A hard line break forces a new line within a paragraph without starting a new block. It is written by ending a line with two or more trailing spaces, or with a backslash immediately before the newline.
First line with two trailing spaces
Second line.
First line with a backslash\
Second line.
First line with two trailing spaces
Second line.
First line with a backslash
Second line.
Best Practice
- Use hard line breaks sparingly. For most prose, a blank line starting a new paragraph is the clearer choice.
- Prefer the backslash form (
\) over trailing spaces — trailing spaces are invisible in source and are silently stripped by many editors and version control tools. - Hard line breaks are well-suited to poetry, postal addresses, and short multiline forms where the position of each line is meaningful.
Notes
Soft vs Hard Line Breaks
A single newline with no trailing spaces or backslash is a soft line break — it is treated as a space, and the text flows together in the rendered output. A hard line break forces a new line:
This line and
this line are joined by a soft wrap — they will render as one paragraph.
This line ends with two trailing spaces
and this line starts on a new line in the output.
Invisible Trailing Spaces
Trailing spaces are the original Markdown syntax for a hard line break, but they are easy to overlook in source. Many editors strip them automatically on save, and they create noise in version control diffs. The backslash form is more explicit and portable.
Markdown Flavour Support
Supported by all major flavours, with minor variation on the backslash form.
Flavour Support Detail
| Flavour | Support | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Original Markdown | Partial | Trailing spaces defined; backslash form not in the original spec. |
| CommonMark | Yes | Both trailing spaces and backslash forms precisely specified. |
| GitHub Flavored Markdown | Yes | Inherits CommonMark; both forms supported. |
| Pandoc Markdown | Yes | Both forms supported. |
Practical Examples
- Writing a poem in a personal journal: Hard line breaks let each verse line stand alone without the extra spacing that a blank paragraph gap would introduce.
The tide came in without a sound\
and covered all the marks we'd made\
as though the afternoon had never happened.
The tide came in without a sound\ and covered all the marks we'd made\ as though the afternoon had never happened.
- Formatting a postal address on a contact page: Each line of an address should break cleanly without extra vertical space between the lines.
The Old Bakehouse\
12 Harbour Lane\
St Ives\
Cornwall
The Old Bakehouse\ 12 Harbour Lane\ St Ives\ Cornwall
- Short verse in a birthday card message: Keep a heartfelt multi-line message visually together without blank paragraph gaps between the lines.
Wishing you a year full of good things —\
long walks, good books, and excellent cake.
Wishing you a year full of good things —\ long walks, good books, and excellent cake.