← Back to JavaScript Course | Chapter 3: Strings, Arrays & Data | Lesson 1 of 6

JS Strings

A string is simply text, a name, a sentence, a URL, wrapped so JavaScript knows to treat it as words rather than a calculation or a command. You can build strings with single quotes, double quotes, or the more flexible backtick template literals, which let you embed variables directly inside the text without messy joining. Strings show up constantly in real code, displaying a tutorial title, building a message, or reading a URL, all things happening behind the scenes across cookiescursor.com every time a page loads.

In this page:

  1. Creating Strings
  2. Template Literals
  3. String Length
  4. Escape Characters
  5. Comparing Strings
Syntax
javascript 
let text = "value";
let text = 'value';
let text = `template ${expression}`;
text.length;

Creating Strings

Strings can be created with single quotes, double quotes, or backticks, and all three behave the same for basic text, the choice is largely a matter of consistency and, for backticks, added features.

Note: Pick one quote style, single or double, for regular strings and stick with it consistently across a project for readability.
Warning: A string must start and end with the same type of quote, mismatching them causes an immediate syntax error.

Example: Creating Strings

javascript 
// Declare the variable `a`, set to 'Single quotes'
// Declare the variable `a`, set to 'Single quotes'
let a = 'Single quotes';
// Declare the variable `b`, set to "Double quotes"
// Declare the variable `b`, set to "Double quotes"
let b = "Double quotes";
// Declare the variable `c`, set to `Backticks`
// Declare the variable `c`, set to `Backticks`
let c = `Backticks`;
// Print `a, b, c` to the console
// Print `a, b, c` to the console
console.log(a, b, c);

Template Literals

Template literals, written with backticks, let you embed variables and expressions directly inside a string using ${expression}, avoiding the need to join text together with the + operator.

Note: Template literals also support multi-line strings naturally, just press enter inside the backticks without needing a special escape character.
Warning: The ${} syntax only works inside backtick strings, using it inside single or double quotes just produces the literal characters, not an embedded value.

Example: Template Literals

javascript 
// Declare the constant `name`, set to "Maya"
// Declare the constant `name`, set to "Maya"
const name = "Maya";
// Declare the constant `age`, set to `25`
// Declare the constant `age`, set to `25`
const age = 25;
// Print `${name} is ${age} years old.` to the console
// Print `${name} is ${age} years old.` to the console
console.log(`${name} is ${age} years old.`);

String Length

Every string has a length property that returns the number of characters it contains, counting letters, numbers, spaces, and punctuation all equally.

Note: length is a property, not a method, so it's accessed without parentheses, myString.length, not myString.length().
Warning: An empty string still has a length of 0, not undefined, which is worth remembering when checking whether a string has content.

Example: String Length

javascript 
const message = "Hello!";
console.log(message.length);

Escape Characters

Escape characters, starting with a backslash, let you include special characters inside a string, like \n for a new line, \t for a tab, or \' to include a quote that would otherwise end the string early.

Note: Template literals with backticks avoid many escape character needs, since you can write real line breaks directly inside them.
Warning: Forgetting to escape a quote that matches the string's delimiter, like an apostrophe in dont', ends the string prematurely and causes a syntax error.

Example: Escape Characters

javascript 
console.log("Line one\nLine two");
console.log("She said \"hello\"");

Comparing Strings

Strings can be compared with equality and relational operators, comparing them character by character based on their character codes, with strict equality === checking both value and type together.

Note: String comparisons are case sensitive by default, Apple and apple are not considered equal.
Warning: Comparing strings with < and > compares them alphabetically by character code, which can produce surprising results with mixed uppercase and lowercase letters.

Example: Comparing Strings

javascript 
// Print "Apple" === "apple" to the console
// Print "Apple" === "apple" to the console
console.log("Apple" === "apple");
// Print "apple" === "apple" to the console
// Print "apple" === "apple" to the console
console.log("apple" === "apple");
// Print "apple" < "banana" to the console
// Print "apple" < "banana" to the console
console.log("apple" < "banana");
Live Example
Related Topics

JS String Methods · JS Arrays · JS Array Methods · JS Numbers

{# common_mistakes/chapter_summary/browser_support: on Hindi pages the view already swaps in the hi_ translation fields (or blanks these out if untranslated), so this renders correctly for both languages without a lang_code check here. #}
Common Mistakes
  1. Mixing quote styles incorrectly, like starting a string with a single quote and ending with a double quote, which causes a syntax error.
  2. Forgetting to escape a quote character that matches the string's own delimiter, like an apostrophe inside a single-quoted string.
  3. Using regular quotes when a template literal with embedded variables, backticks and ${}, would be far cleaner.
Chapter Summary
  • Strings can be created with single quotes, double quotes, or backtick template literals.
  • Template literals let you embed variables and expressions directly inside a string using ${}.
  • The length property reports how many characters a string contains, and escape characters like \n represent special characters.
Browser Support

String creation, escape characters, and template literals are all standard JavaScript features supported in every current browser.

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