How does Zalgo text work?

Cover Image for How does Zalgo text work?
Matheus Mello
Matheus Mello
published a few days ago. updated a few hours ago

How does Zalgo text work? 🤔📝

Have you ever come across strange-looking and unsettling text called Zalgo? It's been popping up on various forums and can be quite bothersome to look at. You may be wondering what exactly is happening here and if it's a bug, flaw, exploit, or hack in Unicode. In this blog post, we'll dive into the world of Zalgo text and demystify its workings. 😮✍️

What is Zalgo text? 🤷‍♀️

Zalgo text is a style of text that first gained popularity in the early 2000s on the internet. It is characterized by distorted and chaotic lettering, where certain characters appear to be broken or extending beyond their normal boundaries. Here's an example:

H̡̫̤̤̣͉̤ͭ̓̓̇͗̎̀ơ̯̗̱̘̮͒̄̀̈ͤ̀͡w͓̲͙͖̥͉̹͋ͬ̊ͦ̂̀̚ ͎͉͖̌ͯͅͅd̳̘̿̃̔̏ͣ͂̉̕ŏ̖̙͋ͤ̊͗̓͟͜e͈͕̯̮̙̣͓͌ͭ̍̐̃͒s͙͔̺͇̗̱̿̊̇͞ ̸̤͓̞̱̫ͩͩ͑̋̀ͮͥͦ̊Z̆̊͊҉҉̠̱̦̩͕ą̟̹͈̺̹̋̅ͯĺ̡̘̹̻̩̩͋͘g̪͚͗ͬ͒o̢̖͇̬͍͇͓̔͋͊̓ ̢͈͙͂ͣ̏̿͐͂ͯ͠t̛͓̖̻̲ͤ̈ͣ͝e͋̄ͬ̽͜҉͚̭͇ͅx͎̬̠͇̌ͤ̓̂̓͐͐́͋͡ț̗̹̝̄̌̀ͧͩ̕͢ ̮̗̩̳̱̾w͎̭̤͍͇̰̄͗ͭ̃͗ͮ̐o̢̯̻̰̼͕̾ͣͬ̽̔̍͟ͅr̢̪͙͍̠̀ͅǩ̵̶̗̮̮ͪ́?̙͉̥̬͙̟̮͕ͤ̌͗ͩ̕͡

How does Zalgo text work? 🤔💻

Zalgo text is created by combining different Unicode characters together. Each character has its own set of properties, such as height, width, and placement. By combining characters with certain properties, the text is transformed into the Zalgo style.

The Zalgo effect is achieved by adding multiple combining diacritical marks to the base characters. These diacritical marks are intended to modify the appearance of the base character and can be stacked on top or below the character. This stacking of diacritical marks leads to the distorted and chaotic look of Zalgo text.

For example, let's take the letter "a" and add a combining diacritical mark below it:

By adding multiple combining diacritical marks, we can create Zalgo-style text:

Z̼a̩l̤g̫o̬

Is Zalgo text a bug or exploit in Unicode? 🐛🔒

No, Zalgo text is not a bug or exploit in Unicode. It is simply a creative use of the available Unicode characters and their properties. Unicode is a standard that defines a unique number for every character, including diacritical marks and combining characters. Zalgo text leverages the flexibility of combining characters to create its unique appearance.

How to generate Zalgo text? 📝✨

There are several online tools and generators available that allow you to easily generate Zalgo text. Simply input your desired text, and the tool will transform it into Zalgo-style text. Here are a few popular tools to try out:

  • Z̞̹̻̲͍̾͐͌̇̑̀͢a͌ͭ̂҉̘l̨̨̯̖͈̲̜̈́̃̔ͧ̚g̗̘̰͍̜̿̀ͣ̌̀͜ǒ̢̺͎̪̩̰̩̓ͭ̕ T̨̢͚͙̩̜̎̍ͨ̒̊ę̢͙͔̯̟̐ͩ̇̾̚x̵̡̤̙̟ͫͣ̚t̛̳̮̻̼̪̹ͤ́̊ͤͥ̉ ̴͈͙͖̯̻̺̓̐ͪ̈́͆͠Ģ̰̫̪̣̘͐̌̄̀͠e͈̣̙̩̺̠ͪ̌̉͛͊̕n̢̗͔͓͓ͤ͛ͦͅé̡̖̰̪͍͓̲͐͂ͮ͊͟͞r̴̢̲͙̔ͯ̈́̓͛a̖͉͈̘͌̽̑͂͢͠t̴̵͓̗̳̳͈ͯ͡͞o̷̳̺͍̭͕ͪ͂͊͛͌ͪ͜r̛ͮͬ̔̂͑̔͏̗̬̻̭̬

  • Ẑ̴̬̠̱ͣͤ̒̆a̛̪̭ľ͖͉͓̏ͯ̾ͥ̇ͦg̣̰̭̹̈͝ō̮̦͍͠ ͔̘̔ͬ̎̅ͥT̽̏̇ͣ҉̙̻͈̩e͛ͯ̉͊̃̂҉̦̜̲̣̯͎͜x̨̭͚ͩ͋ͦ̔ṫ̢̠̞̉ ̊͑ͣ̒҉̴́G̴̡̡ͬ̈͝e̢̢͍̼̥̭̼͊ͣ̓n̵̢͎̬͖̣ͥ͢ȅ̸̛͈̰ͫ͞r̹̟͙̟̪̠͑̐å̢̝̞̫̽͂ͦͦ̾t̟̮͈̥̄ͬͧ͛̀͟o͕̥͔͐̿ͣ̃͂̽͡ṛ̨̼̼͔̜͐ͯͣ͒͗̄̍

Conclusion ✨🔚

Zalgo text may look strange and unsettling, but it's a creative use of Unicode characters and combining diacritical marks. It's not a bug or exploit but rather a fun way to play with text formatting. Now that you understand how Zalgo text works, feel free to try it out yourself or share this knowledge with your friends. Embrace the chaos! 💥😄

Got any cool examples of Zalgo text? Share them in the comments below! Let's see who can come up with the wildest and most unreadable text! 🙌💬


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