A *String* is a sequence of characters. For the BBC micro:bit, ASCII character codes 32 to 126 are supported; letters, digits, punctuation marks, and a few symbols. All other character codes appear as a ? on the [LED screen](/device/screen).
Use the [var statement](/reference/variables/var) and the [assignment operator](/reference/variables/assign) to declare a new *local* string variable. Like this:
Use [show string](/reference/basic/show-string) to display a string on the [LED screen](/device/screen). If the string is multiple characters, the string scrolls right to left. The following example displays `Hello world!` on the micro:bit screen: