U+202A "‪" Left-to-Right Embedding Unicode Character

Unicode Version 17.0

U+202A "‪" Left-to-Right Embedding is an invisible formatting code used in bidirectional text processing to override the default direction for a specific embedded span of text, forcing it to be treated as left-to-right regardless of the surrounding characters' direction. It is part of the Unicode Bidirectional Algorithm and works with a matching pop direction formatting character (such as U+202C) to mark where the override ends, allowing for precise control when mixing scripts like Arabic or Hebrew with left-to-right languages. This character itself does not produce any visible glyph but instead alters the display order of adjacent text, making it essential for correct rendering in complex multilingual documents, user interfaces, and digital content where directionality must be explicitly managed.

General Properties

Code Point U+202A
Version Added 1.1
Name Left-to-Right Embedding
Block General Punctuation
General Category Format
Canonical Combining Class Not Reordered
Bidirectional Class Left To Right Embedding
Bidirectional Control Yes
Alias LRE (abbreviation)

Encodings

HTML Decimal Encoding ‪
HTML Hex Encoding ‪
UTF-8 Encoding 0xE2 0x80 0xAA
UTF-16 Encoding 0x202A
UTF-32 Encoding 0x0000202A
C/C++/Java Escape \u202a

Unicode Properties

NFC Quick Check Yes
NFD Quick Check Yes
NFKC Quick Check Yes
NFKD Quick Check Yes
Numeric Type None
Numeric Value NaN
Joining Type Transparent
Line Break Combining Mark
Case Ignorable Yes
Changes When NFKC Casefolded Yes
Script Common
Script Extensions Common
Indic Syllabic Category Other
Default Ignorable Code Point Yes
Vertical Orientation Rotated
Grapheme Cluster Break Control
Word Break Format
Sentence Break Format