Zero Width Space
U+200B​Format or control · decimal ​
Invisible Characters Copy & Paste
Copy ZWSP, ZWJ, ZWNJ, LRM and RLM invisible characters. Compare their code points, behavior, legitimate uses and safety limits.
Copy invisible characters
5 characters and sequences. Pick one to put its exact characters on your clipboard.
No match found among these entries.
Reveal invisible characters
Paste text to list every hidden format character without changing it. Analysis stays in your browser.
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Invisible Characters with Unicode names and HTML codes
A sample of 5 entries from the 5 on this page. Where two entries look the same, the name settles it. The HTML references beside each name reproduce the code-point sequence character for character.
Zero Width Joiner
U+200D‍Format or control · decimal ‍
Zero Width Non-Joiner
U+200C‌Format or control · decimal ‌
Left-to-Right Mark
U+200E‎Format or control · decimal ‎
Right-to-Left Mark
U+200F‏Format or control · decimal ‏
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Invisible Characters: types, meanings and practical differences
Invisible formatting characters control joining, spacing and text direction; copy them only when a specific text workflow requires them.
The marks that make text read properly: brackets, dashes, bullets and quotes. That amounts to 5 copyable values here — 5 of them one character long, 0 longer.
Names such as Zero Width Space, Zero Width Joiner, Zero Width Non-Joiner, Left-to-Right Mark appear here, and counting every entry puts Zero Width Space (1), Zero Width Joiner (1), Zero Width Non-Joiner (1) at the top. Single-character values span U+200B to U+200F.
Browse invisible characters by type
Format or control
5 entries
What is actually in these invisible characters
Where invisible characters sit in the code space
Single-character entries cover U+200B to U+200F, breaking down by general category as format or control 5.
Name patterns that repeat
Counted across the stored entries, the commonest name patterns are Zero Width Space (1), Zero Width Joiner (1), Zero Width Non-Joiner (1).
How the multi-part entries are built
0 entries span more than one code point: 1 with a zero-width joiner, 0 with a variation selector, the longest running to 1 code points.
Narrowing it down
Two look almost the same: Zero Width Space and Zero Width Joiner. They are different characters: U+200B and U+200D. Test the result in the real app before you use it.
This page makes otherwise invisible values selectable with visible labels. The copied result is the underlying format character, not the label shown on the button.
5Format or control
Invisible characters that change behaviour. 100% here.
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Invisible Characters explained in plain English
Short summary
There are 5 invisible characters here. All of them copy in one click. Most of them, 5 in all, are format or control. They come mostly from one part of Unicode: General Punctuation.
Which blocks they come from
They come from General Punctuation (5). They span U+200B to U+200F, so no one font covers them all.
Two that look alike
Zero Width Space and Zero Width Joiner look alike. They are not the same character.
Names repeat in families
1 names start with “Zero Width Space”. The difference is at the end.
Where to look next
If no entry says quite the right thing, try Punctuation Symbols, Technical Symbols or Writing Symbols.
Words that describe invisible characters
The vocabulary below comes from the formal names and groupings of these invisible characters.
- Format or control
- Invisible
- Character
- Zero
- Width
- Space
- Joiner
- Directional
- Mark
- Non-Joiner
- Left-To-Right
- Right-To-Left
Side by side
| Type | Examples | Good for | Watch for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Format or control | ZWSP ZWJ ZWNJ | Documents, editing and publishing | Treating Zero Width Space and Zero Width Joiner as the same character |
What the invisible characters inventory actually contains
Every figure below is counted from the 5 entries stored for this page rather than estimated. The characters are drawn from General Punctuation (5).
| Group | Entries | Examples | Code points | Usual presentation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Format or control | 5 | ZWSP ZWJ ZWNJ | U+200B–U+200F | Text presentation |
Practical note: Presentation is the typical default. A variation selector, a specific font stack, or an application that overrides emoji rendering can change what you see after pasting.
Related reading
Compare these choices with punctuation symbols and technical symbols. For a deeper explanation, read Symbols for Discord Names, Servers and Channels. If one question is enough, read what are invisible characters, and when are they safe?.
Tip: Keep the plain words next to the symbol. Text is what makes a design searchable and readable to someone using a screen reader.
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How to use invisible characters
Copying stores text, so the value survives the clipboard intact. Paste it with Ctrl V, ⌘ V or your device's Paste command.
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Documents, editing and publishing
Start with Zero Width Space. It works nearly everywhere.
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Lists, quotations and annotations
Format or control suits lists, quotations and annotations. Pick one whose stroke weight matches the text around it.
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Readable text layouts and dividers
When creating readable text layouts and dividers, paste the complete entry — all of these are single code points, so a partial copy is not a risk here.
Copy-ready invisible characters examples for documents, editing and publishing
Documents, editing and publishing
ZWSP Invisible Characters referenceLists, quotations and annotations
ZWSP ZWJ ZWNJReadable text layouts and dividers
ZWNJ invisible characters ZWSP05
How to type invisible characters on a keyboard
Every character here has a numeric identity, and that number is what the keyboard methods use: decimal on a Windows keypad, hexadecimal in Word and on macOS.
| Character | Name | Windows | Hex | HTML |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ZWSP | Zero Width Space | Alt 8203 | 200B | ​ |
| ZWJ | Zero Width Joiner | Alt 8205 | 200D | ‍ |
| ZWNJ | Zero Width Non-Joiner | Alt 8204 | 200C | ‌ |
| LRM | Left-to-Right Mark | Alt 8206 | 200E | ‎ |
| RLM | Right-to-Left Mark | Alt 8207 | 200F | ‏ |
Alt codes reach only the first 65,536 code points, and only from a numeric keypad. For the Windows, macOS, Linux and mobile detail, read the keyboard guide.
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How invisible characters render across fonts, apps and devices
General Punctuation is the main home for these, with 100% of the set. None of these are emoji. Each one follows the colour and size of nearby text.
A pasted entry is redrawn by the receiving application's font. Expect small differences in width and weight across devices, and larger ones where a font lacks the character entirely.
5Single characters
0Sequences
0Emoji properties
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Common mistakes with invisible characters
- 1
Treating Zero Width Space and Zero Width Joiner as the same character.
- 2
Expecting one rule to cover all 5 entries.
- 3
Treating these invisible characters as interchangeable with the visually similar characters in punctuation symbols.
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Invisible Characters questions and answers
What is the difference between Zero Width Space and Zero Width Joiner?+
U+200B is Zero Width Space; U+200D is Zero Width Joiner. Because the encoded identity differs, substituting one for the other can change what a reader or a piece of software understands.
What is the HTML code for zero width space?+
Write ​ (hex) or ​ (decimal) to get . Numeric references sidestep encoding problems in older toolchains.
Do these invisible characters change colour with my text?+
Yes. None of the 5 entries on this page carry emoji properties, so each one inherits the colour, weight and size of the text around it, exactly like a letter does.
Which Unicode block are these invisible characters in?+
General Punctuation holds most of them — 5 characters. Coverage tends to follow the block: long-established ones render nearly everywhere, recent additions do not.
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Learn more about invisible characters
This collection includes the text inspector listed in the Unicode tools hub. Use the tool above, then read the guide and questions here when you need compatibility or safety context.
The other six Unicode tools
Typographic work is exactly where an unnoticed zero-width character does damage, so the inspector belongs beside these collections.
Bubble Text ConverterTurn ordinary letters and numbers into enclosed Unicode characters for short labels and profile text.Open the text converter →Cursive Text ConverterCreate script-style Unicode text while keeping a plain-text version for names, search and accessibility.Open the text converter →Old English Text ConverterBuild Fraktur-style text from Unicode mathematical letters and learn where fallback characters are used.Open the text converter →Upside-Down Text ConverterReverse and substitute letters to make playful upside-down text, then test the result in its final app.Open the text converter →Roman Numeral ConverterConvert whole numbers from 1 to 3,999 into ordinary Latin-letter Roman numerals for broad compatibility.Open the number converter →Loading Animation PreviewPreview text-only loading frames, pause the motion and copy the sequence that fits your interface.Open the animation preview →
Pair a invisible character with styled letters in the Symbol Maker. The full set of converters, inspectors and previews sits in the Unicode tools hub.
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Where this data comes from
Every figure on this page is computed from the stored inventory of 5 entries. Names, general categories and code points are generated from the Unicode 17.0 character database rather than typed by hand; emoji membership is read from the emoji data files published alongside it.
- Unicode Character Database — UnicodeData.txt (formal names and general categories)
- Unicode emoji-test.txt (fully-qualified emoji sequences and grouping)
- The Unicode Standard, current version
- How CoolSymbol.now sources, counts and tests this data