SymbolHub

Unicode Space Characters

Unicode has more than twenty space characters, from the full-width em space to the zero width space that takes no room at all. Copy any Unicode space character below; each tile is labelled because the characters themselves are invisible.

Updated

Click any symbol to copy it. 23 symbols

Fixed-width spaces

11

From the widest (en quad, em quad) to the narrowest (hair space). Their exact width depends on the font’s em size.

  • Details

No-break spaces

3

These look like ordinary spaces but stop a line break between the words on either side.

Zero-width characters

5

Invisible and zero width. They control line breaking and how characters join, rather than adding space.

Other wide and special blanks

4

The ideographic space is as wide as one CJK character. The Hangul filler and braille blank are not spaces in Unicode terms, which is why many apps accept them where they reject real spaces.

Which space should you use?

For almost all writing, the normal keyboard space (U+0020) is right. The special spaces solve specific typesetting problems:

  • No-break space (U+00A0) keeps two words on one line: “10 kg”, “Mr Smith”, “page 12”. In HTML it is  . See the non-breaking space page for keyboard shortcuts.
  • Narrow no-break space (U+202F) is the thin gap French puts before ; : ! and ?, and the thousands separator in SI style (10 000).
  • Thin space (U+2009) and hair space (U+200A) add a sliver of room, for example around an em dash or between a number and a unit.
  • Em space (U+2003) is as wide as the type size, and the en space half that. The em space is handy for indenting where tabs are not allowed.
  • Figure space (U+2007) is as wide as a digit, so columns of numbers stay aligned.

Zero-width characters

The zero width space (U+200B) marks a place where a long word or URL may break, without showing anything. The zero width joiner (U+200D) glues emoji into one picture, as in 👨‍👩‍👧, and the zero width non-joiner (U+200C) stops letters from joining in scripts such as Persian. The word joiner (U+2060) prevents a break. U+FEFF is the byte order mark; inside text it should not be used at all.

Blank names and invisible text

Games and social apps often strip ordinary spaces, so people use the Hangul filler (U+3164) or the braille blank (U+2800) for an “empty” name. For that job, the invisible character tool copies each blank in one click and lets you test what you pasted. Bear in mind that invisible characters can hide text from spell checkers and search, and some platforms treat them as spam.

Frequently asked questions

How many space characters are in Unicode?

Unicode classifies 17 characters as space separators (category Zs), including the normal space, the no-break space, the eleven fixed-width spaces from U+2000 to U+200A, the narrow no-break space, the medium mathematical space, the ideographic space and the Ogham space mark. Zero-width characters such as U+200B are format characters, not spaces.

What is the difference between an em space and an en space?

An em space (U+2003) is as wide as the font size, and an en space (U+2002) is half as wide. They are named after the widths of the letters M and N in traditional typesetting.

Why is my zero width space not working?

Some apps remove zero-width characters when you paste or save. If the space disappears, try the Hangul filler (U+3164) or the braille blank (U+2800), which most apps treat as visible characters.

How do I type a non-breaking space?

On Windows, hold Alt and type 0160 on the numeric keypad. On a Mac, press Option + Space. In HTML, write  .