What is the "z" prefix in string literals?

[malibor]

Sample string:

std::string str = "z\u00df\u6c34\U0001F34C"; // or u8"zß水🍌"

I don't understand nor can I fin any information about the "z" prefix in this string,
why it must be there and what does it mean?

I've taken a look here to make sure I didn't miss anything:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/cpp/cpp/string-and-character-literals-cpp

but there is no mention of any "z"

[salem c]

That isn't a prefix, it's just the first character of the string.

[lastchance]

It's just possible that it somehow got confused with the 'Z' part of a "BOZ constant" - corresponding, somewhat weirdly, to hexadecimal.

However, in that case it should precede the string, not go inside it. As @Salem c says, as it stands it is the first character of the string.

[malibor]

lol, silly me...

Now that you said that it actually makes sense.