---
name: "wcscmp"
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/wcscmp"
---

# wcscmp(3)

compare two wide-character strings

## NAME

wcscmp - compare two wide-character strings

## LIBRARY

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

## SYNOPSIS

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

**int wcscmp(const wchar\_t \****s1***, const wchar\_t \****s2***);**

## DESCRIPTION

The **wcscmp**() function is the wide-character equivalent of the [**strcmp**(3)](/strcmp/3.md) function. It compares the wide-character string pointed to by *s1* and the wide-character string pointed to by *s2*.

## RETURN VALUE

The **wcscmp**() function returns zero if the wide-character strings at *s1* and *s2* are equal. It returns an integer greater than zero if at the first differing position *i*, the corresponding wide-character *s1\[i\]* is greater than *s2\[i\]*. It returns an integer less than zero if at the first differing position *i*, the corresponding wide-character *s1\[i\]* is less than *s2\[i\]*.

## ATTRIBUTES

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

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

## STANDARDS

C11, POSIX.1-2008.

## HISTORY

POSIX.1-2001, C99.

## SEE ALSO

[**strcmp**(3)](/strcmp/3.md), [**wcscasecmp**(3)](/wcscasecmp/3.md), [**wmemcmp**(3)](/wmemcmp/3.md)