Smart Quotes Converter
| Glyph | Name | HTML entity | Used for |
|---|---|---|---|
| " | straight double | " | code, data, search |
| “ | left double curly | “ | opening quotations |
| ” | right double curly | ” | closing quotations |
| ’ | right single curly | ’ | apostrophes, closing single |
Word processors quietly rewrite your quotes: type "don't" and Word stores “don’t” with typographic curly marks. Sometimes you want that - print and prose deserve proper typography - and sometimes curly quotes are poison: code, config files, CSV imports and find-and-replace all break on them. This converter runs both directions live: straight to curly with context-aware marks (opening quotes after a space, closing quotes and apostrophes everywhere else), or curly back to straight for anything a machine will read.
The context rule is the part naive converters get wrong: curly quotes come in left and right shapes, and the same typed key produces both. The rule of thumb this tool applies - a quote right after a space, bracket or dash opens the quotation; anywhere else it closes or apostrophizes - covers the overwhelming majority of English text, including contractions like don’t, where the mark is always the right-facing one.
How to use
- Paste your text and pick a direction: straight to curly for prose and print, curly to straight for code and imports.
- The result updates live - the counter reports how many quote marks were converted.
- Copy the result straight out; nothing leaves your browser tab in either direction.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between straight and smart quotes?
Straight quotes (" and ') are the four identical typewriter characters; smart quotes are the six typographic marks - left and right double curly quotes, left and right single curly quotes, plus the right single quote doing double duty as the apostrophe. Print and books use the curly set; code, config files and most data formats require the straight set. Same keys on your keyboard, six different stored characters once a word processor is done.
Why does my find-and-replace miss apostrophes?
Because the text stores ’ while your search types ' - two different characters that look nearly identical. This is the classic silent failure the site's find-and-replace tool documents: a search for don't misses every don’t in pasted prose. Convert the text to straight quotes first (this page, one direction), search reliably, then convert back if the typography matters.
How does the converter decide opening vs closing quotes?
Context: a quote immediately after a space, an opening bracket or a dash must be an opening quote (left-facing); a quote after any letter, number or punctuation is closing or apostrophic (right-facing). That covers ordinary English including contractions - the apostrophe in don't always follows a letter, so it always lands as the right-facing mark. Nested or odd-ball cases are rare enough to fix by hand.
Which should I use for code and config files?
Straight, always. Programming languages treat the curly characters as ordinary data or outright syntax errors - a curly quote inside a JSON string or a shell command breaks them in ways that take ages to spot, because the characters look the same on screen. If pasted prose keeps breaking your scripts, run it through curly-to-straight first; that is the most common reason this page exists.
Will it change anything besides quotes?
No - only the six quote-family marks are touched, and only in the chosen direction. Accented letters, em-dashes, ellipses and everything else pass through untouched; the accents have their own tool (remove accents) and the change counter tells you exactly how much was converted rather than guessing from the scrollbar.