PHP 8 reference · Multibyte String Functions

PHP mb_substr() Function

Return part of a string by character position, so multibyte characters are never cut in half. The UTF-8 version of substr().

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Syntax

mb_substr(string $string, int $start, ?int $length = null, ?string $encoding = null): string

Parameter	Description
`string`	The input string.
`start`	The first character, from 0; negative counts from the end.
`length` optional	How many characters; `null` takes the rest.
`encoding` optional	The character encoding; defaults to `mb_internal_encoding()` (UTF-8).

The extracted part.

Take charactersTry it yourself

<?php
$city = "Zürich";
echo mb_substr($city, 0, 2), "\n";
echo mb_substr($city, -3), "\n";

Output

Zü
ich

Shorten text safelyTry it yourself

<?php
$text = "Crème brûlée is a French dessert";
echo mb_strlen($text) > 15 ? mb_substr($text, 0, 15) . "…" : $text, "\n";

Output

Crème brûlée is…

Version	Change
PHP 4.0	Added

substr() · Return part of a string, given a start position and an optional length. Negative values count from the end.
mb_strlen() · Return the number of characters in a string, counting é or 日 as one character. The UTF-8-safe version of strlen().
mb_strpos() · Find the character position of the first occurrence of a substring in a multibyte string. Returns false if not found.
PHP Strings · tutorial