Why identical-looking text can be different

The same visible character can be encoded as one Unicode code point or as a base character followed by a combining mark. A direct comparison sees different sequences even when the text looks identical.

NFC and NFKC

NFC composes canonical equivalents where possible. NFKC additionally applies compatibility mappings, which can be useful for search but may change semantics. Treat normalization as a deliberate transformation, not a cosmetic fix.