U+200C "" Zero Width Non-Joiner Unicode Character
Unicode Version 17.0
U+200C "" Zero Width Non-Joiner is an invisible control character used in text processing to prevent two adjacent characters from forming a cursive ligature or connection in scripts such as Arabic, Persian, or Devanagari. When inserted between two letters that would normally join together in a continuous stroke, it explicitly breaks that link, allowing them to appear as separate, disconnected forms. This function is essential for accurately writing certain words or phrases, such as distinguishing between a compound word and a single word where a join would be incorrect, and it also aids in proper line breaking and character spacing without adding any visible glyph or width to the text.
General Properties
| Code Point | U+200C |
| Version Added | 1.1 |
| Name | Zero Width Non-Joiner |
| Block | General Punctuation |
| General Category | Format |
| Canonical Combining Class | Not Reordered |
| Bidirectional Class | Boundary Neutral |
| Alias | ZWNJ (abbreviation) |
Encodings
| HTML Decimal Encoding | ‌ |
| HTML Hex Encoding | ‌ |
| UTF-8 Encoding | 0xE2 0x80 0x8C |
| UTF-16 Encoding | 0x200C |
| UTF-32 Encoding | 0x0000200C |
| C/C++/Java Escape | \u200c |