ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Word divider

When we write words, we usually write them all together with no spaces in between. But sometimes, when we read or type things, we need to be able to tell where one word ends and the next one begins. That's where a word divider comes in!

A word divider is a special symbol or character that we use to separate different words from each other. When we're typing on a computer, the most common word divider is the space bar. Every time we want to start a new word, we just hit the space bar once to create a space between the two words.

In some languages, like Chinese or Japanese, there are no spaces between words at all! Instead, they use special characters to show where one word ends and the next one begins.

But word dividers aren't just about making it easier to read or type. They're also really important for things like search engines and text analysis programs. These programs need to be able to recognize individual words in a block of text, so they use word dividers to help them tell where one word ends and the next one begins.

So next time you see a space between two words, remember: that's a word divider helping us to read and understand the written word!