Bits, Nibbles and Bytes

A bit is one binary digit, so it can only be 0 or 1. Bits are grouped into fixed-size chunks so that patterns of them are easier to read, count and talk about: a nibble is 4 bits and a byte is 8 bits.

Bits, nibbles and bytes

A single bit on its own carries very little information, so data is nearly always handled in groups. A nibble is exactly four bits and a byte is exactly eight bits, so one byte is the same size as two nibbles.

For example, the byte 10100111 splits down the middle into 1010 and 0111. Each half is four bits long, so this byte is made of two nibbles. Nothing about the value changes: the split just lets you describe half of the byte at a time.

Because every nibble is the same size, one nibble can be written as a single hexadecimal digit (0 to F), which is why a byte is often shown as two hexadecimal digits.