The zero-width joiner (ZWJ) is a non-printing character used in the computerized typesetting of some complex scripts such as the Arabic script or any Indic script. When placed between two characters that would otherwise not be connected, a ZWJ causes them to be printed in their connected forms.
In some cases, such as the second Devanagari example below, the ZWJ follows the second rather than the first character.
When a ZWJ is placed between two emoji characters, it can also result in a new form being shown, such as the family emoji, made up of two adult emoji and one or two child emoji.
The character's code point is U+200D ZERO WIDTH JOINER (HTML ‍ ยท ‍). In the InScript keyboard layout for Indian languages, it is typed by the key combination Ctrl+Shift+1. However, many layouts use the ']' key for this character.