Devanagari character tables

This document lists the per-character shaping information needed to shape Devanagari text.

Contents

• Devanagari character table

• Devanagari Extended character table

• Vedic Extensions character table

• Miscellaneous character table

Devanagari character table

Devanagari glyphs should be classified as in the following table. Codepoints in the Devanagari block with no assigned meaning are designated as unassigned in the Unicode category column.

Assigned codepoints with a null in the Shaping class column evoke no special behavior from the shaping engine. Note that this does include some valid codepoints, such as currency marks, punctuation, and other symbols.

Note: the NUMBER and SYMBOL Shaping classes are important during syllable identification, but generally evoke no further special behavior during the rest of the shaping process.

The Mark-placement subclass column indicates mark-placement positioning for codepoints in the Mark category. Assigned, non-mark codepoints have a null in this column and evoke no special mark-placement behavior. Marks tagged with [Mn] in the Unicode category column are categorized as non-spacing; marks tagged with [Mc] are categorized as spacing-combining.

Some codepoints in the following table use a Shaping class that differs from the codepoint’s Unicode General Category. The Shaping class takes precedence during OpenType shaping, as it captures more specific, script-aware behavior.

Table 13 Devanagari character table

Codepoint	Unicode category	Shaping class	Mark-placement subclass	Glyph
U+0900	Mark [Mn]	BINDU	TOP_POSITION	ऀ Inverted Candrabindu
U+0901	Mark [Mn]	BINDU	TOP_POSITION	ँ Candrabindu
U+0902	Mark [Mn]	BINDU	TOP_POSITION	ं Anusvara
U+0903	Mark [Mc]	VISARGA	RIGHT_POSITION	ः Visarga
U+0904	Letter	VOWEL_INDEPENDENT	null	ऄ Short A
U+0905	Letter	VOWEL_INDEPENDENT	null	अ A
U+0906	Letter	VOWEL_INDEPENDENT	null	आ Aa
U+0907	Letter	VOWEL_INDEPENDENT	null	इ I
U+0908	Letter	VOWEL_INDEPENDENT	null	ई Ii
U+0909	Letter	VOWEL_INDEPENDENT	null	उ U
U+090A	Letter	VOWEL_INDEPENDENT	null	ऊ Uu
U+090B	Letter	VOWEL_INDEPENDENT	null	ऋ Vocalic R
U+090C	Letter	VOWEL_INDEPENDENT	null	ऌ Vocalic L
U+090D	Letter	VOWEL_INDEPENDENT	null	ऍ Candra E
U+090E	Letter	VOWEL_INDEPENDENT	null	ऎ Short E
U+090F	Letter	VOWEL_INDEPENDENT	null	ए E
U+0910	Letter	VOWEL_INDEPENDENT	null	ऐ Ai
U+0911	Letter	VOWEL_INDEPENDENT	null	ऑ Candra O
U+0912	Letter	VOWEL_INDEPENDENT	null	ऒ Short O
U+0913	Letter	VOWEL_INDEPENDENT	null	ओ O
U+0914	Letter	VOWEL_INDEPENDENT	null	औ Au
U+0915	Letter	CONSONANT	null	क Ka
U+0916	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ख Kha
U+0917	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ग Ga
U+0918	Letter	CONSONANT	null	घ Gha
U+0919	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ङ Nga
U+091A	Letter	CONSONANT	null	च Ca
U+091B	Letter	CONSONANT	null	छ Cha
U+091C	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ज Ja
U+091D	Letter	CONSONANT	null	झ Jha
U+091E	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ञ Nya
U+091F	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ट Tta
U+0920	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ठ Ttha
U+0921	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ड Dda
U+0922	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ढ Ddha
U+0923	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ण Nna
U+0924	Letter	CONSONANT	null	त Ta
U+0925	Letter	CONSONANT	null	थ Tha
U+0926	Letter	CONSONANT	null	द Da
U+0927	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ध Dha
U+0928	Letter	CONSONANT	null	न Na
U+0929	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ऩ Nnna
U+092A	Letter	CONSONANT	null	प Pa
U+092B	Letter	CONSONANT	null	फ Pha
U+092C	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ब Ba
U+092D	Letter	CONSONANT	null	भ Bha
U+092E	Letter	CONSONANT	null	म Ma
U+092F	Letter	CONSONANT	null	य Ya
U+0930	Letter	CONSONANT	null	र Ra
U+0931	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ऱ Rra
U+0932	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ल La
U+0933	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ळ Lla
U+0934	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ऴ Llla
U+0935	Letter	CONSONANT	null	व Va
U+0936	Letter	CONSONANT	null	श Sha
U+0937	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ष Ssa
U+0938	Letter	CONSONANT	null	स Sa
U+0939	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ह Ha
U+093A	Mark [Mn]	VOWEL_DEPENDENT	TOP_POSITION	ऺ Sign Oe
U+093B	Mark [Mc]	VOWEL_DEPENDENT	RIGHT_POSITION	ऻ Sign Ooe
U+093C	Mark [Mn]	NUKTA	BOTTOM_POSITION	़ Nukta
U+093D	Letter	AVAGRAHA	null	ऽ Avagraha
U+093E	Mark [Mc]	VOWEL_DEPENDENT	RIGHT_POSITION	ा Sign Aa
U+093F	Mark [Mc]	VOWEL_DEPENDENT	LEFT_POSITION	ि Sign I
U+0940	Mark [Mc]	VOWEL_DEPENDENT	RIGHT_POSITION	ी Sign Ii
U+0941	Mark [Mn]	VOWEL_DEPENDENT	BOTTOM_POSITION	ु Sign U
U+0942	Mark [Mn]	VOWEL_DEPENDENT	BOTTOM_POSITION	ू Sign Uu
U+0943	Mark [Mn]	VOWEL_DEPENDENT	BOTTOM_POSITION	ृ Sign Vocalic R
U+0944	Mark [Mn]	VOWEL_DEPENDENT	BOTTOM_POSITION	ॄ Sign Vocalic Rr
U+0945	Mark [Mn]	VOWEL_DEPENDENT	TOP_POSITION	ॅ Sign Candra E
U+0946	Mark [Mn]	VOWEL_DEPENDENT	TOP_POSITION	ॆ Sign Short E
U+0947	Mark [Mn]	VOWEL_DEPENDENT	TOP_POSITION	े Sign E
U+0948	Mark [Mn]	VOWEL_DEPENDENT	TOP_POSITION	ै Sign Ai
U+0949	Mark [Mc]	VOWEL_DEPENDENT	RIGHT_POSITION	ॉ Sign Candra O
U+094A	Mark [Mc]	VOWEL_DEPENDENT	RIGHT_POSITION	ॊ Sign Short O
U+094B	Mark [Mc]	VOWEL_DEPENDENT	RIGHT_POSITION	ो Sign O
U+094C	Mark [Mc]	VOWEL_DEPENDENT	RIGHT_POSITION	ौ Sign Au
U+094D	Mark [Mn]	VIRAMA	BOTTOM_POSITION	् Virama
U+094E	Mark [Mc]	VOWEL_DEPENDENT	LEFT_POSITION	ॎ Sign Prishthamatra E
U+094F	Mark [Mc]	VOWEL_DEPENDENT	RIGHT_POSITION	ॏ Sign Aw
U+0950	Mark [Mc]	null	null	ॐ Om
U+0951	Mark [Mn]	CANTILLATION	TOP_POSITION	॑ Udatta
U+0952	Mark [Mn]	CANTILLATION	BOTTOM_POSITION	॒ Anudatta
U+0953	Mark [Mn]	SYLLABLE_MODIFIER	TOP_POSITION	॓ Grave accent
U+0954	Mark [Mn]	SYLLABLE_MODIFIER	TOP_POSITION	॔ Acute accent
U+0955	Mark [Mn]	VOWEL_DEPENDENT	TOP_POSITION	ॕ Sign Candra Long E
U+0956	Mark [Mn]	VOWEL_DEPENDENT	BOTTOM_POSITION	ॖ Sign Ue
U+0957	Mark [Mn]	VOWEL_DEPENDENT	BOTTOM_POSITION	ॗ Sign Uue
U+0958	Letter	CONSONANT	null	क़ Qa
U+0959	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ख़ Khha
U+095A	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ग़ Ghha
U+095B	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ज़ Za
U+095C	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ड़ Dddha
U+095D	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ढ़ Rha
U+095E	Letter	CONSONANT	null	फ़ Fa
U+095F	Letter	CONSONANT	null	य़ Yya
U+0960	Letter	VOWEL_INDEPENDENT	null	ॠ Vocalic Rr
U+0961	Letter	VOWEL_INDEPENDENT	null	ॡ Vocalic Ll
U+0962	Mark [Mn]	VOWEL_DEPENDENT	BOTTOM_POSITION	ॢ Sign Vocalic L
U+0963	Mark [Mn]	VOWEL_DEPENDENT	BOTTOM_POSITION	ॣ Sign Vocalic Ll
U+0964	Punctuation	null	null	। Danda
U+0965	Punctuation	null	null	॥ Double Danda
U+0966	Number	NUMBER	null	० Digit Zero
U+0967	Number	NUMBER	null	१ Digit One
U+0968	Number	NUMBER	null	२ Digit Two
U+0969	Number	NUMBER	null	३ Digit Three
U+096A	Number	NUMBER	null	४ Digit Four
U+096B	Number	NUMBER	null	५ Digit Five
U+096C	Number	NUMBER	null	६ Digit Six
U+096D	Number	NUMBER	null	७ Digit Seven
U+096E	Number	NUMBER	null	८ Digit Eight
U+096F	Number	NUMBER	null	९ Digit Nine
U+0970	Punctuation	null	null	॰ Abbreviation Sign
U+0971	Punctuation	null	null	ॱ Sign High Spacing Dot
U+0972	Letter	VOWEL_INDEPENDENT	null	ॲ Candra Aa
U+0973	Letter	VOWEL_INDEPENDENT	null	ॳ Oe
U+0974	Letter	VOWEL_INDEPENDENT	null	ॴ Ooe
U+0975	Letter	VOWEL_INDEPENDENT	null	ॵ Aw
U+0976	Letter	VOWEL_INDEPENDENT	null	ॶ Ue
U+0977	Letter	VOWEL_INDEPENDENT	null	ॷ Uue
U+0978	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ॸ Marwari Dda
U+0979	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ॹ Zha
U+097A	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ॺ Heavy Ya
U+097B	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ॻ Gga
U+097C	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ॼ Jja
U+097D	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ॽ Glottal Stop
U+097E	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ॾ Ddda
U+097F	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ॿ Bba

Devanagari Extended character table

Note: the cantillation marks of the “combining consonant” variety in the Devanagari Extended block are not considered consonants for shaping purposes (including syllable identification, the determination of the base consonant, or positioning “Reph”).

Table 14 Devanagari Extended character table

Codepoint	Unicode category	Shaping class	Mark-placement subclass	Glyph
U+A8E0	Mark [Mn]	CANTILLATION	TOP_POSITION	꣠ Combining Zero
U+A8E1	Mark [Mn]	CANTILLATION	TOP_POSITION	꣡ Combining One
U+A8E2	Mark [Mn]	CANTILLATION	TOP_POSITION	꣢ Combining Two
U+A8E3	Mark [Mn]	CANTILLATION	TOP_POSITION	꣣ Combining Three
U+A8E4	Mark [Mn]	CANTILLATION	TOP_POSITION	꣤ Combining Four
U+A8E5	Mark [Mn]	CANTILLATION	TOP_POSITION	꣥ Combining Five
U+A8E6	Mark [Mn]	CANTILLATION	TOP_POSITION	꣦ Combining Six
U+A8E7	Mark [Mn]	CANTILLATION	TOP_POSITION	꣧ Combining Seven
U+A8E8	Mark [Mn]	CANTILLATION	TOP_POSITION	꣨ Combining Eight
U+A8E9	Mark [Mn]	CANTILLATION	TOP_POSITION	꣩ Combining Nine
U+A8EA	Mark [Mn]	CANTILLATION	TOP_POSITION	꣪ Combining A
U+A8EB	Mark [Mn]	CANTILLATION	TOP_POSITION	꣫ Combining U
U+A8EC	Mark [Mn]	CANTILLATION	TOP_POSITION	꣬ Combining Ka
U+A8ED	Mark [Mn]	CANTILLATION	TOP_POSITION	꣭ Combining Na
U+A8EE	Mark [Mn]	CANTILLATION	TOP_POSITION	꣮ Combining Pa
U+A8EF	Mark [Mn]	CANTILLATION	TOP_POSITION	꣯ Combining Ra
U+A8F0	Mark [Mn]	CANTILLATION	TOP_POSITION	꣰ Combining Vi
U+A8F1	Mark [Mn]	CANTILLATION	TOP_POSITION	꣱ Combining Avagraha
U+A8F2	Letter	SYMBOL	null	ꣲ Spacing Candrabindu
U+A8F3	Letter	BINDU	null	ꣳ Candrabindu Virama
U+A8F4	Letter	null	null	ꣴ Double Candrabindu Virama
U+A8F5	Letter	null	null	ꣵ Candrabindu Two
U+A8F6	Letter	null	null	ꣶ Candrabindu Three
U+A8F7	Letter	SYMBOL	null	ꣷ Candrabindu Avagraha
U+A8F8	Punctuation	null	null	꣸ Pushpika
U+A8F9	Punctuation	null	null	꣹ Gap Filler
U+A8FA	Punctuation	null	null	꣺ Caret
U+A8FB	Letter	null	null	ꣻ Headstroke
U+A8FC	Punctuation	null	null	꣼ Siddham
U+A8FD	Letter	null	null	ꣽ Jain Om
U+A8FE	Letter	VOWEL_INDEPENDENT	null	ꣾ Ay
U+A8FF	Mark [Mn]	VOWEL_DEPENDENT	TOP_POSITION	ꣿ Sign Ay

Devanagari Extended-A character table

Table 15 Devanagari Extended-A character table

Codepoint	Unicode category	Shaping class	Mark-placement subclass	Glyph
U+11B00	Punctuation	null	null	𑬀 Head Mark
U+11B01	Punctuation	null	null	𑬁 Head Mark With Headstroke
U+11B02	Punctuation	null	null	𑬂 Sign Bhale
U+11B03	Punctuation	null	null	𑬃 Sign Bhale With Hook
U+11B04	Punctuation	null	null	𑬄 Sign Extended Bhale
U+11B05	Punctuation	null	null	𑬅 Sign Extended Bhale With Hook
U+11B06	Punctuation	null	null	𑬆 Sign Western Five-like Bhale
U+11B07	Punctuation	null	null	𑬇 Sign Western Nine-like Bhale
U+11B08	Punctuation	null	null	𑬈 Sign Reversed Nine-like Bhale
U+11B09	Punctuation	null	null	𑬉 Sign Mindu
U+11B0A	unassigned
U+11B0B	unassigned
U+11B0C	unassigned
U+11B0D	unassigned
U+11B0E	unassigned
U+11B0F	unassigned
U+11B10	unassigned
U+11B11	unassigned
U+11B12	unassigned
U+11B13	unassigned
U+11B14	unassigned
U+11B15	unassigned
U+11B16	unassigned
U+11B17	unassigned
U+11B18	unassigned
U+11B19	unassigned
U+11B1A	unassigned
U+11B1B	unassigned
U+11B1C	unassigned
U+11B1D	unassigned
U+11B1E	unassigned
U+11B1F	unassigned
U+11B20	unassigned
U+11B21	unassigned
U+11B22	unassigned
U+11B23	unassigned
U+11B24	unassigned
U+11B25	unassigned
U+11B26	unassigned
U+11B27	unassigned
U+11B28	unassigned
U+11B29	unassigned
U+11B2A	unassigned
U+11B2B	unassigned
U+11B2C	unassigned
U+11B2D	unassigned
U+11B2E	unassigned
U+11B2F	unassigned
U+11B30	unassigned
U+11B31	unassigned
U+11B32	unassigned
U+11B33	unassigned
U+11B34	unassigned
U+11B35	unassigned
U+11B36	unassigned
U+11B37	unassigned
U+11B38	unassigned
U+11B39	unassigned
U+11B3A	unassigned
U+11B3B	unassigned
U+11B3C	unassigned
U+11B3D	unassigned
U+11B3E	unassigned
U+11B3F	unassigned
U+11B40	unassigned
U+11B41	unassigned
U+11B42	unassigned
U+11B43	unassigned
U+11B44	unassigned
U+11B45	unassigned
U+11B46	unassigned
U+11B47	unassigned
U+11B48	unassigned
U+11B49	unassigned
U+11B4A	unassigned
U+11B4B	unassigned
U+11B4C	unassigned
U+11B4D	unassigned
U+11B4E	unassigned
U+11B4F	unassigned
U+11B50	unassigned
U+11B51	unassigned
U+11B52	unassigned
U+11B53	unassigned
U+11B54	unassigned
U+11B55	unassigned
U+11B56	unassigned
U+11B57	unassigned
U+11B58	unassigned
U+11B59	unassigned
U+11B5A	unassigned
U+11B5B	unassigned
U+11B5C	unassigned
U+11B5D	unassigned
U+11B5E	unassigned
U+11B5F	unassigned

Vedic Extensions character table

Sanskrit runs written in the Devanagari script may also include characters from the Vedic Extensions block. These characters should be classified as follows.

Note: See the Vedic Extensions document for additional information.

Table 16 Vedic Extensions character table

Codepoint	Unicode category	Shaping class	Mark-placement subclass	Glyph
U+1CD0	Mark [Mn]	CANTILLATION	TOP_POSITION	᳐ Tone Karshana
U+1CD1	Mark [Mn]	CANTILLATION	TOP_POSITION	᳑ Tone Shara
U+1CD2	Mark [Mn]	CANTILLATION	TOP_POSITION	᳒ Tone Prenkha
U+1CD3	Punctuation	null	null	᳓ Sign Nihshvasa
U+1CD4	Mark [Mn]	CANTILLATION	OVERSTRUCK	᳔ Tone Midline Svarita
U+1CD5	Mark [Mn]	CANTILLATION	BOTTOM_POSITION	᳕ Tone Aggravated Independent Svarita
U+1CD6	Mark [Mn]	CANTILLATION	BOTTOM_POSITION	᳖ Tone Independent Svarita
U+1CD7	Mark [Mn]	CANTILLATION	BOTTOM_POSITION	᳗ Tone Kathaka Independent Svarita
U+1CD8	Mark [Mn]	CANTILLATION	BOTTOM_POSITION	᳘ Tone Candra Below
U+1CD9	Mark [Mn]	CANTILLATION	BOTTOM_POSITION	᳙ Tone Kathaka Independent Svarita Schroeder
U+1CDA	Mark [Mn]	CANTILLATION	TOP_POSITION	᳚ Tone Double Svarita
U+1CDB	Mark [Mn]	CANTILLATION	TOP_POSITION	᳛ Tone Triple Svarita
U+1CDC	Mark [Mn]	CANTILLATION	BOTTOM_POSITION	᳜ Tone Kathaka Anudatta
U+1CDD	Mark [Mn]	CANTILLATION	BOTTOM_POSITION	᳝ Tone Dot Below
U+1CDE	Mark [Mn]	CANTILLATION	BOTTOM_POSITION	᳞ Tone Two Dots Below
U+1CDF	Mark [Mn]	CANTILLATION	BOTTOM_POSITION	᳟ Tone Three Dots Below
U+1CE0	Mark [Mn]	CANTILLATION	TOP_POSITION	᳠ Tone Rigvedic Kashmiri Independent Svarita
U+1CE1	Mark [Mc]	CANTILLATION	RIGHT_POSITION	᳡ Tone Atharavedic Independent Svarita
U+1CE2	Mark [Mn]	AVAGRAHA	OVERSTRUCK	᳢ Sign Visarga Svarita
U+1CE3	Mark [Mn]	null	OVERSTRUCK	᳣ Sign Visarga Udatta
U+1CE4	Mark [Mn]	null	OVERSTRUCK	᳤ Sign Reversed Visarga Udatta
U+1CE5	Mark [Mn]	null	OVERSTRUCK	᳥ Sign Visarga Anudatta
U+1CE6	Mark [Mn]	null	OVERSTRUCK	᳦ Sign Reversed Visarga Anudatta
U+1CE7	Mark [Mn]	null	OVERSTRUCK	᳧ Sign Visarga Udatta With Tail
U+1CE8	Mark [Mn]	AVAGRAHA	OVERSTRUCK	᳨ Sign Visarga Anudatta With Tail
U+1CE9	Letter	SYMBOL	null	ᳩ Sign Anusvara Antargomukha
U+1CEA	Letter	null	null	ᳪ Sign Anusvara Bahirgomukha
U+1CEB	Letter	null	null	ᳫ Sign Anusvara Vamagomukha
U+1CEC	Letter	SYMBOL	null	ᳬ Sign Anusvara Vamagomukha With Tail
U+1CED	Mark [Mn]	AVAGRAHA	BOTTOM_POSITION	᳭ Sign Tiryak
U+1CEE	Letter	SYMBOL	null	ᳮ Sign Hexiform Long Anusvara
U+1CEF	Letter	null	null	ᳯ Sign Long Anusvara
U+1CF0	Letter	null	null	ᳰ Sign Rthang Long Anusvara
U+1CF2	Letter	CONSONANT_DEAD	null	ᳲ Sign Ardhavisarga
U+1CF3	Letter	CONSONANT_DEAD	null	ᳳ Sign Rotated Ardhavisarga
U+1CF3	Mark [Mc]	VISARGA	null	ᳳ Sign Rotated Ardhavisarga
U+1CF4	Mark [Mn]	CANTILLATION	TOP_POSITION	᳴ Tone Candra Above
U+1CF5	Letter	CONSONANT_WITH_STACKER	null	ᳵ Sign Jihvamuliya
U+1CF6	Letter	CONSONANT_WITH_STACKER	null	ᳶ Sign Upadhmaniya
U+1CF7	Mark [Mc]	null	null	᳷ Sign Atikrama
U+1CF8	Mark [Mn]	CANTILLATION	null	᳸ Tone Ring Above
U+1CF9	Mark [Mn]	CANTILLATION	null	᳹ Tone Double Ring Above
U+1CFA	Letter	PLACEHOLDER	null	ᳺ Sign Double Anusvara Antargomukha
U+1CFB	unassigned
U+1CFC	unassigned
U+1CFD	unassigned
U+1CFE	unassigned
U+1CFF	unassigned

Miscellaneous character table

Other important characters that may be encountered when shaping runs of Devanagari text include the dotted-circle placeholder (U+25CC), the zero-width joiner (U+200D) and zero-width non-joiner (U+200C), and the no-break space (U+00A0).

The dotted-circle placeholder is frequently used when displaying a dependent vowel (matra) or a combining mark in isolation. Real-world text syllables may also use other characters, such as hyphens or dashes, in a similar placeholder fashion; shaping engines should cope with this situation gracefully.

Table 17 Miscellaneous character table

Codepoint	Unicode category	Shaping class	Mark-placement subclass	Glyph
U+00A0	Separator	PLACEHOLDER	null	No-break space
U+200C	Other	NON_JOINER	null	‌ Zero-width non-joiner
U+200D	Other	JOINER	null	‍ Zero-width joiner
U+2010	Punctuation	PLACEHOLDER	null	‐ Hyphen
U+2011	Punctuation	PLACEHOLDER	null	‑ No-break hyphen
U+2012	Punctuation	PLACEHOLDER	null	‒ Figure dash
U+2013	Punctuation	PLACEHOLDER	null	– En dash
U+2014	Punctuation	PLACEHOLDER	null	— Em dash
U+25CC	Symbol	DOTTED_CIRCLE	null	◌ Dotted circle

The zero-width joiner (ZWJ) is primarily used to prevent the formation of a conjunct from a “Consonant,Halant,Consonant” sequence. The sequence “Consonant,Halant,ZWJ,Consonant” blocks the formation of a conjunct between the two consonants.

Note, however, that the “Consonant,Halant” subsequence in the above example may still trigger a half-forms feature. To prevent the application of the half-forms feature in addition to preventing the conjunct, the zero-width non-joiner (ZWNJ) must be used instead. The sequence “Consonant,Halant,ZWNJ,Consonant” should produce the first consonant in its standard form, followed by an explicit “Halant”.

A secondary usage of the zero-width joiner is to prevent the formation of “Reph”. An initial “Ra,Halant,ZWJ” sequence should not produce a “Reph”, where an initial “Ra,Halant” sequence without the zero-width joiner otherwise would.

The no-break space (NBSP) is primarily used to display those codepoints that are defined as non-spacing (marks, dependent vowels (matras), below-base consonant forms, and post-base consonant forms) in an isolated context, as an alternative to displaying them superimposed on the dotted-circle placeholder. These sequences will match “NBSP,ZWJ,Halant,Consonant”, “NBSP,mark”, or “NBSP,matra”.