Zero Width Joiner: The Hidden Character Behind Emoji Combinations
Zero Width Joiner: The Hidden Character Behind Emoji Combinations
Have you ever wondered how emoji combinations like the family emoji or the couple emoji work? The secret lies in a special invisible character called the Zero Width Joiner (ZWJ).
What is the Zero Width Joiner?
The Zero Width Joiner (ZWJ) is a special Unicode character (U+200D) that has no width and is not visible when displayed. Its primary purpose is to indicate that two or more characters should be joined together when rendered.
How ZWJ works with emojis
When the ZWJ is placed between two or more emojis, it signals to the rendering system that these emojis should be combined into a single emoji if possible. This is how we get complex emojis like:
- 👨👩👧👦 Family emoji (man + ZWJ + woman + ZWJ + girl + ZWJ + boy)
- 👩💻 Woman technologist (woman + ZWJ + laptop)
- 🏳️🌈 Rainbow flag (white flag + ZWJ + rainbow)
The technical side of ZWJ
The ZWJ works by creating a ligature between characters. A ligature is a special rendering where multiple characters are displayed as a single glyph. In traditional typography, ligatures are used to combine certain letter pairs like “fi” into a single, more aesthetically pleasing character.
With emojis, the ZWJ extends this concept to create new meanings by combining existing emojis.
ZWJ in different contexts
Emoji sequences
The most common use of ZWJ is in emoji sequences, where it creates new emojis by combining existing ones.
Text formatting
In some scripts like Arabic and Persian, ZWJ can influence how letters connect to each other, affecting the visual presentation of text.
Creating invisible connections
In web development and digital typography, ZWJ can be used to create invisible connections between characters without adding visible spaces.
Implementing ZWJ in your content
To use ZWJ in your content:
- Copy the ZWJ character (you can get it from InvisibleText.me)
- Place it between the emojis you want to combine
- Test the combination on your target platform (not all platforms support all ZWJ sequences)
The future of ZWJ and emoji combinations
As Unicode continues to evolve, we can expect to see more creative uses of ZWJ to expand the emoji vocabulary without adding thousands of new individual emoji characters.
The ZWJ is a perfect example of how invisible characters play a crucial role in our digital communication, enabling richer expression through seemingly simple means.