HTML bdi Tag

The <bdi> tag in HTML stands for “Bidirectional Isolation.” It is used to isolate a span of text that might be formatted in a different directionality than the surrounding text. This tag is particularly useful when dealing with text in languages that are written from right to left (RTL), such as Arabic or Hebrew, within a predominantly left-to-right (LTR) document.

The purpose of the <bdi> tag is to ensure that the text inside it is rendered correctly without affecting the surrounding text’s directionality. It helps maintain the integrity of the bidirectional text by isolating it from the rest of the document.

Here’s an example usage of the <bdi> tag:

<p>
     My name is John, and I speak both English and <bdi dir="rtl">عربي</bdi>.
</p>

In the example above, the text “عربي” is in Arabic and written from right to left. By enclosing it within the <bdi> tag and specifying the dir="rtl" attribute, we ensure that the Arabic text is rendered correctly and maintains its RTL directionality within an otherwise LTR paragraph.

It’s worth noting that the <bdi> tag alone doesn’t provide any visual styling. Its purpose is purely to handle the bidirectional text. You can apply additional CSS styles to the <bdi> element if you want to modify its appearance.

It’s important to use the <bdi> tag appropriately and only when necessary for bidirectional text situations. In most cases, HTML’s default rendering handles the text directionality correctly without the need for explicit markup.