text-justify CSS property

The text-justify CSS property sets what type of justification should be applied to text when text-align: justify; is set on an element.

Syntax

css
text-justify: none;
text-justify: auto;
text-justify: inter-word;
text-justify: inter-character;
text-justify: distribute; /* Deprecated value */

/* Global values */
text-justify: inherit;
text-justify: initial;
text-justify: revert;
text-justify: revert-layer;
text-justify: unset;

Values

This property is specified as one of the following keyword values:

none

The text justification is turned off. This has the same effect as not setting text-align at all, although it is useful if you need to turn justification on and off for some reason.

auto

The browser chooses the best type of justification for the current situation based on a balance between performance and quality, but also on what is most appropriate for the language of the text (e.g., English, CJK languages, etc.). This is the default justification used if text-justify is not set at all.

inter-word

The text is justified by adding space between words (effectively varying word-spacing), which is most appropriate for languages that separate words using spaces, like English or Korean.

inter-character

The text is justified by adding space between characters (effectively varying letter-spacing), which is most appropriate for languages like Japanese.

distribute

Exhibits the same behavior as inter-character; this value is kept for backwards compatibility.

Formal definition

Initial valueauto
Applies toinline-level and table-cell elements
Inheritedyes
Computed valueas specified
Animation typediscrete

Formal syntax

text-justify = 
  [ auto | none | inter-word | inter-character | ruby ]  ||
  no-compress

Examples

undefined

Demonstration of the different values of text-justify

css
p {
  font-size: 1.5em;
  border: 1px solid black;
  padding: 10px;
  width: 95%;
  margin: 10px auto;
  text-align: justify;
}

.none {
  text-justify: none;
}

.auto {
  text-justify: auto;
}

.dist {
  text-justify: distribute;
}

.word {
  text-justify: inter-word;
}

.char {
  text-justify: inter-character;
}

Specifications

See also