---
name: "wcscat"
section: "3"
platform: "linux"
package: "man-pages"
version: "6.19-1"
release: "Arch Linux 2026-11-01"
platforms: ["linux", "freebsd"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/wcscat"
---

# wcscat(3)

concatenate two wide-character strings

## NAME

wcscat - concatenate two wide-character strings

## LIBRARY

Standard C library (*libc*, *-lc*)

## SYNOPSIS

```
#include <wchar.h>
```

**wchar\_t \*wcscat(wchar\_t \*restrict** *dest***, const wchar\_t \*restrict** *src***);**

## DESCRIPTION

The **wcscat**() function is the wide-character equivalent of the [**strcat**(3)](/strcat/3.md) function. It copies the wide-character string pointed to by *src*, including the terminating null wide character (L'\\0'), to the end of the wide-character string pointed to by *dest*.

The strings may not overlap.

The programmer must ensure that there is room for at least *wcslen(dest)*+*wcslen(src)*+1 wide characters at *dest*.

## RETURN VALUE

**wcscat**() returns *dest*.

## ATTRIBUTES

For an explanation of the terms used in this section, see [**attributes**(7)](/attributes/7.md).

| | | |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Interface** | **Attribute** | **Value** |
| **wcscat**() | Thread safety | MT-Safe |

## STANDARDS

C11, POSIX.1-2008.

## HISTORY

POSIX.1-2001, C99.

## SEE ALSO

[**strcat**(3)](/strcat/3.md), [**wcpcpy**(3)](/wcpcpy/3.md), [**wcscpy**(3)](/wcscpy/3.md), [**wcsncat**(3)](/wcsncat/3.md)