Special Symbols and Characters

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invisible character to copy (U+2800 and U+3164)

Invisible character to copy: U+2800, U+3164 and when to use them

Several characters draw nothing, and they are not equivalent. Each has a different Unicode category, width and chance of being accepted by an app. The tool below gathers all of them, with a usage warning on each, and includes the Text inspector to find and clean the ones hiding in pasted text.

Four invisibles, four behaviors

U+3164 (HANGUL FILLER, UTF-8 E3 85 A4) is classified as a letter (category Lo), so it passes checks that refuse spaces; it usually has the width of one character. U+2800 (BRAILLE PATTERN BLANK, E2 A0 80) is a symbol (So) the width of a braille cell, and some fonts draw hollow dots. U+200B (ZERO WIDTH SPACE, E2 80 8B) has zero width and category Cf (format): it marks a line-break opportunity and is the one systems most often strip. U+00A0 (NO-BREAK SPACE, C2 A0) is a real space (Zs) that does not break the line.
Whether one of them works depends on the app and changes with updates: platforms that suffered spam with empty names start blocking or trimming these characters. Always test before relying on one. There are risks too. Invisible characters count as characters, break searches, comparisons and passwords, and screen readers may announce something odd or nothing. Direction controls like U+202E have been used in scams (the Trojan Source attack) to disguise code and file names. Do not use invisible characters to deceive anyone, and use the Text inspector to check what you received.

Checked comparison

Hangul filler

Input: U+3164
Expected output: UTF-8: E3 85 A4 (3 bytes), categoria Lo

Counts as a letter, not a space. One character wide in most fonts.

Blank braille

Input: U+2800
Expected output: UTF-8: E2 A0 80 (3 bytes), categoria So

Counts as a symbol. Some fonts show hollow dots instead of blank.

Zero-width space

Input: U+200B
Expected output: UTF-8: E2 80 8B (3 bytes), categoria Cf

Zero width and often stripped by systems. Useful to allow line breaks in long URLs.

No-break space

Input: U+00A0
Expected output: UTF-8: C2 A0 (2 bytes), categoria Zs, Alt+0160

A real space. Many forms treat it as a space and trim it.

Full tool FAQ

How do I copy and paste a symbol?

Click the symbol. It is copied to the clipboard and also added to the composition box. Then paste it with Ctrl+V (Cmd+V on Mac) into any field. On a phone, tap and hold the field and choose Paste.

Why do some symbols show up as a little box?

How do I type symbols with Alt codes on Windows?

How do I type a symbol by its Unicode code (U+2605)?

What is the difference between ♥, ♡ and ❤?

What is the invisible character and how do I use it?

Does it work on Instagram, WhatsApp, TikTok, Discord and in games?

How do I use a symbol in HTML, CSS and JavaScript?

What is the text style (U+FE0E)?

Is my data sent to any server?

Frequently asked questions

Which invisible character works in the most places?

There is no fixed answer. U+3164 and U+2800 are often accepted where a normal space is refused, but it depends on each platform and changes over time. Test what you need in a draft field first.

How do I find out if a text has invisible characters?

Paste the text into this page's Text inspector: it lists each character with its Unicode code and type, counts the invisible ones and cleans the ones you choose. Useful for spreadsheets, passwords and code that do not "match" for no visible reason.

Can I remove the ZWJ from a text with emoji?

You can, but it breaks compound emoji: families, professions and special flags are several emoji glued by ZWJ (U+200D). That is why the inspector cleanup leaves joiners off by default.

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invisible character to copy (U+2800 and U+3164)

Invisible character to copy: U+2800, U+3164 and when to use them

Four invisibles, four behaviors

U+3164 (HANGUL FILLER, UTF-8 E3 85 A4) is classified as a letter (category Lo), so it passes checks that refuse spaces; it usually has the width of one character. U+2800 (BRAILLE PATTERN BLANK, E2 A0 80) is a symbol (So) the width of a braille cell, and some fonts draw hollow dots. U+200B (ZERO WIDTH SPACE, E2 80 8B) has zero width and category Cf (format): it marks a line-break opportunity and is the one systems most often strip. U+00A0 (NO-BREAK SPACE, C2 A0) is a real space (Zs) that does not break the line.

Whether one of them works depends on the app and changes with updates: platforms that suffered spam with empty names start blocking or trimming these characters. Always test before relying on one. There are risks too. Invisible characters count as characters, break searches, comparisons and passwords, and screen readers may announce something odd or nothing. Direction controls like U+202E have been used in scams (the Trojan Source attack) to disguise code and file names. Do not use invisible characters to deceive anyone, and use the Text inspector to check what you received.

Checked comparison

Hangul filler

Input: U+3164
Expected output: UTF-8: E3 85 A4 (3 bytes), categoria Lo

Counts as a letter, not a space. One character wide in most fonts.

Blank braille

Input: U+2800
Expected output: UTF-8: E2 A0 80 (3 bytes), categoria So

Counts as a symbol. Some fonts show hollow dots instead of blank.

Zero-width space

Input: U+200B
Expected output: UTF-8: E2 80 8B (3 bytes), categoria Cf

Zero width and often stripped by systems. Useful to allow line breaks in long URLs.

No-break space

Input: U+00A0
Expected output: UTF-8: C2 A0 (2 bytes), categoria Zs, Alt+0160

A real space. Many forms treat it as a space and trim it.

Full tool FAQ

How do I copy and paste a symbol?

Click the symbol. It is copied to the clipboard and also added to the composition box. Then paste it with Ctrl+V (Cmd+V on Mac) into any field. On a phone, tap and hold the field and choose Paste.

Why do some symbols show up as a little box?

How do I type symbols with Alt codes on Windows?

How do I type a symbol by its Unicode code (U+2605)?

What is the difference between ♥, ♡ and ❤?

What is the invisible character and how do I use it?

Does it work on Instagram, WhatsApp, TikTok, Discord and in games?

How do I use a symbol in HTML, CSS and JavaScript?

What is the text style (U+FE0E)?

Is my data sent to any server?

Frequently asked questions

Which invisible character works in the most places?

There is no fixed answer. U+3164 and U+2800 are often accepted where a normal space is refused, but it depends on each platform and changes over time. Test what you need in a draft field first.

How do I find out if a text has invisible characters?

Can I remove the ZWJ from a text with emoji?

You can, but it breaks compound emoji: families, professions and special flags are several emoji glued by ZWJ (U+200D). That is why the inspector cleanup leaves joiners off by default.