Text to Binary
Convert plain text into binary code.
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Text to Binary converts each character of your text into a string of 0s and 1s, with a space between characters, so Hi becomes 01001000 01101001. It is used in computer science classes, puzzles and coded greetings, and it shows clearly how a computer represents letters as numbers.
How a letter becomes eight bits
Each character is first turned into its character code, then that number is written in base 2 and padded with zeros on the left to at least eight digits. For the letter H:
- H has the ASCII code 72.
- 72 = 64 + 8, so the bits for 64 and 8 are on:
1001000. - Padded to eight digits it becomes
01001000.
The letter i is 105 = 64 + 32 + 8 + 1, which gives 01101001. A space is 32, written 00100000. Compare A (01000001) with a (01100001): capitals and small letters differ by a single bit, the one worth 32.
Non-English characters: longer groups, not UTF-8 bytes
For plain English text every group is exactly eight bits, one byte per character. Anything outside ASCII behaves differently, and the difference matters if another program will read the output:
| Character | This tool | UTF-8 bytes |
|---|---|---|
| é | 11101001 | 11000011 10101001 |
| ₹ | 10000010111001 | 11100010 10000010 10111001 |
| 😀 | two 16-bit groups | four bytes |
The tool writes the character's UTF-16 code in binary, so the rupee sign becomes one 14-bit group rather than the three bytes a file would store. Its output converts back correctly in the site's Binary to Text decoder, but a decoder that expects strict 8-bit UTF-8 bytes will misread it.
Where this fits in your studies
The CBSE Class 11 Computer Science syllabus covers number systems and encoding schemes such as ASCII, ISCII and Unicode, and converting a short word by hand is a common exercise. Use the tool to check your working: write your name in binary on paper, then compare. To practise the reverse skill, convert decimal values with the binary-decimal converter, or see the same text as decimal codes with Text to ASCII Codes.
Size and practical notes
- A 100-character English message produces 800 bits plus 99 separating spaces, so binary is about nine times longer than the original text.
- Reading binary quickly: split each 8-bit group into two halves of four bits.
0100 1000is hex 4 and 8, and hex 48 is decimal 72, the letter H. Programmers use this shortcut to read binary dumps without adding up powers of two. - Line breaks are converted as well (00001010), so a multi-line message stays multi-line after decoding.
- Binary is an encoding, not encryption. Anyone with a converter can read a binary message in seconds, which is fine for a birthday puzzle but not for anything private.