Punycode is an encoding algorithm (RFC 3492) that represents Unicode characters using only the letters, digits and hyphens allowed in DNS. An encoded IDN label begins with the prefix xn--. For example, münchen becomes xn--mnchen-3ya.
You rarely need to type punycode yourself; browsers and registrars convert automatically. However, you will see punycode in DNS records, certificates, server configs and sometimes in the address bar.
Browsers may deliberately display punycode instead of Unicode when a domain mixes scripts in a suspicious way, to protect users from look-alike phishing domains such as one using a Cyrillic “а” in place of a Latin “a”.
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Related terms
- Domain hack
- A domain hack combines the name and TLD to spell a word or phrase, like del.icio.us or youtu.be, creating short, memorable addresses.
- Exact-match domain (EMD)
- An exact-match domain uses the exact keyword phrase people search for, like bestpizzachicago.com, to signal relevance and aid recall.
- Brandable domain
- A brandable domain is a short, unique, pronounceable name, often invented or blended, that can become a distinctive brand, like Spotify or Hulu.
- Typosquatting
- Typosquatting is registering misspellings of popular domains, like gooogle.com, to capture mistyped traffic for ads, phishing or malware.