EM Space is the widest of the standard fixed-width spaces, measuring exactly one em - the full current font size. It is the traditional width of a paragraph indent, and the most useful Unicode space when you want a gap people can actually see.
Click the button above to copy EM Space, then paste it wherever you need it. Nothing will appear on your clipboard preview - that is expected, because the character is blank.
| Unicode code point | U+2003 |
|---|---|
| Character name | EM Space |
| Unicode category | Zs (Space Separator) |
| Rendered width | Exactly 1 em - equal to the current font size |
| Line breaking | Breaking - a line can wrap here |
| Collapses in HTML | No |
| Survives trim() | Usually yes |
| HTML entity | |
| JavaScript escape | '\u2003' |
| CSS escape | \2003 |
Need these values in another format? The HTML space characters converter turns any Unicode whitespace character into HTML entities, JavaScript escapes and CSS escapes.
U+2003 EM SPACE takes its name from the em, the typographic unit equal to the point size of the type. The name comes from the capital letter M, which in traditional metal type was cast on a square body one em wide. In 16px text an EM Space is 16px wide; in 40px text it is 40px wide.
It is the most-searched character on this site after the blank text characters themselves, largely because it is the simplest way to indent a line or push text across without using CSS. It does not collapse in HTML and it is not stretched by justification, so an EM Space gap stays exactly one em no matter how the text is laid out.
The same character can be preserved in one place and silently removed in another. Here is what actually happens to EM Space in the three contexts that matter most.
Does not collapse. Each EM Space renders at a full em, making it a quick way to indent without CSS.
Usually survives trimming, because it is not ASCII whitespace. Unicode-aware validators may still normalise or reject it.
Widely preserved and clearly visible. It is a good choice for putting real spacing inside a display name, and a poor one for looking empty.
Not sure what is in a string you already have? Paste it into the invisible character detector to see every hidden character with its code point, or use remove invisible characters to strip them out.
Visible, predictable indentation at exactly one em. If you want a character that looks like nothing at all, use Hangul Filler - EM Space produces a gap people will notice.
If what you actually need is text that looks completely empty - a blank WhatsApp message, an empty Instagram highlight name, a blank comment or a Free Fire name space - then Hangul Filler is the character to use, because it is not classified as whitespace and survives the trimming that removes EM Space.
Different apps prefer different Unicode characters. Start with these combinations.
Best first choice: Hangul Filler (U+3164). Alternatives: Zero Width Space and No-Break Space.
Best first choice: Hangul Filler. Alternative for tighter formatting: Zero Width Space.
Start with Hangul Filler. If the game rejects it, try Space or No-Break Space.
Use No-Break Space for preventing line breaks, EN Space and EM Space for wider spacing, and Thin Space or Hair Space for finer adjustments. For code-ready values and conversion, see HTML Space Characters.
Width is the fastest way to choose between these characters. If EM Space is not right for your use case, one of these probably is.
| Character | Unicode | Width |
|---|---|---|
| Three-Per-Em Space | U+2004 | Exactly 1/3 em |
| Four-Per-Em Space | U+2005 | Exactly 1/4 em |
| Six-Per-Em Space | U+2006 | Exactly 1/6 em |
| Figure Space | U+2007 | Exactly the width of a digit in the current font |
| Punctuation Space | U+2008 | Exactly the width of a period in the current font |
| Thin Space | U+2009 | About 1/5 em, though the exact width is left to the font |
| Hair Space | U+200A | The narrowest visible space - typically about 1/10 em or less |
| Narrow No-Break Space | U+202F | Narrow, similar to Thin Space |
| Medium Mathematical Space | U+205F | Exactly 4/18 em - two ninths of the font size |
| Hangul Filler | U+3164 | Renders blank; width varies by platform, often zero or narrow |
See all 18 Unicode space and invisible characters compared →
From the em, the typographic unit equal to the current point size, which in turn is named after the capital M. In metal type the M was cast on a square body exactly one em wide, and the name stuck.
Exactly one em, equal to the current font size. At 16px it is 16px wide, at 32px it is 32px wide. It is twice the width of an EN Space.
Yes, and that is its traditional purpose. For web pages, CSS text-indent is more maintainable, but an EM Space works anywhere you cannot apply styles - plain text, messaging apps, form fields and document titles.
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