How to Print Unicode Characters from String Literals in Python?

How do I print string literals that represent Unicode characters as their actual Unicode characters in Python?

# Example code to print Unicode characters from string literals in Python
unicode_string = '\u03A9'  # Represents the Greek letter Omega
print(unicode_string)  # Output: \u03A9
print(unicode_string.encode('utf-8').decode('unicode_escape'))  # Output: Ω

Printing string literals containing Unicode escape sequences requires decoding them to their corresponding characters. In Python, this can be achieved by using the `unicode_escape` encoding.

# Python code to correctly print Unicode characters
unicode_string = '\u03A9'  # Unicode escape for Ω
# Method 1: Encoding and decoding
actual_character = unicode_string.encode('utf-8').decode('unicode_escape')
print(actual_character)  # Output: Ω

# Method 2: Using str()
print(str(unicode_string))  # Output: \u03A9 (still needs decoding)

Causes

• The raw string representation does not automatically interpret escape sequences.
• String literals like '\u03A9' are treated as plain text, not as Unicode characters.

Solutions

• Use the `encode('utf-8').decode('unicode_escape')` method to convert Unicode escape sequences to actual characters.
• Alternatively, utilize the built-in `str()` method to interpret and print the Unicode character: `print(str(unicode_string))`.

Mistake: Using print() directly on the escape sequence without decoding.

Solution: Always decode the Unicode escape sequences to get the actual characters.

Mistake: Assuming Unicode strings in Python 3 behave like in Python 2.

Solution: In Python 3, all strings are Unicode by default, but escape sequences need to be explicitly decoded.