$ perl -wE 'say "\c0"' "\c0" is more clearly written simply as "p" at -e line 1. p $ perl -wE 'say "p" =~ /\c0/ ? "Y" : "N"' "\c0" is more clearly written simply as "p" in regex; marked by <-- HERE in m/\c0 <-- HERE / at -e line 1. Y