a short code, so münchen becomes mnchen-3ya and the label is written xn--mnchen-3ya. The domain münchen.de is therefore xn--mnchen-3ya.de. The Japanese label for the word example in hiragana and kanji becomes xn--r8jz45g. Labels that are already ASCII, such as the de or www parts, are left alone. A DNS label can be at most 63 characters, counting the xn-- prefix, and a whole name at most 253. Before encoding, the tool normalizes each label to Unicode form NFC and lowercases it, which covers ordinary names. Browsers apply the fuller UTS 46 mapping, which also folds some compatibility characters, so for unusual characters the result may differ from what a browser sends. The encoder was checked against the twelve sample strings in RFC 3492. Nothing is uploaded.
What is Punycode?▾
A way to write any Unicode string using only letters, digits and hyphens, defined in RFC 3492. It is used to store internationalized domain names in DNS, where each encoded label starts with xn--.
How do I convert an accented domain name to xn--?▾
Enter it in the tool with Unicode to Punycode selected. For example münchen.de becomes xn--mnchen-3ya.de. Only the labels with non-ASCII characters change, and the rest stay as they are.
Why does my browser show the Unicode name but DNS use xn--?▾
DNS can only carry ASCII, so the browser converts the name to its xn-- form before it looks the domain up, and converts it back to show you. The two forms are the same name written two ways.
What is the length limit for an internationalized domain?▾
A DNS label can be at most 63 characters in its ASCII form, including the xn-- prefix, and the full name at most 253. A short Unicode label can still exceed 63 once encoded if it uses many unusual characters.
Is my data uploaded?▾
No. The conversion runs in your browser and the domains you enter are not sent anywhere.