# `CHAR_LENGTH` / `CHARACTER_LENGTH`

**Applies to:** ✅ Data 360 SQL ✅ Tableau Hyper API

Returns the number of characters in a string.

## Syntax

```sql
char_length(<string>)
character_length(<string>)
```

## Arguments

### Required

- `<string>`: The string to measure.

## Returns

Returns an integer representing the number of characters in the string.

## Considerations

- Counts characters, not bytes (important for multi-byte UTF-8 characters).
- The `char_length` and `character_length` functions are equivalent.

## Examples

### Count Characters

Get the character count of a string.

```sql
SELECT char_length('jose') AS result;
```

Returns `4`.

## Related Documentation

- [String Types](/docs/data/data-cloud-query-guide/references/dc-sql-reference/string.md)