diff --git a/dist/pofile.js b/dist/pofile.js
index 4d9b7bb..8e29193 100644
--- a/dist/pofile.js
+++ b/dist/pofile.js
@@ -120,8 +120,32 @@ PO.parse = function (data) {
     function extract(string) {
         string = trim(string);
         string = string.replace(/^[^"]*"|"$/g, '');
-        string = string.replace(/\\"/g, '"');
-        string = string.replace(/\\\\/g, '\\');
+        string = string.replace(/\\([abtnvfr'"\\?]|([0-7]{3})|x([0-9a-fA-F]{2}))/g, function (match, esc, oct, hex) {
+            if (oct) {
+                return String.fromCharCode(parseInt(oct, 8));
+            }
+            if (hex) {
+                return String.fromCharCode(parseInt(hex, 16));
+            }
+            switch (esc) {
+                case 'a':
+                    return '\x07';
+                case 'b':
+                    return '\b';
+                case 't':
+                    return '\t';
+                case 'n':
+                    return '\n';
+                case 'v':
+                    return '\v';
+                case 'f':
+                    return '\f';
+                case 'r':
+                    return '\r';
+                default:
+                    return esc;
+            }
+        });
         return string;
     }
 
@@ -213,8 +237,27 @@ PO.Item.prototype.toString = function () {
 
     // reverse what extract(string) method during PO.parse does
     var _escape = function (string) {
-        string = string.replace(/\\/g, '\\\\');
-        return string.replace(/"/g, '\\"');
+        // don't unescape \n, since string can never contain it
+        // since split('\n') is called on it
+        string = string.replace(/[\x07\b\t\v\f\r"\\]/g, function (match) {
+            switch (match) {
+                case '\x07':
+                    return '\\a';
+                case '\b':
+                    return '\\b';
+                case '\t':
+                    return '\\t';
+                case '\v':
+                    return '\\v';
+                case '\f':
+                    return '\\f';
+                case '\r':
+                    return '\\r';
+                default:
+                    return '\\' + match;
+            }
+        });
+        return string;
     };
 
     var _process = function (keyword, text, i) {
@@ -263,6 +306,10 @@ PO.Item.prototype.toString = function () {
             } else {
                 text = isArray(text) ? text.join() : text;
                 var processed = _process(keyword, text);
+                //handle \n in single-line texts (can not be handled in _escape)
+                for (var i = 1; i < processed.length - 1; i++) {
+                    processed[i] = processed[i].slice(0, -1) + '\\n"';
+                }
                 lines = lines.concat(mkObsolete + processed.join('\n' + mkObsolete));
             }
         }
diff --git a/dist/pofile.min.js b/dist/pofile.min.js
index 9f15d7b..b4de5e5 100644
--- a/dist/pofile.min.js
+++ b/dist/pofile.min.js
@@ -1 +1 @@
-require=function a(b,c,d){function e(g,h){if(!c[g]){if(!b[g]){var i="function"==typeof require&&require;if(!h&&i)return i(g,!0);if(f)return f(g,!0);throw new Error("Cannot find module '"+g+"'")}var j=c[g]={exports:{}};b[g][0].call(j.exports,function(a){var c=b[g][1][a];return e(c?c:a)},j,j.exports,a,b,c,d)}return c[g].exports}for(var f="function"==typeof require&&require,g=0;g<d.length;g++)e(d[g]);return e}({W8CkM0:[function(a,b){function c(a){return a.replace(/^\s+|\s+$/g,"")}var d=a("fs"),e=a("lodash.isarray"),f=function(){this.comments=[],this.headers={},this.items=[]};f.prototype.save=function(a,b){d.writeFile(a,this.toString(),b)},f.prototype.toString=function(){var a=[];this.comments&&this.comments.forEach(function(b){a.push("# "+b)}),a.push('msgid ""'),a.push('msgstr ""');var b=Object.keys(this.headers),c=this;return b.forEach(function(b){a.push('"'+b+": "+c.headers[b]+'\\n"')}),a.push(""),this.items.forEach(function(b){a.push(b.toString()),a.push("")}),a.join("\n")},f.load=function(a,b){d.readFile(a,"utf-8",function(a,c){if(a)return b(a);var d=f.parse(c);b(null,d)})},f.parse=function(a){function b(){j.msgid.length>0&&(m>=n&&(j.obsolete=!0),m=0,n=0,e.items.push(j),j=new f.Item)}function d(a){return a=c(a),a=a.replace(/^[^"]*"|"$/g,""),a=a.replace(/\\"/g,'"'),a=a.replace(/\\\\/g,"\\")}a=a.replace(/\r\n/g,"\n");var e=new f,g=a.split(/\n\n/),h=g.shift(),i=g.join("\n").split(/\n/);e.headers={"Project-Id-Version":"","Report-Msgid-Bugs-To":"","POT-Creation-Date":"","PO-Revision-Date":"","Last-Translator":"",Language:"","Language-Team":"","Content-Type":"","Content-Transfer-Encoding":"","Plural-Forms":""},h.split(/\n/).reduce(function(a,b){return a.merge&&(b=a.pop().slice(0,-1)+b.slice(1),delete a.merge),/^".*"$/.test(b)&&!/^".*\\n"$/.test(b)&&(a.merge=!0),a.push(b),a},[]).forEach(function(a){if(a.match(/^#/)&&e.comments.push(a.replace(/^#\s*/,"")),a.match(/^"/)){a=a.trim().replace(/^"/,"").replace(/\\n"$/,"");var b=a.split(/:/),c=b.shift().trim(),d=b.join(":").trim();e.headers[c]=d}});for(var j=new f.Item,k=null,l=0,m=0,n=0;i.length>0;){var o=c(i.shift()),p=!1;if(o.match(/^#\~/)&&(o=c(o.substring(2)),p=!0),o.match(/^#:/))b(),j.references.push(c(o.replace(/^#:/,"")));else if(o.match(/^#,/)){b();for(var q=c(o.replace(/^#,/,"")).split(","),r=0;r<q.length;r++)j.flags[q[r]]=!0}else if(o.match(/^#($|\s+)/))b(),j.comments.push(c(o.replace(/^#($|\s+)/,"")));else if(o.match(/^#\./))b(),j.extractedComments.push(c(o.replace(/^#\./,"")));else if(o.match(/^msgid_plural/))j.msgid_plural=d(o),k="msgid_plural",n++;else if(o.match(/^msgid/))b(),j.msgid=d(o),k="msgid",n++;else if(o.match(/^msgstr/)){var s=o.match(/^msgstr\[(\d+)\]/);l=s&&s[1]?parseInt(s[1]):0,j.msgstr[l]=d(o),k="msgstr",n++}else o.match(/^msgctxt/)?(b(),j.msgctxt=d(o),n++):o.length>0&&(n++,"msgstr"===k?j.msgstr[l]+=d(o):"msgid"===k?j.msgid+=d(o):"msgid_plural"===k&&(j.msgid_plural+=d(o)));p&&m++}return b(),e},f.Item=function(){this.msgid="",this.msgctxt=null,this.references=[],this.msgid_plural=null,this.msgstr=[],this.comments=[],this.extractedComments=[],this.flags={},this.obsolete=!1},f.Item.prototype.toString=function(){var a=[],b=this,c=function(a){return a=a.replace(/\\/g,"\\\\"),a.replace(/"/g,'\\"')},d=function(a,b,d){var e=[],f=b.split(/\n/),g="undefined"!=typeof d?"["+d+"]":"";return f.length>1?(e.push(a+g+' ""'),f.forEach(function(a){e.push('"'+c(a)+'"')})):e.push(a+g+' "'+c(b)+'"'),e};this.comments.forEach(function(b){a.push("# "+b)}),this.extractedComments.forEach(function(b){a.push("#. "+b)}),this.references.forEach(function(b){a.push("#: "+b)});var f=Object.keys(this.flags);f.length>0&&a.push("#, "+f.join(","));var g=this.obsolete?"#~ ":"";return["msgctxt","msgid","msgid_plural","msgstr"].forEach(function(c){var f=b[c];if(null!=f)if(e(f)&&f.length>1)f.forEach(function(b,e){a=a.concat(g+d(c,b,e))});else{f=e(f)?f.join():f;var h=d(c,f);a=a.concat(g+h.join("\n"+g))}}),a.join("\n")},b.exports=f},{fs:3,"lodash.isarray":4}],pofile:[function(a,b){b.exports=a("W8CkM0")},{}],3:[function(){},{}],4:[function(a,b){var c=a("lodash._isnative"),d="[object Array]",e=Object.prototype,f=e.toString,g=c(g=Array.isArray)&&g,h=g||function(a){return a&&"object"==typeof a&&"number"==typeof a.length&&f.call(a)==d||!1};b.exports=h},{"lodash._isnative":5}],5:[function(a,b){function c(a){return"function"==typeof a&&f.test(a)}var d=Object.prototype,e=d.toString,f=RegExp("^"+String(e).replace(/[.*+?^${}()|[\]\\]/g,"\\$&").replace(/toString| for [^\]]+/g,".*?")+"$");b.exports=c},{}]},{},["W8CkM0"]);
\ No newline at end of file
+require=function a(b,c,d){function e(g,h){if(!c[g]){if(!b[g]){var i="function"==typeof require&&require;if(!h&&i)return i(g,!0);if(f)return f(g,!0);throw new Error("Cannot find module '"+g+"'")}var j=c[g]={exports:{}};b[g][0].call(j.exports,function(a){var c=b[g][1][a];return e(c?c:a)},j,j.exports,a,b,c,d)}return c[g].exports}for(var f="function"==typeof require&&require,g=0;g<d.length;g++)e(d[g]);return e}({W8CkM0:[function(a,b){function c(a){return a.replace(/^\s+|\s+$/g,"")}var d=a("fs"),e=a("lodash.isarray"),f=function(){this.comments=[],this.headers={},this.items=[]};f.prototype.save=function(a,b){d.writeFile(a,this.toString(),b)},f.prototype.toString=function(){var a=[];this.comments&&this.comments.forEach(function(b){a.push("# "+b)}),a.push('msgid ""'),a.push('msgstr ""');var b=Object.keys(this.headers),c=this;return b.forEach(function(b){a.push('"'+b+": "+c.headers[b]+'\\n"')}),a.push(""),this.items.forEach(function(b){a.push(b.toString()),a.push("")}),a.join("\n")},f.load=function(a,b){d.readFile(a,"utf-8",function(a,c){if(a)return b(a);var d=f.parse(c);b(null,d)})},f.parse=function(a){function b(){j.msgid.length>0&&(m>=n&&(j.obsolete=!0),m=0,n=0,e.items.push(j),j=new f.Item)}function d(a){return a=c(a),a=a.replace(/^[^"]*"|"$/g,""),a=a.replace(/\\([abtnvfr'"\\?]|([0-7]{3})|x([0-9a-fA-F]{2}))/g,function(a,b,c,d){if(c)return String.fromCharCode(parseInt(c,8));if(d)return String.fromCharCode(parseInt(d,16));switch(b){case"a":return"";case"b":return"\b";case"t":return"	";case"n":return"\n";case"v":return"";case"f":return"\f";case"r":return"\r";default:return b}})}a=a.replace(/\r\n/g,"\n");var e=new f,g=a.split(/\n\n/),h=g.shift(),i=g.join("\n").split(/\n/);e.headers={"Project-Id-Version":"","Report-Msgid-Bugs-To":"","POT-Creation-Date":"","PO-Revision-Date":"","Last-Translator":"",Language:"","Language-Team":"","Content-Type":"","Content-Transfer-Encoding":"","Plural-Forms":""},h.split(/\n/).reduce(function(a,b){return a.merge&&(b=a.pop().slice(0,-1)+b.slice(1),delete a.merge),/^".*"$/.test(b)&&!/^".*\\n"$/.test(b)&&(a.merge=!0),a.push(b),a},[]).forEach(function(a){if(a.match(/^#/)&&e.comments.push(a.replace(/^#\s*/,"")),a.match(/^"/)){a=a.trim().replace(/^"/,"").replace(/\\n"$/,"");var b=a.split(/:/),c=b.shift().trim(),d=b.join(":").trim();e.headers[c]=d}});for(var j=new f.Item,k=null,l=0,m=0,n=0;i.length>0;){var o=c(i.shift()),p=!1;if(o.match(/^#\~/)&&(o=c(o.substring(2)),p=!0),o.match(/^#:/))b(),j.references.push(c(o.replace(/^#:/,"")));else if(o.match(/^#,/)){b();for(var q=c(o.replace(/^#,/,"")).split(","),r=0;r<q.length;r++)j.flags[q[r]]=!0}else if(o.match(/^#($|\s+)/))b(),j.comments.push(c(o.replace(/^#($|\s+)/,"")));else if(o.match(/^#\./))b(),j.extractedComments.push(c(o.replace(/^#\./,"")));else if(o.match(/^msgid_plural/))j.msgid_plural=d(o),k="msgid_plural",n++;else if(o.match(/^msgid/))b(),j.msgid=d(o),k="msgid",n++;else if(o.match(/^msgstr/)){var s=o.match(/^msgstr\[(\d+)\]/);l=s&&s[1]?parseInt(s[1]):0,j.msgstr[l]=d(o),k="msgstr",n++}else o.match(/^msgctxt/)?(b(),j.msgctxt=d(o),n++):o.length>0&&(n++,"msgstr"===k?j.msgstr[l]+=d(o):"msgid"===k?j.msgid+=d(o):"msgid_plural"===k&&(j.msgid_plural+=d(o)));p&&m++}return b(),e},f.Item=function(){this.msgid="",this.msgctxt=null,this.references=[],this.msgid_plural=null,this.msgstr=[],this.comments=[],this.extractedComments=[],this.flags={},this.obsolete=!1},f.Item.prototype.toString=function(){var a=[],b=this,c=function(a){return a=a.replace(/[\x07\b\t\v\f\r"\\]/g,function(a){switch(a){case"":return"\\a";case"\b":return"\\b";case"	":return"\\t";case"":return"\\v";case"\f":return"\\f";case"\r":return"\\r";default:return"\\"+a}})},d=function(a,b,d){var e=[],f=b.split(/\n/),g="undefined"!=typeof d?"["+d+"]":"";return f.length>1?(e.push(a+g+' ""'),f.forEach(function(a){e.push('"'+c(a)+'"')})):e.push(a+g+' "'+c(b)+'"'),e};this.comments.forEach(function(b){a.push("# "+b)}),this.extractedComments.forEach(function(b){a.push("#. "+b)}),this.references.forEach(function(b){a.push("#: "+b)});var f=Object.keys(this.flags);f.length>0&&a.push("#, "+f.join(","));var g=this.obsolete?"#~ ":"";return["msgctxt","msgid","msgid_plural","msgstr"].forEach(function(c){var f=b[c];if(null!=f)if(e(f)&&f.length>1)f.forEach(function(b,e){a=a.concat(g+d(c,b,e))});else{f=e(f)?f.join():f;for(var h=d(c,f),i=1;i<h.length-1;i++)h[i]=h[i].slice(0,-1)+'\\n"';a=a.concat(g+h.join("\n"+g))}}),a.join("\n")},b.exports=f},{fs:3,"lodash.isarray":4}],pofile:[function(a,b){b.exports=a("W8CkM0")},{}],3:[function(){},{}],4:[function(a,b){var c=a("lodash._isnative"),d="[object Array]",e=Object.prototype,f=e.toString,g=c(g=Array.isArray)&&g,h=g||function(a){return a&&"object"==typeof a&&"number"==typeof a.length&&f.call(a)==d||!1};b.exports=h},{"lodash._isnative":5}],5:[function(a,b){function c(a){return"function"==typeof a&&f.test(a)}var d=Object.prototype,e=d.toString,f=RegExp("^"+String(e).replace(/[.*+?^${}()|[\]\\]/g,"\\$&").replace(/toString| for [^\]]+/g,".*?")+"$");b.exports=c},{}]},{},["W8CkM0"]);
\ No newline at end of file