What is Mojibake (garbled text)?

It is a display issue that occurs when text data is read using a different character encoding than the one it was saved with.

What causes the '縺ゅｊ縺後→縺' Mojibake and how can I fix it?

It happens when UTF-8 text is opened in Shift_JIS. Since it follows a strong pattern, it can be easily fixed using a Mojibake recovery tool.

Can I fix the black diamond with a question mark () Mojibake?

No, this indicates an invalid byte sequence where the original text data is lost, making recovery impossible.

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Mojibake Types & Causes Dictionary

Mojibake, which turns text into incomprehensible strings like "縺ゅｊ" or "", follows specific rules.
We explain how Mojibake occurs and its relationship with character encodings.

What is Mojibake?

Mojibake is a display error that occurs when text data is read on a computer using a different "character code (encoding)" than the one it was saved in.

Computers store characters as "numbers of 0s and 1s (byte sequences)". A character code is a mapping table used to convert these numbers into "characters" that humans can read. In Japanese environments, there are multiple character codes such as UTF-8, Shift_JIS, EUC-JP, and ISO-2022-JP. If the wrong table is used, the data translates into completely different characters.

Mojibake Types and Causes Dictionary

Saved Format → Viewed Format	Appearance Characteristics	Cause and Restorability
UTF-8 ↓ Shift_JIS	縺ゅｊ縺後→縺 (Characters like "縺" or "繝" are common)	The most commonly seen pattern today. It occurs when UTF-8 text created on Mac or smartphones is opened in older Windows software or Excel. Since there are strong patterns, it can be restored with a high probability using tools.
Shift_JIS ↓ UTF-8	(Black diamonds with question marks, etc.)	The state where it's replaced by the Replacement Character () as an invalid byte sequence. If saved over with these characters, the original information is completely lost, making restoration impossible.
EUC-JP ↓ Shift_JIS	꤬Ȥ (Mixture of half-width katakana and symbols)	Character code used in older DBs or CGI programs in UNIX/Linux environments. Occurs because its specific character code range overlaps with Shift_JIS half-width kana. Restorable.
UTF-8 ↓ EUC-JP	꤬Ȥ (Sequence of meaningless symbols)	Occurs when forcing a 3-byte UTF-8 expression to be interpreted as EUC-JP (mostly 2-byte). Some characters may be missing, and complete restoration can be difficult in some cases.
ISO-2022-JP ↓ Shift_JIS etc.	$B$"$j$,$H$&(B (Contains $B or (B)	Known as "JIS code". It was standard in older emails. A phenomenon where escape sequences (like $B) are displayed as is. Restorable.
Mac OS Roman ↓ UTF-8 etc.	√¢‚Ç¨‚Ä¢ (Group of strange western symbols)	Old character code specific to Mac. Mojibake that easily occurs in file names etc., when Zip files are exchanged between Windows and Mac (commonly known as: Mocha).

How to fix garbled text (Mojibake)?

Using the Mojibake Fixer tool on our site, you can test all combinations of character codes by brute force and restore it to correct Japanese with a single click.

Use the Mojibake Fixer Tool