DBCS Function in Excel: Half-Width to Full-Width (Older Name)

DBCS Function in Excel: Half-Width to Full-Width (Older Name) 1
⏱ 1 min readUpdated 5 October 2026

TextLevel: ExpertAvailable in: Excel 2007+

In this article
  1. Syntax
  2. Examples
  3. Example 1
  4. DBCS in practice
  5. Where you will use it
  6. Worked example
  7. Mistakes people make
  8. Related functions

DBCS is the older name of JIS, converting to full-width characters.

Advertisement

Syntax

=DBCS(text)
Argument What it means
text Text to work on

Examples

Example 1

=DBCS(A2)

Result: ABC. See the worked example table below for more cases.

DBCS in practice

Where you will use it

  • Japanese, Chinese or Korean data
  • Fixed-width files measured in bytes
  • Cleaning full-width characters from imported forms

Worked example

TextFormulaResult
ABC=DBCS(A2)ABC
Excel=DBCS(A3)Excel
123=DBCS(A4)123

Results calculated in Excel. Calculated on an English Excel: without a double-byte language, DBCS leaves text unchanged.

Mistakes people make

MistakeWhat to do instead
Expecting different results in EnglishIn single-byte setups the B versions match LEFT, LEN, etc.
Mixed-width dataNormalise with ASC first

LEFT · LEN · MID

📚 Part of the free Excel course: Beginner → Expert · Try it in the Formula Lab or ask the AI Helper.

Keep reading

Excel Functions A–ZSKEW Function in Excel: Is the Data Lopsided?Excel Functions A–ZMDURATION Function in Excel: Modified DurationExcel Functions A–ZWORKDAY Function in Excel: A Date N Working Days Away
Advertisement
✨ Ask AI about this article

Stuck on a step? Ask a question and the AI answers using this article.

Free · AI can be wrong