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MySQL Globalization  /  ...  /  The utf8 Character Set (Alias for utf8mb3)

1.9.3 The utf8 Character Set (Alias for utf8mb3)

utf8 has been used by MySQL is an alias for the utf8mb3 character set, but this usage is being phased out; as of MySQL 8.0.28, SHOW statements and columns of Information Schema tables display utf8mb3 instead. For more information, see Section 1.9.2, “The utf8mb3 Character Set (3-Byte UTF-8 Unicode Encoding)”.

Note

The utf8mb3 character set is deprecated and you should expect it to be removed in a future MySQL release. Please use utf8mb4 instead. utf8 is currently an alias for utf8mb3, but it is now deprecated as such, and utf8 is expected subsequently to become a reference to utf8mb4. Beginning with MySQL 8.0.28, utf8mb3 is also displayed in place of utf8 in columns of Information Schema tables, and in the output of SQL SHOW statements.

To avoid ambiguity about the meaning of utf8, consider specifying utf8mb4 explicitly for character set references.