UTF Character Blocks Reference

Understanding character encoding is essential in today’s digital communication, especially with the widespread use of the internet. One of the most widely used encodings is UTF (Unicode Transformation Format). UTF ensures that text looks the same across different systems and platforms. This article serves as a comprehensive UTF Character Blocks Reference, guiding beginners through various character blocks within the UTF standard.

I. Introduction

UTF represents a way of encoding every character from the world’s writing systems, including symbols, emojis, and more. The significance of UTF lies in its universality, allowing different systems to read and write the same characters without confusion. This article aims to serve as a guide, providing a clear overview of essential UTF character blocks, their ranges, and their applications.

II. C0 Controls and Basic Latin

The C0 Controls and Basic Latin block encompasses characters essential for the English language and control characters used in text processing.

Character	UTF-16 Code	Description
A	U+0041	Uppercase A
a	U+0061	Lowercase a
0	U+0030	Digit 0
Space	U+0020	Space character

Character range: U+0000 to U+007F

III. Latin-1 Supplement

The Latin-1 Supplement block includes additional characters needed for Western European languages.

Character	UTF-16 Code	Description
ñ	U+00F1	Lowercase n with tilde
Ç	U+00C7	Uppercase C with cedilla

Character range: U+0080 to U+00FF

IV. Latin Extended-A

The Latin Extended-A block further expands the Latin character set with characters for various phonetic requirements.

Character	UTF-16 Code	Description
Ł	U+0141	Uppercase L with stroke
ž	U+017E	Lowercase z with caron

Character range: U+0100 to U+017F

V. Latin Extended-B

The Latin Extended-B block introduces even more characters, including additional letters in the IPA.

Character	UTF-16 Code	Description
Ɓ	U+0181	Uppercase B with hook
Ʋ	U+01B2	Uppercase V with hook

Character range: U+0180 to U+024F

VI. IPA Extensions

The IPA Extensions block serves linguists and language students by providing characters used in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA).

Character	UTF-16 Code	Description
ʌ	U+028C	Turned v
ʃ	U+0283	Esh

Character range: U+0250 to U+02AF

VII. Spacing Modifier Letters

The Spacing Modifier Letters block includes characters that modify the pronunciation of base letters.

Character	UTF-16 Code	Description
ˈ	U+02C8	Primary stress mark
ˌ	U+02CC	Secondary stress mark

Character range: U+02B0 to U+02FF

VIII. Combining Diacritical Marks

The Combining Diacritical Marks provide a way to add accents or other modifications to base characters.

Character	UTF-16 Code	Description
́	U+0301	Acute accent
̀	U+0300	Grave accent

Character range: U+0300 to U+036F

IX. Greek and Coptic

The Greek and Coptic block includes characters used in Greek and Coptic languages.

Character	UTF-16 Code	Description
α	U+03B1	Greek Small Letter Alpha
Ω	U+03A9	Greek Capital Letter Omega

Character range: U+0370 to U+03FF

X. Cyrillic

The Cyrillic block consists of characters for the Cyrillic script, used in several Slavic languages, including Russian and Bulgarian.

Character	UTF-16 Code	Description
б	U+0431	Lowercase Be
Я	U+042F	Uppercase Ya

Character range: U+0400 to U+04FF

XI. Armenian

The Armenian block provides characters for the Armenian alphabet, which is used in the Armenian language.

Character	UTF-16 Code	Description
Ա	U+0531	Armenian Capital Letter Alef
ա	U+0561	Armenian Small Letter Alef

Character range: U+0530 to U+058F

XII. Hebrew

The Hebrew block contains characters used in the Hebrew language, including letters and Niqqud, which indicates vowel sounds.

Character	UTF-16 Code	Description
א	U+05D0	Hebrew Letter Alef
ת	U+05EA	Hebrew Letter Tav

Character range: U+0590 to U+05FF

XIII. Arabic

The Arabic block contains characters used in the Arabic script, vital for Arabic and several other languages.

Character	UTF-16 Code	Description
ا	U+0627	Arabic Letter Alef
م	U+0645	Arabic Letter Meem

Character range: U+0600 to U+06FF

XIV. Syriac

The Syriac block includes characters used in the Syriac script, an ancient Semitic language.

Character	UTF-16 Code	Description
ܐ	U+0710	Syriac Letter Alaph
ܡ	U+0715	Syriac Letter Meem

Character range: U+0700 to U+074F

XV. Thaana

The Thaana block encompasses characters of the Thaana script, used in the Maldives.

Character	UTF-16 Code	Description
ހ	U+0780	Thaana Letter Haa
މ	U+0789	Thaana Letter Meem

Character range: U+0780 to U+07BF

XVI. N’Ko

The N’Ko block features characters used in the N’Ko alphabet, which is utilized for Manding languages in West Africa.

Character	UTF-16 Code	Description
ߒ	U+07D2	N’Ko Letter Nyaa
ߕ	U+07D5	N’Ko Letter Naa

Character range: U+07C0 to U+07FF

The Devanagari block includes characters used in the Devanagari script, essential for languages like Hindi and Sanskrit.

Character	UTF-16 Code	Description
अ	U+0905	Devanagari Letter A
ह	U+0939	Devanagari Letter Ha

Character range: U+0900 to U+097F

XVIII. Bengali

The Bengali block includes characters used in the Bengali language and script.

Character	UTF-16 Code	Description
অ	U+0995	Bengali Letter O
হ	U+09B9	Bengali Letter Ha

Character range: U+0980 to U+09FF

XIX. Gurmukhi

The Gurmukhi block offers characters from the Gurmukhi script, the writing system used for Punjabi.

Character	UTF-16 Code	Description
ਅ	U+0A05	Gurmukhi Letter A
ਹ	U+0A39	Gurmukhi Letter Ha

Character range: U+0A00 to U+0A7F

FAQs

Question	Answer
What is UTF?	UTF is a family of character encoding formats that allows computers to represent and manipulate text.
What does the range U+0000 to U+007F represent?	This range covers the basic ASCII characters including control characters and standard Latin letters.
Why are diacritical marks important?	Diacritical marks indicate modifications in pronunciation and meaning of letters in various languages.
What scripts are included in UTF?	UTF includes many scripts, such as Latin, Greek, Cyrillic, Arabic, Devanagari, and more.