str.encode() Encode to bytes
Last updated: 2026-09-22
str.encode() Encode to bytes
str.encode(encoding='utf-8', errors='strict') encodes to bytes.
| Category | String Methods |
|---|---|
| Kind | Built-in Type Method |
| Python Version | all |
📝 Syntax
str.encode(encoding='utf-8', errors='strict')⚙️ Parameters
| encoding Optional | Name of the character encoding, e.g. 'utf-8', 'ascii'.（Default：'utf-8'） |
|---|---|
| errors Optional | Error handling scheme: 'strict', 'ignore', 'replace', etc.（Default：'strict'） |
Returns：bytes. The string encoded to a bytes object.
Mutates the original：No (returns a new object)
💥 Raises
UnicodeEncodeError— Raised when errors='strict' and a character cannot be encoded.
▶ Example
Edit the code, press Run, and see the result in the output panel:
Output：
b'caf\xc3\xa9'
b'\xe4\xb8\xad\xe6\x96\x87'💡 Related Cases
More case studies coming soon — check back later.
❓ FAQ
QWhat type does encode() return?
AIt returns bytes, not a string. 'café'.encode('utf-8') gives b'caf\xc3\xa9'.
QWhat happens with characters that cannot be encoded?
ABy default errors='strict' raises UnicodeEncodeError. Using errors='ignore' silently drops the character, and errors='replace' replaces it with ?.
QWhich encoding should I use for Chinese text?
AUsually UTF-8: '中文'.encode('utf-8'). If you wrongly use 'ascii', Chinese cannot be represented and UnicodeEncodeError is raised.
