IDN to ASCII Converter - International Domain Name Decoder
Convert international domain names (IDN) to ASCII punycode and back. Essential for working with emoji domains, non-English characters, and unicode URLs across the web.
- IDN to punycode: Convert unicode domains like 日本語.jp to xn--wgv71a119e.jp
- Punycode decoder: Convert xn-- domains back to readable unicode text
- Emoji domain converter: Handle domains with emojis and special characters
- Batch conversion: Convert multiple domains at once
- RFC compliant: Follows RFC 3492 and RFC 5891 standards
Used by web developers, domain registrars, and anyone working with international domain names.
What is an International Domain Name (IDN)?
An International Domain Name (IDN) is one of those domain names that contain unusual characters such as letters with accents, umlauts, or other diacritics. These names are not supported by the code that runs the domain system, so they need to be converted to a format that is supported. This is where Punycode comes in.
What is Punycode?
Punycode is an algorithm used to enable the use of characters outside the ASCII character set in domain names. This is useful when you want to use international characters in domain names. The Punycode algorithm converts the international characters to a limited character set that is supported by the Domain Name System (DNS).
How does the whole process work?
It's actually pretty simple: all domains are in fact represented in ASCII text, even if they appear as Unicode text like emojis or diacritics. It's important to know that browsers use punycode to convert visually distinct domain names like "mañana.com" into an ASCII format, such as "xn--maana-pta.com." Browsers do this conversion silently, so you never see it. But in many other cases, you may need to convert these domain names manually, and that's where this tool comes in.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about punycode, international domain names, and IDN security.
What is Punycode?
Punycode is an encoding system that converts Unicode characters (like emoji or non-English letters) into ASCII for use in domain names. International domains like "münchen.de" become "xn--mnchen-3ya.de" in punycode. This allows domain names in any language while maintaining DNS compatibility. Domains starting with "xn--" are punycode encoded.
What is an IDN homograph attack?
An IDN homograph attack exploits international domain names (IDN) by registering domains using similar-looking characters from different scripts. For example, "wikipediа.org" using Cyrillic "а" instead of Latin "a" appears identical but leads to a different site. Converting to punycode reveals the deception: "xn--wikipedi-86g.org".
What is an Internationalized Domain Name (IDN)?
Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs) are domain names containing non-ASCII characters like accents (café.com), Chinese (例え.jp), or Arabic (مثال.مصر). They're converted to ASCII using Punycode for DNS compatibility. "münchen.de" becomes "xn--mnchen-3ya.de". IDNs enable domains in any language or script.
How to convert a domain to Punycode
Convert international domain names to ASCII-compatible punycode format.
- Use a Punycode converter
- Enter the internationalized domain (like münchen.de)
- Get the ASCII-compatible version (xn--mnchen-3ya.de)
- The "xn--" prefix indicates Punycode encoding
- Browsers automatically convert when you enter IDN URLs
How to decode Punycode to readable text
Convert ASCII punycode domains back to readable Unicode text.
- Use a Punycode decoder
- Enter the ASCII domain (like xn--mnchen-3ya.de)
- Get the readable version (münchen.de)
- Look for domains starting with "xn--" to identify Punycode
- Decoding reveals if a domain uses legitimate international characters or suspicious lookalikes
Why do some URLs have the xn-- prefix?
The "xn--" prefix indicates a Punycode-encoded internationalized domain name. It's a way to represent non-ASCII characters (like ü, é, 中文) in the ASCII-only DNS system. "xn--nxasmq5a.com" might decode to "בדיקה.com" (Hebrew). Browsers display the decoded version in the address bar.
Are Punycode domains safe?
Punycode domains can be legitimate (münchen.de) or malicious (using lookalike characters for phishing). Verify by: 1) Decoding the Punycode to see actual characters, 2) Checking for mixed scripts (Latin + Cyrillic = suspicious), 3) Comparing to the legitimate domain. Browsers now warn about suspicious IDNs.
