Strikethrough Text Generator
Marks are added per character, so the effect survives copy and paste.
s̶t̶r̶i̶k̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶t̶h̶r̶o̶u̶g̶h̶
s̲t̲r̲i̲k̲e̲ ̲t̲h̲i̲s̲ ̲t̲h̲r̲o̲u̲g̲h̲
s̸t̸r̸i̸k̸e̸ ̸t̸h̸i̸s̸ ̸t̸h̸r̸o̸u̸g̸h̸
The strikethrough text generator adds a combining mark after every character, producing a line through, under or across your text that travels with it when copied. Unlike Markdown tildes or an HTML tag. This is not formatting. The marks are characters, so the effect works in places with no formatting controls at all.
How it works
A combining character has no width of its own and is drawn over the character before it. Placing one after every letter produces what looks like a continuous line, because each mark is drawn edge to edge with its neighbours.
- U+0336 combining long stroke overlay, the strikethrough, drawn through the middle.
- U+0332 combining low line, an underline, drawn below the baseline.
- U+0338 combining long solidus overlay, a diagonal slash across each character.
- Each mark doubles the character count, since one is added per character.
Examples
Striking through a short phrase
Text
deleted
Result
Seven letters become fourteen characters, one mark after each
The line looks continuous because the overlay marks are drawn full-width and butt against each other. There is no single "line" character.
The character count cost
Text
a 40-character sentence
Result
80 characters after marking
Every character gains one mark, so the length doubles exactly. That matters against any character limit, including a 280-character post.
Frequently asked questions
Why use this instead of Markdown tildes or an HTML tag?
Because those only work where formatting is supported. A social media bio, a username field or a plain-text message has no formatting, but it does accept Unicode, so the marks travel with the text anywhere it goes.
Does the strikethrough double my character count?
Yes, exactly. One combining mark is added per character, so a 40-character sentence becomes 80. Against a post or bio limit that halves what you can write.
How do screen readers handle it?
Badly, and this is the reason not to use it for anything meaningful. Behaviour ranges from ignoring the marks to reading each mark name aloud between letters. Never use it for information someone needs.
Why does the line look broken in some apps?
Because the overlay marks are drawn per character and the font decides how wide each one is. In fonts where the overlay is narrower than the letter, small gaps appear between characters. Monospace fonts usually render it cleanly.