Exotic spaces
MEDIUM MATHEMATICAL SPACE (U+205F)
A space four eighteenths of an em wide, defined for mathematical typesetting: the gap around a binary operator.
- Codepoint
U+205F- Also written as
u205f\u205f - Category
- Exotic spaces
- Removed by default
- No
- Governing option
- Spaces
-s - Can be load-bearing
- No
Copy and paste U+205F
To copy and paste MEDIUM MATHEMATICAL SPACE (U+205F), press the button: the character itself goes to your clipboard, and Ctrl+V (Cmd+V on a Mac) pastes it anywhere you can type.
Where it comes from
MathML and equation editors, and text copied out of typeset mathematics.
Why it matters
It is visually indistinguishable from a normal space in prose, and it is a different codepoint, so it silently breaks comparison, tokenisation and search.
Before and after
The spacing around the operator was chosen by a typesetter, not by a keyboard.
The character is shown as a labelled chip so you can see where it sits. In your text it draws nothing at all.
When it is legitimate
Around operators in real mathematical typesetting.
How to remove it
Turn on Spaces (`-s`); it becomes an ordinary space.
Working in a file rather than a paste? The document report for .docx, .odt and .html finds it inside the file, together with hidden runs and tracked changes, without you having to open it. If the question is what the rest of the writing does rather than what this one character does, measure sentence-length variation and see where each habit sits, with no score and no claim about who wrote the text.
Is it an AI watermark?
Not a watermark
No. It comes from maths typesetting. In prose it is a copy-paste artefact from an equation.
No connection to machine-generated text. It comes from software, from a keyboard, or from a person.
Questions
How wide is it?
Four eighteenths of an em: narrower than a normal space in most fonts, wide enough to read as one.
Is it ever right in prose?
No. Outside mathematics it is an invisible difference with no benefit, which is why `-s` normalises it.
Check your own text
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