Escape Sequence in C (original) (raw)

Last Updated : 1 Nov, 2025

Escape sequences are special character representations in strings, used to denote characters that cannot be entered directly from the keyboard or that carry a specific control function. They start with a backslash \ followed by a character (e.g., \n, \t).

Different escape sequences represent different characters but the output is dependent on the compiler you are using.

Escape Sequence in C Examples

The following are the escape sequence examples that demonstrate how to use different escape sequences in C language.

\n - Prints a new line

C `

#include <stdio.h>

int main(void) { // Here we are using \n, which is a new line character. printf("Hello\n"); printf("GeeksforGeeks");

return (0);

}

Output

Hello GeeksforGeeks

\t - Prints a tab

C++ `

#include <stdio.h>

int main(void) { // \t will provide a tab space between two words. printf("Hello \t GFG");

return (0);

}

\\ - Prints a single backslash (\)

C++ `

#include <stdio.h>

int main(void) { // \ prints a single backslash () printf("Hello\GFG");

return (0);

}

\b - Moves the cursor one position back

C `

#include <stdio.h>

int main(void) { // \b (backspace) character moves the cursor one position back printf("Hello \b\b\b\b\b\bHi Geeks");

return (0);

}

**Output

Hi Geeks

\' and \'' - Prints single (') and double (") quote.

C++ `

#include <stdio.h>

int main(void) { // ' prints a single quote (') printf("' Hello Geeks\n");

// \" prints a double quote (")
printf("\" Hello Geeks");

return 0;

}

Output

' Hello Geeks " Hello Geeks

\v - Prints a vertical tab

C `

#include <stdio.h>

int main(void) { // \v prints a vertical tab and moves the cursor down to the next vertical tab position. printf("Hello friends\v");

printf("Welcome to GFG");

return (0);

}

**Output

Hello friends
Welcome to GFG

\r - Moves the cursor to the beginning of the current line.

C `

#include <stdio.h>

int main(void) { // \r Moves the cursor to the beginning of the current line printf("Hello Geeks \rGeeksfor");

return (0);

}

**Output

GeeksforGeeks

\? - Prints a question mark

C `

#include <stdio.h>

int main(void) { // ? is used to print a question mark (?) printf("??!\n");

return 0;

}

\a - Produces a beep/alert sound.

C++ `

#include <stdio.h>

int main(void) { // \a triggers a sound or system beep in the console printf("Hello!\a\n"); printf("This is a beep\a\n");

return 0;

}

Output

Hello! This is a beep

\ooo - Represents a character using its octal value.

C `

#include <stdio.h>

int main(void) { // \ooo Represents a character using its octal value (0-7) char *s = "A\072\065"; printf("%s", s);

return 0;

}

\xhh - Represents a character using its hexadecimal value.

C `

#include <stdio.h>

int main(void) { // \xhh Represents a character using its hex value (0-9, a-f, A-F) char *s = "B\x4a"; printf("%s", s);

return 0;

}

Escape Sequence List

The table below lists some common escape sequences in C language.

Escape Sequence	Name	Description
\a	Alarm or Beep	It is used to generate a bell sound in the C program.
\b	Backspace	It is used to move the cursor one place backward.
\f	Form Feed	It is used to move the cursor to the start of the next logical page.
\n	New Line	It moves the cursor to the start of the next line.
\r	Carriage Return	It moves the cursor to the start of the current line.
\t	Horizontal Tab	It inserts some whitespace to the left of the cursor and moves the cursor accordingly.
\v	Vertical Tab	It is used to insert vertical space.
\\	Backslash	Use to insert backslash character.
\'	Single Quote	It is used to display a single quotation mark.
\"	Double Quote	It is used to display double quotation marks.
\?	Question Mark	It is used to display a question mark.
\ooo	Octal Number	It is used to represent an octal number.
\xhh	Hexadecimal Number	It represents the hexadecimal number.
\0	NULL	It represents the NULL character.

Out of all these escape sequences, \n and \0 are used the most. In fact, escape sequences like \f, \a, are not even used by programmers nowadays.