Code point
A code point is a single number assigned to one character in the Unicode standard, written as U+ followed by hexadecimal digits.
In more detail
Unicode assigns every character a number between U+0000 and U+10FFFF. That number is the code point, and it is the character's permanent identity — it never changes once assigned, even if the character is later renamed.
A code point is not the same as a byte, a keystroke or a visible character. One visible emoji can be built from several code points joined together, and a single code point can take one to four bytes depending on the encoding used to store it.
Examples
| Example | What it shows |
|---|---|
| U+0041 | Latin capital letter A |
| U+1F602 | Face with tears of joy |
| U+200D | Zero width joiner, which has no visible shape of its own |
See it for yourself
The Unicode Inspector breaks any text into its code points, so you can watch this behave rather than take our word for it. Paste an example above into it and the structure is laid out step by step.
Source and review
Defined in Unicode Standard, Chapter 2. The explanation on this page is written by SymbolTap Editorial; the normative wording is in the linked document.
Last reviewed 2026-07-31.