---
title: IDN domains now read in their own alphabet
url: https://namegarage.com/blog/idn-domains-in-their-own-alphabet
author: Namegarage
date: '2026-08-26'
description: Internationalized names like колев.net are displayed and addressed in
  Unicode everywhere — the punycode spelling still works and simply redirects.
---

# IDN domains now read in their own alphabet

Internationalized domain names used to appear on this site the way
registrars store them: as punycode. A page titled `xn--b1afoeo.net` tells a
person nothing — the name is actually **колев.net** — and it tells search
engines just as little.

As of today, every IDN in the catalogue is presented in its real alphabet:

- **Pages and cards** show the Unicode name — колев.net, not
  `xn--b1afoeo.net`. The punycode spelling is still shown beside the name,
  because it is what the registrar and the escrow transaction will display.
- **URLs are Unicode too.** The canonical address of a page is now the
  percent-encoded Unicode name — your browser shows
  `namegarage.com/domain/колев.net` in the address bar. The old punycode
  URL keeps working and permanently redirects to the new one, so existing
  links and bookmarks don't break.
- **Search understands both.** Typing either колев or xn--b1afoeo into the
  catalogue search finds the name, and the sitemap and structured data now
  carry the Unicode form.

Checkout is unchanged: offers, purchases, and escrow still transact the
ASCII (punycode) form of the name, which is the spelling every registrar
recognizes.