How to Fix Garbled Text in a CSV

Did Japanese text turn into question marks or strange symbols when you opened a CSV in Excel? Start by checking the file’s character encoding.

Why does CSV text look garbled?

CSV is a simple format that separates data with commas and other delimiters. Text can be saved using different encodings, including UTF-8 and Shift_JIS (Windows-31J/CP932). Text may display incorrectly when the software reading the file assumes a different encoding.

Option 1: Save with a UTF-8 BOM

When working with CSV files in Windows Excel, adding a BOM marker at the start of a UTF-8 file can help Excel recognize the encoding. Results can vary depending on the Excel version and how you open the file.

Option 2: Choose the encoding when importing

In Excel, use the Data menu to import the file as text or CSV, then choose an encoding such as UTF-8. If the original file uses Shift_JIS but is imported as UTF-8, the text may become garbled.

Option 3: Convert the file

Use the free CSV encoding converter to choose the input and output encodings, then download the converted file. Processing takes place in your browser. Automatic detection can be wrong, so choose the encoding manually if the text still looks incorrect.

What to check after conversion

Review names, kanji, emoji, codes that start with zero, and cells that contain line breaks. Even if only the file encoding changes, the software receiving the file may automatically modify values. Keep the original and compare it with the output.

This guide describes general steps. For sensitive data, also check the safety of the software and storage you use.