# Character A single extended grapheme cluster that approximates a user-perceived character. ``` @frozen struct Character ``` ## Overview The `Character` type represents a character made up of one or more Unicode scalar values, grouped by a Unicode boundary algorithm. Generally, a `Character` instance matches what the reader of a string will perceive as a single character. Strings are collections of `Character` instances, so the number of visible characters is generally the most natural way to count the length of a string. ``` let greeting = "Hello! 🐥" print("Length: \(greeting.count)") // Prints "Length: 8" ``` Because each character in a string can be made up of one or more Unicode scalar values, the number of characters in a string may not match the length of the Unicode scalar value representation or the length of the string in a particular binary representation. ``` print("Unicode scalar value count: \(greeting.unicodeScalars.count)") // Prints "Unicode scalar value count: 8" print("UTF-8 representation count: \(greeting.utf8.count)") // Prints "UTF-8 representation count: 11" ``` Every `Character` instance is composed of one or more Unicode scalar values that are grouped together as an *extended grapheme cluster*. The way these scalar values are grouped is defined by a canonical, localized, or otherwise tailored Unicode segmentation algorithm. For example, a country’s Unicode flag character is made up of two regional indicator scalar values that correspond to that country’s ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code. The alpha-2 code for The United States is “US”, so its flag character is made up of the Unicode scalar values `"\u{1F1FA}"` (REGIONAL INDICATOR SYMBOL LETTER U) and `"\u{1F1F8}"` (REGIONAL INDICATOR SYMBOL LETTER S). When placed next to each other in a string literal, these two scalar values are combined into a single grapheme cluster, represented by a `Character` instance in Swift. ``` let usFlag: Character = "\u{1F1FA}\u{1F1F8}" print(usFlag) // Prints "🇺🇸" ``` For more information about the Unicode terms used in this discussion, see the [Unicode.org glossary](http://www.unicode.org/glossary/). In particular, this discussion mentions [extended grapheme clusters](http://www.unicode.org/glossary/#extended_grapheme_cluster) and [Unicode scalar values](http://www.unicode.org/glossary/#unicode_scalar_value). ## Topics ### Creating a Character In addition to creating a character from a single-character string literal, you can also convert a unicode scalar value or single-character string. [`init(_:)`](/documentation/Swift/Character/init(_:)-6o1aq) Creates a character from a single-character string. ### Writing to a Text Stream [`write(to:)`](/documentation/Swift/Character/write(to:)) Writes the character into the given output stream. ### Comparing Characters [`==(_:_:)`](/documentation/Swift/Character/==(_:_:)) Returns a Boolean value indicating whether two values are equal. [`!=(_:_:)`](/documentation/Swift/Character/!=(_:_:)) Returns a Boolean value indicating whether two values are not equal. ### Working with a Character’s Unicode Values [`init(_:)`](/documentation/Swift/Character/init(_:)-8hq6x) Creates a character containing the given Unicode scalar value. [`unicodeScalars`](/documentation/Swift/Character/unicodeScalars) [`Character.UnicodeScalarView`](/documentation/Swift/Character/UnicodeScalarView) [`isASCII`](/documentation/Swift/Character/isASCII) A Boolean value indicating whether this is an ASCII character. [`asciiValue`](/documentation/Swift/Character/asciiValue) The ASCII encoding value of this character, if it is an ASCII character. ### Inspecting a Character [`isLetter`](/documentation/Swift/Character/isLetter) A Boolean value indicating whether this character is a letter. [`isPunctuation`](/documentation/Swift/Character/isPunctuation) A Boolean value indicating whether this character represents punctuation. [`isNewline`](/documentation/Swift/Character/isNewline) A Boolean value indicating whether this character represents a newline. [`isWhitespace`](/documentation/Swift/Character/isWhitespace) A Boolean value indicating whether this character represents whitespace, including newlines. [`isSymbol`](/documentation/Swift/Character/isSymbol) A Boolean value indicating whether this character represents a symbol. [`isMathSymbol`](/documentation/Swift/Character/isMathSymbol) A Boolean value indicating whether this character represents a symbol that naturally appears in mathematical contexts. [`isCurrencySymbol`](/documentation/Swift/Character/isCurrencySymbol) A Boolean value indicating whether this character represents a currency symbol. ### Checking a Character’s Case [`isCased`](/documentation/Swift/Character/isCased) A Boolean value indicating whether this character changes under any form of case conversion. [`isUppercase`](/documentation/Swift/Character/isUppercase) A Boolean value indicating whether this character is considered uppercase. [`uppercased()`](/documentation/Swift/Character/uppercased()) Returns an uppercased version of this character. [`isLowercase`](/documentation/Swift/Character/isLowercase) A Boolean value indicating whether this character is considered lowercase. [`lowercased()`](/documentation/Swift/Character/lowercased()) Returns a lowercased version of this character. ### Checking a Character’s Numeric Properties [`isNumber`](/documentation/Swift/Character/isNumber) A Boolean value indicating whether this character represents a number. [`isWholeNumber`](/documentation/Swift/Character/isWholeNumber) A Boolean value indicating whether this character represents a whole number. [`wholeNumberValue`](/documentation/Swift/Character/wholeNumberValue) The numeric value this character represents, if it represents a whole number. [`isHexDigit`](/documentation/Swift/Character/isHexDigit) A Boolean value indicating whether this character represents a hexadecimal digit. [`hexDigitValue`](/documentation/Swift/Character/hexDigitValue) The numeric value this character represents, if it is a hexadecimal digit. ### Creating a Range Expression [`...(_:_:)`](/documentation/Swift/Character/...(_:_:)) Returns a closed range that contains both of its bounds. [`...(_:)`](/documentation/Swift/Character/...(_:)-4mm4x) Returns a partial range up to, and including, its upper bound. [`...(_:)`](/documentation/Swift/Character/...(_:)-6ct59) Returns a partial range extending upward from a lower bound. ### Describing a Character [`description`](/documentation/Swift/Character/description) A textual representation of this instance. [`debugDescription`](/documentation/Swift/Character/debugDescription) A textual representation of the character, suitable for debugging. [`customMirror`](/documentation/Swift/Character/customMirror) A mirror that reflects the `Character` instance. [`customPlaygroundQuickLook`](/documentation/Swift/Character/customPlaygroundQuickLook) A custom playground Quick Look for the `Character` instance. [`hash(into:)`](/documentation/Swift/Character/hash(into:)) Hashes the essential components of this value by feeding them into the given hasher. ### Infrequently Used Functionality [`init(extendedGraphemeClusterLiteral:)`](/documentation/Swift/Character/init(extendedGraphemeClusterLiteral:)) Creates a character with the specified value. [`init(unicodeScalarLiteral:)`](/documentation/Swift/Character/init(unicodeScalarLiteral:)) --- Copyright © 2026 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. | [Terms of Use](https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/terms/site.html) | [Privacy Policy](https://www.apple.com/privacy/privacy-policy)