Zero Width Space
The zero width space is Unicode U+200B, an invisible typographic control character that signals an acceptable line break position without adding visible space. Press Copy to put it on your clipboard.
- Unicode
U+200B- HTML
​- Word
200B Alt+X
How to type the zero width space ()
The quickest way is to press Copy above and paste. To type yourself, use the method for your device below.
Windows
- In Word or Outlook, type 200B and press Alt + X. Alt + X converts the hex code before the cursor into the character, and back again.
- Press Win + R, type charmap and press Enter. Tick “Advanced view”, search for Zero Width Space, then Select and Copy. Character Map is built into every version of Windows.
Mac
- Press Control + Command + Space to open the Character Viewer, search for zero width space and double-click it.
- With the Unicode Hex Input keyboard enabled (System Settings → Keyboard → Input Sources), hold Option and type 200B.
Linux & ChromeOS
- Press Ctrl + Shift + U, type 200b, then press Enter or Space. Works in GTK and IBus apps (GNOME, Firefox, Chrome, LibreOffice) and on ChromeOS.
iPhone & iPad
- Copy from this page, then go to Settings → General → Keyboard → Text Replacement and add it with a shortcut such as ;zero. The shortcut then turns into the symbol as you type, in every app.
Android
- Copy here, then open Gboard settings → Dictionary → Personal dictionary and add it with a shortcut.
Microsoft Word
- Type 200B, then press Alt + X.
- Insert → Symbol → More Symbols. Set “from” to Unicode (hex), type 200B in “Character code” and click Insert.
Google Docs
- Insert → Special characters, then search for “zero width space” or draw it in the box.
Excel & Google Sheets
- Enter
=UNICHAR(8203)in a cell. It works in Excel 2013 and later and in Google Sheets.
HTML
- Write
​or​in your HTML.
What does mean?
The zero-width space (Unicode name ZERO WIDTH SPACE, often abbreviated as ZWSP, code point U+200B) is an invisible typographic control character designed to indicate potential line-break boundaries within continuous text without rendering any visual spacing. In digital document formatting and web development, long uninterrupted strings—such as lengthy URLs, nested file directory paths, and continuous chemical formulas—can easily break user interface layouts by overflowing their container boundaries. Inserting an invisible zero-width space allows web browsers and word processors to wrap the text gracefully at designated syllables or punctuation marks when screen width is constrained, while keeping the text completely seamless when displayed on wider viewports. It is a cornerstone among Unicode space characters and closely interacts with punctuation symbols.
Beyond Western typography, the zero-width space plays an essential linguistic role in writing systems that do not use visible word spaces (scriptio continua), including Thai, Khmer, Lao, and Myanmar scripts. In these writing systems, software relies upon embedded zero-width spaces or dictionary lookups to determine correct word segmentation, line justification, and text wrapping. Unlike the visible non-breaking space which rigidly prevents wrapping, or the zero-width joiner which forces adjacent glyphs into joined ligatures, the zero-width space permits wrapping without changing glyph shapes. However, its completely invisible footprint has also made it popular among security researchers and malicious actors for steganographic text watermarking, fingerprinting data leaks, bypassing automated chat filters, and executing URL obfuscation attacks.
Common uses
- Allowing long URLs and file paths to wrap cleanly without inserting hyphens:
https://example.com/long/path - Word boundary delimitation in non-spaced writing systems like Thai, Lao, and Khmer
- Preventing unintended phone number and email auto-linking in chat applications
- Digital watermarking, document fingerprinting, and invisible text steganography
Zero Width Space codes for HTML, CSS and programming
Every code below produces . Use the HTML entity in web pages, the CSS escape in content, and the escape sequence in source code.
| Unicode code point | U+200B | |
|---|---|---|
| HTML entity (named) | ​ | |
| HTML decimal | ​ | |
| HTML hex | ​ | |
| CSS content | content: "\200B"; | |
| JavaScript | "\u200B" | |
| Python | "\u200B" | |
| Python (by name) | "\N{ZERO WIDTH SPACE}" | |
| Java / C# | "\u200B" | |
| UTF-8 bytes | E2 80 8B | |
| UTF-16 | 200B | |
| URL encoded | %E2%80%8B |
vs look-alike characters
These characters look similar to but have a different meaning and code. Pasting the wrong one can break search, sorting and screen readers.
| Char | Name | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
Zero Width Non-JoinerU+200C | Zero-width non-joiner (ZWNJ, U+200C), prevents typographic ligatures without creating line breaks. | |
Zero Width JoinerU+200D | Zero-width joiner (ZWJ, U+200D), combines adjacent characters or emoji into composite glyphs. | |
Word JoinerU+2060 | Word joiner (WJ, U+2060), an invisible zero-width character that explicitly forbids line breaks. | |
No-Break SpaceU+00A0 | Non-breaking space (NBSP, U+00A0), a visible space character that prevents line wrapping. |
Symbols similar to
Click to copy, or open a symbol for its codes. See the full unicode space characters collection.
character properties
- Official Unicode name
- ZERO WIDTH SPACE
- Also known as
- ZWSP, zero-width space, invisible space, soft break space, zero width break
- Code point
- U+200B
- Unicode block
- General Punctuation (U+2000–U+206F)
- General category
- Format (Cf)
- Added in
- Unicode 1.1 (1993)
- Plane
- Basic Multilingual Plane (0)
- Emoji
- No, it is a text symbol
Frequently asked questions
Can you see a zero-width space on the screen?
No. A zero-width space is completely invisible and has a width of zero pixels. It only affects where a layout engine is allowed to wrap text to the next line.
How does a zero-width space differ from the HTML tag?
Both indicate line-break opportunities, but the zero-width space is a standard Unicode character that persists in plain text files, whereas
How do I type a zero-width space in HTML?
In HTML, write ​ (decimal) or ​ (hexadecimal) to insert a zero-width space into your web page.
Is there an alt code for the zero width space?
No. is outside the Windows-1252 and code page 437 character sets, so no Alt + number code produces it. Copy it from this page, type 200B then Alt + X in Word, or find it in Character Map.
How do I type the zero width space on a Mac?
There is no single Option shortcut for on the US layout. Press Control + Command + Space to open the Character Viewer, search for “zero width space” and double-click it, or copy it from this page.
What is the HTML code for the zero width space?
Use the named entity or the numeric reference (hex ). All three display in every browser.
What is the Unicode for the zero width space?
is U+200B, officially named ZERO WIDTH SPACE, in the General Punctuation block. It has been part of Unicode since version 1.1 (1993).