diff --git a/src/qtshit/read.zig b/src/qtshit/read.zig
index 0080897..fa681e3 100644
--- a/src/qtshit/read.zig
+++ b/src/qtshit/read.zig
@@ -35,18 +35,22 @@ pub fn get_bytearray(reader: anytype, allocator: *std.mem.Allocator) !std.ArrayL
 pub fn get_string(reader: anytype, allocator: *std.mem.Allocator) ![]u8 {
     var data = std.ArrayList(u8).init(allocator);
     defer data.deinit();
+
     var length = try reader.readIntBig(i32);
+    var chars = @divTrunc(@divTrunc(length, 8), 2);
+//    std.debug.print("get_lenchars: {d} {d} \n", .{length, chars});
+
 
     var index: usize = 0;
     while (true) {
-        if (index == length) break;
+        if (index == chars) break;
 
         const byte = try reader.readIntBig(u16);
         try data.append(@intCast(u8, byte));
         index += 1;
     }
 
-    var ut8Str = try allocator.alloc(u8, @intCast(usize, length));
+    var ut8Str = try allocator.alloc(u8, @intCast(usize, chars));
     for (data.items) |char, i| {
         ut8Str[i] = char;
     }
diff --git a/src/qtshit/test.zig b/src/qtshit/test.zig
index d67ddc6..f7415ee 100644
--- a/src/qtshit/test.zig
+++ b/src/qtshit/test.zig
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ test "read/write string" {
     var val = try read.get_string(fBS.reader(), global_allocator);
     defer global_allocator.free(val);
 
-    try expect(std.mem.eql(u8, val, "Hello World!"));
+    try std.testing.expectEqualStrings("Hello World!", val);
 }
 
 test "read/write bytearray" {
@@ -78,7 +78,7 @@ test "read/write bytearray" {
     }
 }
 
-test "read/write stringlist" {
+test "read/write strlist" {
     var byteList = std.ArrayList(u8).init(global_allocator);
     defer byteList.deinit();
 
diff --git a/src/qtshit/write.zig b/src/qtshit/write.zig
index 314edc5..f5167a0 100644
--- a/src/qtshit/write.zig
+++ b/src/qtshit/write.zig
@@ -19,13 +19,14 @@ pub fn add_bytearray(writer: anytype, array: std.ArrayList(u8)) !void {
 }
 
 pub fn add_string(writer: anytype, allocator: *std.mem.Allocator, str: []const u8) !void {
-    try writer.writeIntBig(i32, @intCast(i32, str.len*16));
     var ut16Str = try allocator.alloc(u16, str.len);
     defer allocator.free(ut16Str);
     for (str) |character, index| {
         ut16Str[index] = std.mem.nativeToBig(u16, @as(u16, character));
     }
+//    std.debug.print("add_lenchars: {d} {d} \n", .{@intCast(i32, ut16Str.len*8*2), str.len});
 
+    try writer.writeIntBig(i32, @intCast(i32, ut16Str.len*8*2));
     try writer.writeAll(std.mem.sliceAsBytes(ut16Str));    
 }