Big5 encoding range quick reference
Enter a short text, then use WHATWG Web-compatible Big5 to look up the actual bytes and single-byte or double-byte type, while preserving the encoding range and compatibility notes.
How to use the Big5 encoding range quick reference
Big5 bytes are looked up in the current browser using a local fixed index loaded with the page; input content is not uploaded.
Enter short text
Enter up to 64 Unicode scalar values; whitespace, duplicate characters, and order remain unchanged.
View Big5 bytes
View the uppercase hexadecimal bytes for each character, along with its ASCII single-byte or Big5 double-byte type.
Check reference ranges
A single-character lookup links to the reference range; results can be copied as TSV, and unmappable characters are clearly shown as “Unsupported”.
Limitations and Notes
- The lookup uses the WHATWG Encoding Web-compatible Big5 index and includes common HKSCS extensions from it; it is not equivalent to the Big5 dialect of every operating system or legacy application.
- ASCII uses one byte, while other mappable characters use two bytes; Big5 cannot cover all Unicode characters.
- The tool encodes each Unicode scalar individually; it does not perform Traditional-to-Simplified conversion, text normalization, or unknown file-encoding detection.
FAQ
Does this Big5 query include HKSCS?
Includes common HKSCS extension mappings indexed by WHATWG Big5, but does not promise coverage of all platform-specific extensions.
Why are some Simplified Chinese characters shown as unsupported?
Big5 primarily serves Traditional Chinese environments, with limited character coverage; this tool does not automatically convert Simplified Chinese characters to Traditional Chinese.
How are multiple historical Big5 pointers for the same character handled?
The tool follows the pointer-selection rules specified by the WHATWG encoding algorithm to produce output consistent with the Web platform.