C# Escape Sequences: Representing Special Characters in Strings

Learn how to use escape sequences in C# to represent special characters (newline, tab, backslash, etc.) within strings. This tutorial explains common escape sequences, demonstrates their usage, and shows how to use verbatim strings (`@`) for handling strings with many backslashes, improving code readability and simplifying string manipulation.

Escape Sequences in C#

Escape sequences in C# are special character combinations that represent characters that are difficult to type directly or have a special meaning within the language. They begin with a backslash (`\`).

Common Escape Sequences

Escape Sequence	Description
`\n`	Newline (line break)
`\t`	Horizontal tab
`\r`	Carriage return
`\b`	Backspace
`\a`	Bell (makes a sound)
`\f`	Form feed
`\v`	Vertical tab
`\'`	Single quote
`\"`	Double quote
`\xhh`	Unicode character (hexadecimal `hh`)
`\uhhhh`	Unicode character (hexadecimal `hhhh`)
`\Uhhhhhhhh`	Unicode character (hexadecimal `hhhhhhhh`)

Examples

Newline (`\n`)


Console.WriteLine("Line 1\nLine 2");

Tab (`\t`)

Console.WriteLine("Name\tAge");
Console.WriteLine("Alice\t30");

Unicode Character (`\xhh`, `\uhhhh`, `\Uhhhhhhhh`)


Console.WriteLine("\u20AC"); // Euro symbol (€)

Verbatim String Literals (`@`)

Verbatim strings, created using the `@` symbol before the string literal, treat backslashes as literal characters. This is useful for file paths and other strings containing many backslashes.


string filePath = @"C:\MyFolder\myfile.txt";

Note: Verbatim strings must be enclosed in double quotes (`""`). To include a double quote *within* a verbatim string, use two double quotes in a row (`""`).