How to Use chr and ord Functions in Python

In Python, chr() converts a Unicode code point (an integer) to its corresponding character, while ord() converts a single character to its Unicode code point (an integer). Use chr() when you want a character from a number, and ord() when you want the number representing a character.

Syntax

chr() takes one integer argument and returns the character for that Unicode code point.

ord() takes one character (string of length 1) and returns its Unicode code point as an integer.

python

chr(i)
ord(c)

Example

This example shows how to convert a number to a character using chr() and how to get the number for a character using ord().

python

number = 65
character = chr(number)
print(f"chr({number}) = {character}")

char = 'A'
code_point = ord(char)
print(f"ord('{char}') = {code_point}")

Output

chr(65) = A
ord('A') = 65

Common Pitfalls

• Passing a number outside the valid Unicode range (0 to 0x10FFFF) to chr() causes a ValueError.
• Passing a string longer than one character to ord() causes a TypeError.
• Remember that ord() only accepts a single character string, not empty or multiple characters.

python

try:
    print(chr(1114112))  # Invalid code point
except ValueError as e:
    print(f"Error: {e}")

try:
    print(ord('AB'))  # More than one character
except TypeError as e:
    print(f"Error: {e}")

Output

Error: chr() arg not in range(0x110000)
Error: ord() expected a character, but string of length 2 found

Quick Reference

Function	Input	Output	Description
chr()	Integer (Unicode code point)	Character (string)	Convert number to character
ord()	Single character (string)	Integer (Unicode code point)	Convert character to number

Key Takeaways

Use chr() to get a character from a Unicode code point number.

Use ord() to get the Unicode code point number from a single character.

chr() input must be between 0 and 0x10FFFF; ord() input must be a single character string.

Passing invalid inputs to chr() or ord() raises errors you should handle.

These functions help convert between characters and their numeric Unicode values easily.