CSV Module - write German to CSV in python

Question

I'm reading german names from a csv, and want to write them in a csv file, with the right encoding for ä, ö and ü. Reading works fine, but when I write to the csv, the characters are displayed like this: LÃ¶ffler.

reader1 = csv.reader(open('names.csv', 'rb'), delimiter=',')

What do I need to add to my writer to get the right encoding?

    outfile.write('K:' + n + ',' + a + ',' + '-' + '\n')

I tried unicodecsv, but can't get it to work:

w = unicodecsv.writer(outfile, encoding='utf-8')
w.write('K:' + n + ',' + a + ',' + '-' + '\n')

Error message:

AttributeError: 'UnicodeWriter' object has no attribute 'write'

what encoding does your file names.csv have? – Ernst Jan 21 '14 at 13:09 — Ernst, Jan 21 '14 at 13:09

score 1 · Answer 1 · answered Jan 21 '14 at 13:02

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In python2.X your best bet is using tool like unicodecsv, as csv module in this python handles only acsii.

On Python3+ you'll get this ot of the box, just pass proper encoding to the open function.

answered Jan 21 '14 at 13:02

jb.

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Please look into csv module API, this module allows you to write rows of data (that is arrays) using `writer.writerow` function, while you are trying to write line by hand. – jb. Jan 21 '14 at 13:11
This worked, however, encoding still doesn't work! Can you point me to an easy example of how to use unicodecsv with csv writer? – MJP Jan 21 '14 at 13:16
You need to use `unicodecsv` both to read and write the csv file. Encoding might get lost at any point. Please post working example of your code, I might spot problems. – jb. Jan 21 '14 at 13:50

score 0 · Answer 2 · edited May 23 '17 at 12:21

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I think you must change the encoding of the file. I think UTF-8 should work. Do you use Java? Here someone showed how it should work.

edited May 23 '17 at 12:21

Community

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answered Jan 21 '14 at 13:05

brogrammer

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this is for Java, isn't it? – MJP Jan 21 '14 at 13:06
Sorry, you use Python, or? – brogrammer Jan 21 '14 at 13:07
Maybe, this helps you: [link](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/934160/write-to-utf-8-file-in-python) – brogrammer Jan 21 '14 at 13:09

CSV Module - write German to CSV in python

2 Answers2