How to convert a single character to string in C++?

In C++, a single character is represented using a single quotation (' ') while a string is represented using a double quotation (" "). To change the single character into a string, use approaches like string_constructor, push_back(), etc., that solve the conversion.

Example

Input: ch = 'A'
Output: str = A   // "A"

So, character A is converted to a string.

C++ provides various approaches to convert single character into string as follows:

• Using string constructor
• Using push_back()
• Using stringstream
• Using assignment with += operator

Using string constructor

The string constructor is a very simple way to create a string from the single character.

Example

Here, we pass the character T to the string constructor to convert one character string, and it displays the result.

#include <iostream>
#include <string>

using namespace std;

int main() {
   char ch = 'T';
   string str(1, ch); // "T"
   cout << "The result string is " << str;
   return 0;
}

Output

The above program produces the following result:

The result string is T

Using push_back()

The push_back() is a C++ STL function that allows the user to add/push the element. Here, we have initialized the string input and then used the same variable for the string object name to push the character to make it a string.

Example

In this example, we added character Z to an empty string using pushback() and a function associated with the string variable to change the character into a string.

#include <iostream>
#include <string>

using namespace std;

int main() {
   char ch = 'Z';
   string str = "";
   str.push_back(ch); // "Z"
   cout << "The string result is " << str;
   return 0;
}

Output

The above program produces the following result:

The string result is Z

Using stringstream

The stringstream class belongs to the <sstream> header that is used to change the conversion of character into string.

Example

Here, a character 'P' is inserted into the stringstream object, i.e., ss, that helps to change the character into a string result.

#include <iostream>
#include <sstream>
#include <string>

using namespace std;

int main() {
   char ch = 'P';
   stringstream ss;
   ss << ch;
   string str = ss.str(); // "P"
   cout << "The string result is " << str;
   return 0;
}

Output

The above program produces the following result:

The string result is P

Using += operator

To perform the character-to-string conversion, use the += operator to get the desired result.

Example

In this example, we create an empty string, and the character 'K' is appended using the += operator, which changes the character into a string.

#include <iostream>
#include <string>

using namespace std;

int main() {
   char ch = 'k';
   string str = "";
   str += ch; // "k"
   cout << "The string result is " << str;
   return 0;
}

Output

The above program produces the following result:

The string result is k