T-SQL reference › varchar vs nvarchar

varchar vs nvarchar in SQL Server

varchar stores non-Unicode text. nvarchar stores Unicode (N for national). If a name can have accents or other scripts, nvarchar is the one that will not turn them into question marks.

How they look

SELECT CAST('Becky' AS varchar(20)) AS ascii_name,
       CAST(N'Sandrá' AS nvarchar(20)) AS unicode_name;

The N before a string literal means “this is Unicode.” Miss it and a nvarchar comparison can do extra conversions.

At work

Names, addresses, free text: nvarchar.
Codes you control (status, SKU): varchar is fine.
nvarchar(max) for a dump, not for a column you filter on all day.

varchar(1) for a flag

Use char(1) or a bit. Do not store Yes/No as a long string if a bit will do.

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