diff --git a/.git-blame-ignore-revs b/.git-blame-ignore-revs
index 3791c663..7ec2900f 100644
--- a/.git-blame-ignore-revs
+++ b/.git-blame-ignore-revs
@@ -21,3 +21,6 @@ c8af0450f1f7f8188004db96e3f53e7e33e2ccad
 
 # remove gddebug.hh and associated functions
 76aaed116bdc3aeb53fd61553aedb877baf9b510
+
+# wstring & wchar -> std::u32string & char32_t
+f1e158578f62c96059bef1a616b75495adb6e2c6
diff --git a/src/article_maker.cc b/src/article_maker.cc
index 9018802d..61feccbd 100644
--- a/src/article_maker.cc
+++ b/src/article_maker.cc
@@ -9,7 +9,6 @@
 #include "htmlescape.hh"
 #include "langcoder.hh"
 #include "utils.hh"
-#include "wstring_qt.hh"
 #include <QDir>
 #include <QFile>
 #include <QTextDocumentFragment>
@@ -21,7 +20,6 @@
 
 using std::vector;
 using std::string;
-using gd::wstring;
 using std::set;
 using std::list;
 
@@ -484,7 +482,7 @@ ArticleRequest::ArticleRequest( QString const & word,
 
   // Accumulate main forms
   for ( const auto & activeDict : activeDicts ) {
-    auto const s = activeDict->findHeadwordsForSynonym( gd::removeTrailingZero( word ) );
+    auto const s = activeDict->findHeadwordsForSynonym( Text::removeTrailingZero( word ) );
 
     connect( s.get(), &Dictionary::Request::finished, this, &ArticleRequest::altSearchFinished, Qt::QueuedConnection );
 
@@ -521,9 +519,9 @@ void ArticleRequest::altSearchFinished()
 
     altsDone = true; // So any pending signals in queued mode won't mess us up
 
-    vector< wstring > altsVector( alts.begin(), alts.end() );
+    vector< std::u32string > altsVector( alts.begin(), alts.end() );
 
-    wstring wordStd = word.toStdU32String();
+    std::u32string wordStd = word.toStdU32String();
 
     if ( activeDicts.size() <= 1 ) {
       articleSizeLimit = -1; // Don't collapse article if only one dictionary presented
@@ -534,7 +532,7 @@ void ArticleRequest::altSearchFinished()
         sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > r = activeDict->getArticle(
           wordStd,
           altsVector,
-          gd::removeTrailingZero( contexts.value( QString::fromStdString( activeDict->getId() ) ) ),
+          Text::removeTrailingZero( contexts.value( QString::fromStdString( activeDict->getId() ) ) ),
           ignoreDiacritics );
 
         connect( r.get(), &Dictionary::Request::finished, this, &ArticleRequest::bodyFinished, Qt::QueuedConnection );
@@ -1008,7 +1006,7 @@ void ArticleRequest::individualWordFinished()
   WordFinder::SearchResults const & results = stemmedWordFinder->getResults();
 
   if ( results.size() ) {
-    wstring source = Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( currentSplittedWordCompound );
+    std::u32string source = Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( currentSplittedWordCompound );
 
     bool hadSomething = false;
 
@@ -1022,7 +1020,7 @@ void ArticleRequest::individualWordFinished()
 
       // Prefix match found. Check if the aliases are acceptable.
 
-      wstring result( Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( results[ x ].first ) );
+      std::u32string result( Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( results[ x ].first ) );
 
       if ( source.size() <= result.size() && result.compare( 0, source.size(), source ) == 0 ) {
         // The resulting string begins with the source one
diff --git a/src/article_maker.hh b/src/article_maker.hh
index a57065e7..e70e65e6 100644
--- a/src/article_maker.hh
+++ b/src/article_maker.hh
@@ -88,7 +88,7 @@ class ArticleRequest: public Dictionary::DataRequest
   QMap< QString, QString > contexts;
   std::vector< sptr< Dictionary::Class > > activeDicts;
 
-  std::set< gd::wstring, std::less<> > alts; // Accumulated main forms
+  std::set< std::u32string, std::less<> > alts; // Accumulated main forms
   std::list< sptr< Dictionary::WordSearchRequest > > altSearches;
   std::list< sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > > bodyRequests;
   bool altsDone{ false };
diff --git a/src/common/filetype.cc b/src/common/filetype.cc
index 87d2a79d..54ae1fc7 100644
--- a/src/common/filetype.cc
+++ b/src/common/filetype.cc
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
  * Part of GoldenDict. Licensed under GPLv3 or later, see the LICENSE file */
 
 #include "filetype.hh"
-#include "utf8.hh"
+#include "text.hh"
 #include <ctype.h>
 
 namespace Filetype {
@@ -26,13 +26,13 @@ string simplifyString( string const & str, bool lowercase )
 
   size_t beginPos = 0;
 
-  while ( beginPos < str.size() && Utf8::isspace( str[ beginPos ] ) ) {
+  while ( beginPos < str.size() && Text::isspace( str[ beginPos ] ) ) {
     ++beginPos;
   }
 
   size_t endPos = str.size();
 
-  while ( endPos && Utf8::isspace( str[ endPos - 1 ] ) ) {
+  while ( endPos && Text::isspace( str[ endPos - 1 ] ) ) {
     --endPos;
   }
 
diff --git a/src/common/folding.cc b/src/common/folding.cc
index f737371a..a5bceffb 100644
--- a/src/common/folding.cc
+++ b/src/common/folding.cc
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 
 #include "folding.hh"
 
-#include "utf8.hh"
+#include "text.hh"
 #include "globalregex.hh"
 #include "inc_case_folding.hh"
 
@@ -13,12 +13,12 @@ namespace Folding {
 /// caught by the diacritics folding table, but they are only handled there
 /// when they come with their main characters, not by themselves. The rest
 /// are caught here.
-bool isCombiningMark( wchar ch )
+bool isCombiningMark( char32_t ch )
 {
   return QChar::isMark( ch );
 }
 
-wstring apply( wstring const & in, bool preserveWildcards )
+std::u32string apply( std::u32string const & in, bool preserveWildcards )
 {
   // remove diacritics (normalization), white space, punt,
   auto temp = QString::fromStdU32String( in )
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ wstring apply( wstring const & in, bool preserveWildcards )
   // case folding
   std::u32string caseFolded;
   caseFolded.reserve( temp.size() );
-  wchar buf[ foldCaseMaxOut ];
+  char32_t buf[ foldCaseMaxOut ];
   for ( const char32_t ch : temp ) {
     auto n = foldCase( ch, buf );
     caseFolded.append( buf, n );
@@ -40,11 +40,11 @@ wstring apply( wstring const & in, bool preserveWildcards )
   return caseFolded;
 }
 
-wstring applySimpleCaseOnly( wstring const & in )
+std::u32string applySimpleCaseOnly( std::u32string const & in )
 {
-  wchar const * nextChar = in.data();
+  char32_t const * nextChar = in.data();
 
-  wstring out;
+  std::u32string out;
 
   out.reserve( in.size() );
 
@@ -55,27 +55,27 @@ wstring applySimpleCaseOnly( wstring const & in )
   return out;
 }
 
-wstring applySimpleCaseOnly( QString const & in )
+std::u32string applySimpleCaseOnly( QString const & in )
 {
   //qt only support simple case folding.
   return in.toCaseFolded().toStdU32String();
 }
 
-wstring applySimpleCaseOnly( std::string const & in )
+std::u32string applySimpleCaseOnly( std::string const & in )
 {
-  return applySimpleCaseOnly( Utf8::decode( in ) );
+  return applySimpleCaseOnly( Text::toUtf32( in ) );
   // return QString::fromStdString( in ).toCaseFolded().toStdU32String();
 }
 
-wstring applyFullCaseOnly( wstring const & in )
+std::u32string applyFullCaseOnly( std::u32string const & in )
 {
-  wstring caseFolded;
+  std::u32string caseFolded;
 
   caseFolded.reserve( in.size() * foldCaseMaxOut );
 
-  wchar const * nextChar = in.data();
+  char32_t const * nextChar = in.data();
 
-  wchar buf[ foldCaseMaxOut ];
+  char32_t buf[ foldCaseMaxOut ];
 
   for ( size_t left = in.size(); left--; ) {
     caseFolded.append( buf, foldCase( *nextChar++, buf ) );
@@ -84,17 +84,17 @@ wstring applyFullCaseOnly( wstring const & in )
   return caseFolded;
 }
 
-wstring applyDiacriticsOnly( wstring const & in )
+std::u32string applyDiacriticsOnly( std::u32string const & in )
 {
   auto noAccent = QString::fromStdU32String( in ).normalized( QString::NormalizationForm_KD ).remove( RX::accentMark );
   return noAccent.toStdU32String();
 }
 
-wstring applyPunctOnly( wstring const & in )
+std::u32string applyPunctOnly( std::u32string const & in )
 {
-  wchar const * nextChar = in.data();
+  char32_t const * nextChar = in.data();
 
-  wstring out;
+  std::u32string out;
 
   out.reserve( in.size() );
 
@@ -119,11 +119,11 @@ QString applyPunctOnly( QString const & in )
   return out;
 }
 
-wstring applyWhitespaceOnly( wstring const & in )
+std::u32string applyWhitespaceOnly( std::u32string const & in )
 {
-  wchar const * nextChar = in.data();
+  char32_t const * nextChar = in.data();
 
-  wstring out;
+  std::u32string out;
 
   out.reserve( in.size() );
 
@@ -136,11 +136,11 @@ wstring applyWhitespaceOnly( wstring const & in )
   return out;
 }
 
-wstring applyWhitespaceAndPunctOnly( wstring const & in )
+std::u32string applyWhitespaceAndPunctOnly( std::u32string const & in )
 {
-  wchar const * nextChar = in.data();
+  char32_t const * nextChar = in.data();
 
-  wstring out;
+  std::u32string out;
 
   out.reserve( in.size() );
 
@@ -153,26 +153,26 @@ wstring applyWhitespaceAndPunctOnly( wstring const & in )
   return out;
 }
 
-bool isWhitespace( wchar ch )
+bool isWhitespace( char32_t ch )
 {
   //invisible character should be treated as whitespace as well.
   return QChar::isSpace( ch ) || !QChar::isPrint( ch );
 }
 
-bool isWhitespaceOrPunct( wchar ch )
+bool isWhitespaceOrPunct( char32_t ch )
 {
   return isWhitespace( ch ) || QChar::isPunct( ch );
 }
 
-bool isPunct( wchar ch )
+bool isPunct( char32_t ch )
 {
   return QChar::isPunct( ch );
 }
 
-wstring trimWhitespaceOrPunct( wstring const & in )
+std::u32string trimWhitespaceOrPunct( std::u32string const & in )
 {
-  wchar const * wordBegin     = in.c_str();
-  wstring::size_type wordSize = in.size();
+  char32_t const * wordBegin         = in.c_str();
+  std::u32string::size_type wordSize = in.size();
 
   // Skip any leading whitespace
   while ( *wordBegin && Folding::isWhitespaceOrPunct( *wordBegin ) ) {
@@ -185,7 +185,7 @@ wstring trimWhitespaceOrPunct( wstring const & in )
     --wordSize;
   }
 
-  return wstring( wordBegin, wordSize );
+  return std::u32string( wordBegin, wordSize );
 }
 
 QString trimWhitespaceOrPunct( QString const & in )
@@ -209,13 +209,13 @@ QString trimWhitespaceOrPunct( QString const & in )
   return in.mid( wordBegin, wordSize );
 }
 
-wstring trimWhitespace( wstring const & in )
+std::u32string trimWhitespace( std::u32string const & in )
 {
   if ( in.empty() ) {
     return in;
   }
-  wchar const * wordBegin     = in.c_str();
-  wstring::size_type wordSize = in.size();
+  char32_t const * wordBegin         = in.c_str();
+  std::u32string::size_type wordSize = in.size();
 
   // Skip any leading whitespace
   while ( *wordBegin && Folding::isWhitespace( *wordBegin ) ) {
@@ -228,7 +228,7 @@ wstring trimWhitespace( wstring const & in )
     --wordSize;
   }
 
-  return wstring( wordBegin, wordSize );
+  return std::u32string( wordBegin, wordSize );
 }
 
 QString trimWhitespace( QString const & in )
diff --git a/src/common/folding.hh b/src/common/folding.hh
index 9e9caaea..b1eb6018 100644
--- a/src/common/folding.hh
+++ b/src/common/folding.hh
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 
 #pragma once
 
-#include "wstring.hh"
+#include "text.hh"
 #include <QString>
 
 /// Folding provides means to translate several possible ways to write a
@@ -17,8 +17,6 @@
 
 namespace Folding {
 
-using gd::wstring;
-using gd::wchar;
 
 /// The algorithm's version.
 enum {
@@ -27,48 +25,48 @@ enum {
 
 /// Applies the folding algorithm to each character in the given string,
 /// making another one as a result.
-wstring apply( wstring const &, bool preserveWildcards = false );
+std::u32string apply( std::u32string const &, bool preserveWildcards = false );
 
 /// Applies only simple case folding algorithm. Since many dictionaries have
 /// different case style, we interpret words differing only by case as synonyms.
-wstring applySimpleCaseOnly( wstring const & );
-wstring applySimpleCaseOnly( QString const & in );
-wstring applySimpleCaseOnly( std::string const & in );
+std::u32string applySimpleCaseOnly( std::u32string const & );
+std::u32string applySimpleCaseOnly( QString const & in );
+std::u32string applySimpleCaseOnly( std::string const & in );
 
 /// Applies only full case folding algorithm. This includes simple case, but also
 /// decomposing ligatures and complex letters.
-wstring applyFullCaseOnly( wstring const & );
+std::u32string applyFullCaseOnly( std::u32string const & );
 
 /// Applies only diacritics folding algorithm.
-wstring applyDiacriticsOnly( wstring const & );
+std::u32string applyDiacriticsOnly( std::u32string const & );
 
 /// Applies only punctuation folding algorithm.
-wstring applyPunctOnly( wstring const & );
+std::u32string applyPunctOnly( std::u32string const & );
 QString applyPunctOnly( QString const & in );
 /// Applies only whitespace folding algorithm.
-wstring applyWhitespaceOnly( wstring const & );
+std::u32string applyWhitespaceOnly( std::u32string const & );
 
 /// Applies only whitespace&punctuation folding algorithm.
-wstring applyWhitespaceAndPunctOnly( wstring const & );
+std::u32string applyWhitespaceAndPunctOnly( std::u32string const & );
 
 /// Returns true if the given character is any form of whitespace, false
 /// otherwise. Whitespace corresponds to Zl/Zp/Zs Unicode classes, and also
 /// includes \n, \r and \t.
-bool isWhitespace( wchar ch );
-bool isWhitespaceOrPunct( wchar ch );
+bool isWhitespace( char32_t ch );
+bool isWhitespaceOrPunct( char32_t ch );
 
 /// Returns true if the given character is any form of punctuation, false
 /// otherwise. Punctuation corresponds to Pc/Pd/Pe/Pf/Pi/Po/Ps classes.
-bool isPunct( wchar ch );
+bool isPunct( char32_t ch );
 
 /// Removes any whitespace or punctuation from the beginning and the end of
 /// the word.
-wstring trimWhitespaceOrPunct( wstring const & );
+std::u32string trimWhitespaceOrPunct( std::u32string const & );
 QString trimWhitespaceOrPunct( QString const & in );
 
 /// Removes any whitespace from the beginning and the end of
 /// the word.
-wstring trimWhitespace( wstring const & );
+std::u32string trimWhitespace( std::u32string const & );
 QString trimWhitespace( QString const & in );
 
 /// Same as apply( wstring ), but without any heap operations, therefore
@@ -86,6 +84,6 @@ QString unescapeWildcardSymbols( QString const & );
 QString escapeWildcardSymbols( QString const & );
 
 /// Tests if the given char is one of the Unicode combining marks.
-bool isCombiningMark( wchar ch );
+bool isCombiningMark( char32_t ch );
 
 } // namespace Folding
diff --git a/src/common/iconv.cc b/src/common/iconv.cc
index ded249ba..6c700e9c 100644
--- a/src/common/iconv.cc
+++ b/src/common/iconv.cc
@@ -5,7 +5,6 @@
 #include <vector>
 #include <errno.h>
 #include <string.h>
-#include "wstring_qt.hh"
 
 char const * const Iconv::GdWchar = "UTF-32LE";
 char const * const Iconv::Utf16Le = "UTF-16LE";
@@ -80,7 +79,7 @@ QString Iconv::convert( void const *& inBuf, size_t & inBytesLeft )
   return QString::fromUtf8( &outBuf.front(), datasize );
 }
 
-gd::wstring Iconv::toWstring( char const * fromEncoding, void const * fromData, size_t dataSize )
+std::u32string Iconv::toWstring( char const * fromEncoding, void const * fromData, size_t dataSize )
 
 {
   /// Special-case the dataSize == 0 to avoid any kind of iconv-specific
diff --git a/src/common/iconv.hh b/src/common/iconv.hh
index 3c72022b..f27aaecd 100644
--- a/src/common/iconv.hh
+++ b/src/common/iconv.hh
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
 
 #include <QString>
 
-#include "wstring.hh"
+#include "text.hh"
 #include "ex.hh"
 
 #include <iconv.h>
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ public:
   QString convert( void const *& inBuf, size_t & inBytesLeft );
 
   // Converts a given block of data from the given encoding to a wide string.
-  static gd::wstring toWstring( char const * fromEncoding, void const * fromData, size_t dataSize );
+  static std::u32string toWstring( char const * fromEncoding, void const * fromData, size_t dataSize );
 
   // Converts a given block of data from the given encoding to an utf8-encoded
   // string.
diff --git a/src/common/utf8.cc b/src/common/text.cc
similarity index 63%
rename from src/common/utf8.cc
rename to src/common/text.cc
index c2fff2f1..71c8038d 100644
--- a/src/common/utf8.cc
+++ b/src/common/text.cc
@@ -1,15 +1,21 @@
 /* This file is (c) 2008-2012 Konstantin Isakov <ikm@goldendict.org>
  * Part of GoldenDict. Licensed under GPLv3 or later, see the LICENSE file */
 
-#include "utf8.hh"
+#include "text.hh"
 #include <vector>
 #include <algorithm>
 #include <QByteArray>
 #include <QString>
+#include <QList>
 
-namespace Utf8 {
+namespace Text {
 
-size_t encode( wchar const * in, size_t inSize, char * out_ )
+
+/// Encodes the given UTF-32 into UTF-8. The inSize specifies the number
+/// of wide characters the 'in' pointer points to. The 'out' buffer must be
+/// at least inSize * 4 bytes long. The function returns the number of chars
+/// stored in the 'out' buffer. The result is not 0-terminated.
+size_t encode( char32_t const * in, size_t inSize, char * out_ )
 {
   unsigned char * out = (unsigned char *)out_;
 
@@ -37,13 +43,18 @@ size_t encode( wchar const * in, size_t inSize, char * out_ )
   return out - (unsigned char *)out_;
 }
 
-long decode( char const * in_, size_t inSize, wchar * out_ )
+/// Decodes the given UTF-8 into UTF-32. The inSize specifies the number
+/// of bytes the 'in' pointer points to. The 'out' buffer must be at least
+/// inSize wide characters long. If the given UTF-8 is invalid, the decode
+/// function returns -1, otherwise it returns the number of wide characters
+/// stored in the 'out' buffer. The result is not 0-terminated.
+long decode( char const * in_, size_t inSize, char32_t * out_ )
 {
   unsigned char const * in = (unsigned char const *)in_;
-  wchar * out              = out_;
+  char32_t * out           = out_;
 
   while ( inSize-- ) {
-    wchar result;
+    char32_t result;
 
     if ( *in & 0x80 ) {
       if ( *in & 0x40 ) {
@@ -61,22 +72,22 @@ long decode( char const * in_, size_t inSize, wchar * out_ )
 
             inSize -= 3;
 
-            result = ( (wchar)*in++ & 7 ) << 18;
+            result = ( (char32_t)*in++ & 7 ) << 18;
 
             if ( ( *in & 0xC0 ) != 0x80 ) {
               return -1;
             }
-            result |= ( (wchar)*in++ & 0x3F ) << 12;
+            result |= ( (char32_t)*in++ & 0x3F ) << 12;
 
             if ( ( *in & 0xC0 ) != 0x80 ) {
               return -1;
             }
-            result |= ( (wchar)*in++ & 0x3F ) << 6;
+            result |= ( (char32_t)*in++ & 0x3F ) << 6;
 
             if ( ( *in & 0xC0 ) != 0x80 ) {
               return -1;
             }
-            result |= (wchar)*in++ & 0x3F;
+            result |= (char32_t)*in++ & 0x3F;
           }
           else {
             // Three-byte sequence
@@ -87,17 +98,17 @@ long decode( char const * in_, size_t inSize, wchar * out_ )
 
             inSize -= 2;
 
-            result = ( (wchar)*in++ & 0xF ) << 12;
+            result = ( (char32_t)*in++ & 0xF ) << 12;
 
             if ( ( *in & 0xC0 ) != 0x80 ) {
               return -1;
             }
-            result |= ( (wchar)*in++ & 0x3F ) << 6;
+            result |= ( (char32_t)*in++ & 0x3F ) << 6;
 
             if ( ( *in & 0xC0 ) != 0x80 ) {
               return -1;
             }
-            result |= (wchar)*in++ & 0x3F;
+            result |= (char32_t)*in++ & 0x3F;
           }
         }
         else {
@@ -108,12 +119,12 @@ long decode( char const * in_, size_t inSize, wchar * out_ )
 
           --inSize;
 
-          result = ( (wchar)*in++ & 0x1F ) << 6;
+          result = ( (char32_t)*in++ & 0x1F ) << 6;
 
           if ( ( *in & 0xC0 ) != 0x80 ) {
             return -1;
           }
-          result |= (wchar)*in++ & 0x3F;
+          result |= (char32_t)*in++ & 0x3F;
         }
       }
       else {
@@ -132,7 +143,7 @@ long decode( char const * in_, size_t inSize, wchar * out_ )
   return out - out_;
 }
 
-string encode( wstring const & in ) noexcept
+std::string toUtf8( std::u32string const & in ) noexcept
 {
   if ( in.empty() ) {
     return {};
@@ -140,16 +151,16 @@ string encode( wstring const & in ) noexcept
 
   std::vector< char > buffer( in.size() * 4 );
 
-  return string( &buffer.front(), encode( in.data(), in.size(), &buffer.front() ) );
+  return { &buffer.front(), encode( in.data(), in.size(), &buffer.front() ) };
 }
 
-wstring decode( string const & in )
+std::u32string toUtf32( std::string const & in )
 {
   if ( in.empty() ) {
     return {};
   }
 
-  std::vector< wchar > buffer( in.size() );
+  std::vector< char32_t > buffer( in.size() );
 
   long result = decode( in.data(), in.size(), &buffer.front() );
 
@@ -157,7 +168,7 @@ wstring decode( string const & in )
     throw exCantDecode( in );
   }
 
-  return wstring( &buffer.front(), result );
+  return std::u32string( &buffer.front(), result );
 }
 
 bool isspace( int c )
@@ -247,29 +258,29 @@ LineFeed initLineFeed( const Encoding e )
 {
   LineFeed lf{};
   switch ( e ) {
-    case Utf8::Utf32LE:
+    case Utf32LE:
       lf.lineFeed = new char[ 4 ]{ 0x0A, 0, 0, 0 };
       lf.length   = 4;
       break;
-    case Utf8::Utf32BE:
+    case Utf32BE:
       lf.lineFeed = new char[ 4 ]{ 0, 0, 0, 0x0A };
       lf.length   = 4;
       break;
-    case Utf8::Utf16LE:
+    case Utf16LE:
       lf.lineFeed = new char[ 2 ]{ 0x0A, 0 };
       lf.length   = 2;
       break;
-    case Utf8::Utf16BE:
+    case Utf16BE:
       lf.lineFeed = new char[ 2 ]{ 0, 0x0A };
       lf.length   = 2;
       break;
-    case Utf8::Windows1252:
+    case Windows1252:
 
-    case Utf8::Windows1251:
+    case Windows1251:
 
-    case Utf8::Utf8:
+    case Utf8:
 
-    case Utf8::Windows1250:
+    case Windows1250:
     default:
       lf.length   = 1;
       lf.lineFeed = new char[ 1 ]{ 0x0A };
@@ -277,4 +288,36 @@ LineFeed initLineFeed( const Encoding e )
   return lf;
 }
 
-} // namespace Utf8
+// When convert non-BMP characters to wstring,the ending char maybe \0 .This method remove the tailing \0 from the wstring
+// as \0 is sensitive in the index.  This method will be only used with index related operations like store/query.
+std::u32string removeTrailingZero( std::u32string const & v )
+{
+  int n = v.size();
+  while ( n > 0 && v[ n - 1 ] == 0 ) {
+    n--;
+  }
+  return std::u32string( v.data(), n );
+}
+
+std::u32string removeTrailingZero( QString const & in )
+{
+  QList< unsigned int > v = in.toUcs4();
+
+  int n = v.size();
+  while ( n > 0 && v[ n - 1 ] == 0 ) {
+    n--;
+  }
+  if ( n != v.size() ) {
+    v.resize( n );
+  }
+
+  return std::u32string( (const char32_t *)v.constData(), v.size() );
+}
+
+std::u32string normalize( const std::u32string & str )
+{
+  return QString::fromStdU32String( str ).normalized( QString::NormalizationForm_C ).toStdU32String();
+}
+
+
+} // namespace Text
diff --git a/src/common/text.hh b/src/common/text.hh
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..f3c47d81
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/common/text.hh
@@ -0,0 +1,50 @@
+/* This file is (c) 2008-2012 Konstantin Isakov <ikm@goldendict.org>
+ * Part of GoldenDict. Licensed under GPLv3 or later, see the LICENSE file */
+#pragma once
+
+#include <cstdio>
+#include <QByteArray>
+#include <string>
+#include "ex.hh"
+
+/// Facilities to process Text, focusing on Unicode
+namespace Text {
+DEF_EX_STR( exCantDecode, "Can't decode the given string from Utf8:", std::exception )
+
+// Those are possible encodings for .dsl files
+enum Encoding {
+  Utf16LE,
+  Utf16BE,
+  Windows1252,
+  Windows1251,
+  Windows1250,
+  Utf8,
+  Utf32BE,
+  Utf32LE,
+};
+
+std::string toUtf8( std::u32string const & ) noexcept;
+std::u32string toUtf32( std::string const & );
+
+/// Since the standard isspace() is locale-specific, we need something
+/// that would never mess up our utf8 input. The stock one worked fine under
+/// Linux but was messing up strings under Windows.
+bool isspace( int c );
+
+//get the first line in string s1. -1 if not found
+int findFirstLinePosition( char * s1, int s1length, const char * s2, int s2length );
+char const * getEncodingNameFor( Encoding e );
+Encoding getEncodingForName( const QByteArray & name );
+
+struct LineFeed
+{
+  int length;
+  char * lineFeed;
+};
+
+LineFeed initLineFeed( Encoding e );
+
+std::u32string removeTrailingZero( std::u32string const & v );
+std::u32string removeTrailingZero( QString const & in );
+std::u32string normalize( std::u32string const & );
+} // namespace Text
diff --git a/src/common/utf8.hh b/src/common/utf8.hh
deleted file mode 100644
index 4a0d2c88..00000000
--- a/src/common/utf8.hh
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,68 +0,0 @@
-/* This file is (c) 2008-2012 Konstantin Isakov <ikm@goldendict.org>
- * Part of GoldenDict. Licensed under GPLv3 or later, see the LICENSE file */
-#pragma once
-
-#include <cstdio>
-#include <QByteArray>
-#include <string>
-#include "ex.hh"
-#include "wstring.hh"
-
-/// A simple UTF-8 encoder/decoder. Some dictionary backends only require
-/// utf8, so we have this separately, removing the iconv dependency for them.
-/// Besides, utf8 is quite ubiquitous now, and its use is spreaded over many
-/// places.
-namespace Utf8 {
-
-// Those are possible encodings for .dsl files
-enum Encoding {
-  Utf16LE,
-  Utf16BE,
-  Windows1252,
-  Windows1251,
-  Windows1250,
-  Utf8, // This is an extension. Detected solely by the UTF8 BOM.
-  Utf32BE,
-  Utf32LE,
-};
-
-using std::string;
-using gd::wstring;
-using gd::wchar;
-
-DEF_EX_STR( exCantDecode, "Can't decode the given string from Utf8:", std::exception )
-
-/// Encodes the given UCS-4 into UTF-8. The inSize specifies the number
-/// of wide characters the 'in' pointer points to. The 'out' buffer must be
-/// at least inSize * 4 bytes long. The function returns the number of chars
-/// stored in the 'out' buffer. The result is not 0-terminated.
-size_t encode( wchar const * in, size_t inSize, char * out );
-/// Decodes the given UTF-8 into UCS-32. The inSize specifies the number
-/// of bytes the 'in' pointer points to. The 'out' buffer must be at least
-/// inSize wide characters long. If the given UTF-8 is invalid, the decode
-/// function returns -1, otherwise it returns the number of wide characters
-/// stored in the 'out' buffer. The result is not 0-terminated.
-long decode( char const * in, size_t inSize, wchar * out );
-
-/// Versions for non time-critical code.
-string encode( wstring const & ) noexcept;
-wstring decode( string const & );
-
-/// Since the standard isspace() is locale-specific, we need something
-/// that would never mess up our utf8 input. The stock one worked fine under
-/// Linux but was messing up strings under Windows.
-bool isspace( int c );
-
-//get the first line in string s1. -1 if not found
-int findFirstLinePosition( char * s1, int s1length, const char * s2, int s2length );
-char const * getEncodingNameFor( Encoding e );
-Encoding getEncodingForName( const QByteArray & name );
-
-struct LineFeed
-{
-  int length;
-  char * lineFeed;
-};
-
-LineFeed initLineFeed( Encoding e );
-} // namespace Utf8
diff --git a/src/common/wstring.hh b/src/common/wstring.hh
deleted file mode 100644
index 4ab689e1..00000000
--- a/src/common/wstring.hh
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,17 +0,0 @@
-/* This file is (c) 2008-2012 Konstantin Isakov <ikm@goldendict.org>
- * Part of GoldenDict. Licensed under GPLv3 or later, see the LICENSE file */
-
-#pragma once
-
-#include <string>
-
-///
-/// Aliases for legacy reasons.
-///
-/// For new code, just use the standardized std::u32string for UTF-32 strings instead.
-///
-
-namespace gd {
-using wchar   = char32_t;
-using wstring = std::u32string;
-} // namespace gd
diff --git a/src/common/wstring_qt.cc b/src/common/wstring_qt.cc
deleted file mode 100644
index 17cc867f..00000000
--- a/src/common/wstring_qt.cc
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,38 +0,0 @@
-#include "wstring_qt.hh"
-#include <QList>
-
-namespace gd {
-
-// When convert non-BMP characters to wstring,the ending char maybe \0 .This method remove the tailing \0 from the wstring
-// as \0 is sensitive in the index.  This method will be only used with index related operations like store/query.
-wstring removeTrailingZero( wstring const & v )
-{
-  int n = v.size();
-  while ( n > 0 && v[ n - 1 ] == 0 ) {
-    n--;
-  }
-  return wstring( v.data(), n );
-}
-
-wstring removeTrailingZero( QString const & in )
-{
-  QList< unsigned int > v = in.toUcs4();
-
-  int n = v.size();
-  while ( n > 0 && v[ n - 1 ] == 0 ) {
-    n--;
-  }
-  if ( n != v.size() ) {
-    v.resize( n );
-  }
-
-  return wstring( (const wchar *)v.constData(), v.size() );
-}
-
-wstring normalize( const wstring & str )
-{
-  return QString::fromStdU32String( str ).normalized( QString::NormalizationForm_C ).toStdU32String();
-}
-
-
-} // namespace gd
diff --git a/src/common/wstring_qt.hh b/src/common/wstring_qt.hh
deleted file mode 100644
index 982478d4..00000000
--- a/src/common/wstring_qt.hh
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,16 +0,0 @@
-/* This file is (c) 2008-2012 Konstantin Isakov <ikm@goldendict.org>
- * Part of GoldenDict. Licensed under GPLv3 or later, see the LICENSE file */
-
-#pragma once
-
-/// This file adds conversions between gd::wstring and QString. See wstring.hh
-/// for more details on gd::wstring.
-
-#include "wstring.hh"
-#include <QString>
-
-namespace gd {
-wstring removeTrailingZero( wstring const & v );
-wstring removeTrailingZero( QString const & in );
-wstring normalize( wstring const & );
-} // namespace gd
diff --git a/src/dict/aard.cc b/src/dict/aard.cc
index f988e659..50b70aa1 100644
--- a/src/dict/aard.cc
+++ b/src/dict/aard.cc
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 #include "aard.hh"
 #include "btreeidx.hh"
 #include "folding.hh"
-#include "utf8.hh"
+#include "text.hh"
 #include "chunkedstorage.hh"
 #include "langcoder.hh"
 #include "decompress.hh"
@@ -29,7 +29,6 @@ using std::multimap;
 using std::pair;
 using std::set;
 using std::string;
-using gd::wstring;
 
 using BtreeIndexing::WordArticleLink;
 using BtreeIndexing::IndexedWords;
@@ -236,8 +235,10 @@ public:
     return idxHeader.langTo;
   }
 
-  sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest >
-  getArticle( wstring const &, vector< wstring > const & alts, wstring const &, bool ignoreDiacritics ) override;
+  sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > getArticle( std::u32string const &,
+                                              vector< std::u32string > const & alts,
+                                              std::u32string const &,
+                                              bool ignoreDiacritics ) override;
 
   QString const & getDescription() override;
 
@@ -601,8 +602,8 @@ AardDictionary::getSearchResults( QString const & searchString, int searchMode,
 
 class AardArticleRequest: public Dictionary::DataRequest
 {
-  wstring word;
-  vector< wstring > alts;
+  std::u32string word;
+  vector< std::u32string > alts;
   AardDictionary & dict;
   bool ignoreDiacritics;
 
@@ -611,8 +612,8 @@ class AardArticleRequest: public Dictionary::DataRequest
 
 public:
 
-  AardArticleRequest( wstring const & word_,
-                      vector< wstring > const & alts_,
+  AardArticleRequest( std::u32string const & word_,
+                      vector< std::u32string > const & alts_,
                       AardDictionary & dict_,
                       bool ignoreDiacritics_ ):
     word( word_ ),
@@ -656,13 +657,13 @@ void AardArticleRequest::run()
     chain.insert( chain.end(), altChain.begin(), altChain.end() );
   }
 
-  multimap< wstring, pair< string, string > > mainArticles, alternateArticles;
+  multimap< std::u32string, pair< string, string > > mainArticles, alternateArticles;
 
   set< quint32 > articlesIncluded; // Some synonims make it that the articles
                                    // appear several times. We combat this
                                    // by only allowing them to appear once.
 
-  wstring wordCaseFolded = Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( word );
+  std::u32string wordCaseFolded = Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( word );
   if ( ignoreDiacritics ) {
     wordCaseFolded = Folding::applyDiacriticsOnly( wordCaseFolded );
   }
@@ -693,12 +694,12 @@ void AardArticleRequest::run()
 
     // We do the case-folded comparison here.
 
-    wstring headwordStripped = Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( headword );
+    std::u32string headwordStripped = Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( headword );
     if ( ignoreDiacritics ) {
       headwordStripped = Folding::applyDiacriticsOnly( headwordStripped );
     }
 
-    multimap< wstring, pair< string, string > > & mapToUse =
+    multimap< std::u32string, pair< string, string > > & mapToUse =
       ( wordCaseFolded == headwordStripped ) ? mainArticles : alternateArticles;
 
     mapToUse.insert( pair( Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( headword ), pair( headword, articleText ) ) );
@@ -714,7 +715,7 @@ void AardArticleRequest::run()
 
   string result;
 
-  multimap< wstring, pair< string, string > >::const_iterator i;
+  multimap< std::u32string, pair< string, string > >::const_iterator i;
 
   for ( i = mainArticles.begin(); i != mainArticles.end(); ++i ) {
     result += "<h3>";
@@ -737,9 +738,9 @@ void AardArticleRequest::run()
   finish();
 }
 
-sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > AardDictionary::getArticle( wstring const & word,
-                                                            vector< wstring > const & alts,
-                                                            wstring const &,
+sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > AardDictionary::getArticle( std::u32string const & word,
+                                                            vector< std::u32string > const & alts,
+                                                            std::u32string const &,
                                                             bool ignoreDiacritics )
 
 {
@@ -915,7 +916,7 @@ vector< sptr< Dictionary::Class > > makeDictionaries( vector< string > const & f
           }
 
           // Insert new entry
-          wstring word = Utf8::decode( string( data.data(), wordSize ) );
+          std::u32string word = Text::toUtf32( string( data.data(), wordSize ) );
           if ( maxHeadwordsToExpand && dictHeader.wordsCount >= maxHeadwordsToExpand ) {
             indexedWords.addSingleWord( word, articleOffset );
           }
diff --git a/src/dict/bgl.cc b/src/dict/bgl.cc
index f11772aa..9ce25517 100644
--- a/src/dict/bgl.cc
+++ b/src/dict/bgl.cc
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@
 #include "htmlescape.hh"
 #include "langcoder.hh"
 #include "language.hh"
-#include "utf8.hh"
+#include "text.hh"
 #include "utils.hh"
 #include <ctype.h>
 #include <list>
@@ -30,8 +30,6 @@ namespace Bgl {
 using std::map;
 using std::multimap;
 using std::set;
-using gd::wstring;
-using gd::wchar;
 using std::list;
 using std::pair;
 using std::string;
@@ -111,7 +109,7 @@ void trimWs( string & word )
   if ( word.size() ) {
     unsigned begin = 0;
 
-    while ( begin < word.size() && Utf8::isspace( word[ begin ] ) ) {
+    while ( begin < word.size() && Text::isspace( word[ begin ] ) ) {
       ++begin;
     }
 
@@ -123,7 +121,7 @@ void trimWs( string & word )
 
       // Doesn't consist of ws entirely, so must end with just isspace()
       // condition.
-      while ( Utf8::isspace( word[ end - 1 ] ) ) {
+      while ( Text::isspace( word[ end - 1 ] ) ) {
         --end;
       }
 
@@ -137,7 +135,7 @@ void trimWs( string & word )
 void addEntryToIndex( string & word,
                       uint32_t articleOffset,
                       IndexedWords & indexedWords,
-                      vector< wchar > & wcharBuffer )
+                      vector< char32_t > & wcharBuffer )
 {
   // Strip any leading or trailing whitespaces
   trimWs( word );
@@ -159,7 +157,7 @@ void addEntryToIndex( string & word,
   }
 
   // Convert the word from utf8 to wide chars
-  indexedWords.addWord( Utf8::decode( word ), articleOffset );
+  indexedWords.addWord( Text::toUtf32( word ), articleOffset );
 }
 
 class BglDictionary: public BtreeIndexing::BtreeDictionary
@@ -193,10 +191,12 @@ public:
     return idxHeader.langTo;
   }
 
-  sptr< Dictionary::WordSearchRequest > findHeadwordsForSynonym( wstring const & ) override;
+  sptr< Dictionary::WordSearchRequest > findHeadwordsForSynonym( std::u32string const & ) override;
 
-  sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest >
-  getArticle( wstring const &, vector< wstring > const & alts, wstring const &, bool ignoreDiacritics ) override;
+  sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > getArticle( std::u32string const &,
+                                              vector< std::u32string > const & alts,
+                                              std::u32string const &,
+                                              bool ignoreDiacritics ) override;
 
   sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > getResource( string const & name ) override;
 
@@ -387,7 +387,7 @@ void BglDictionary::getArticleText( uint32_t articleAddress, QString & headword,
 
     headword = QString::fromUtf8( headwordStr.data(), headwordStr.size() );
 
-    wstring wstr = Utf8::decode( articleStr );
+    std::u32string wstr = Text::toUtf32( articleStr );
 
     if ( getLangTo() == LangCoder::code2toInt( "he" ) ) {
       for ( char32_t & i : wstr ) {
@@ -436,7 +436,7 @@ void BglDictionary::makeFTSIndex( QAtomicInt & isCancelled )
 
 class BglHeadwordsRequest: public Dictionary::WordSearchRequest
 {
-  wstring str;
+  std::u32string str;
   BglDictionary & dict;
 
   QAtomicInt isCancelled;
@@ -444,7 +444,7 @@ class BglHeadwordsRequest: public Dictionary::WordSearchRequest
 
 public:
 
-  BglHeadwordsRequest( wstring const & word_, BglDictionary & dict_ ):
+  BglHeadwordsRequest( std::u32string const & word_, BglDictionary & dict_ ):
     str( word_ ),
     dict( dict_ )
   {
@@ -476,7 +476,7 @@ void BglHeadwordsRequest::run()
 
   vector< WordArticleLink > chain = dict.findArticles( str );
 
-  wstring caseFolded = Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( str );
+  std::u32string caseFolded = Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( str );
 
   for ( auto & x : chain ) {
     if ( Utils::AtomicInt::loadAcquire( isCancelled ) ) {
@@ -488,11 +488,11 @@ void BglHeadwordsRequest::run()
 
     dict.loadArticle( x.articleOffset, headword, displayedHeadword, articleText );
 
-    wstring headwordDecoded;
+    std::u32string headwordDecoded;
     try {
-      headwordDecoded = Utf8::decode( removePostfix( headword ) );
+      headwordDecoded = Text::toUtf32( removePostfix( headword ) );
     }
-    catch ( Utf8::exCantDecode & ) {
+    catch ( Text::exCantDecode & ) {
     }
 
     if ( caseFolded != Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( headwordDecoded ) && !headwordDecoded.empty() ) {
@@ -507,7 +507,7 @@ void BglHeadwordsRequest::run()
   finish();
 }
 
-sptr< Dictionary::WordSearchRequest > BglDictionary::findHeadwordsForSynonym( wstring const & word )
+sptr< Dictionary::WordSearchRequest > BglDictionary::findHeadwordsForSynonym( std::u32string const & word )
 
 {
   return synonymSearchEnabled ? std::make_shared< BglHeadwordsRequest >( word, *this ) :
@@ -547,8 +547,8 @@ string postfixToSuperscript( string const & in )
 
 class BglArticleRequest: public Dictionary::DataRequest
 {
-  wstring word;
-  vector< wstring > alts;
+  std::u32string word;
+  vector< std::u32string > alts;
   BglDictionary & dict;
 
   QAtomicInt isCancelled;
@@ -557,8 +557,8 @@ class BglArticleRequest: public Dictionary::DataRequest
 
 public:
 
-  BglArticleRequest( wstring const & word_,
-                     vector< wstring > const & alts_,
+  BglArticleRequest( std::u32string const & word_,
+                     vector< std::u32string > const & alts_,
                      BglDictionary & dict_,
                      bool ignoreDiacritics_ ):
     word( word_ ),
@@ -590,11 +590,11 @@ public:
 
 void BglArticleRequest::fixHebString( string & hebStr ) // Hebrew support - convert non-unicode to unicode
 {
-  wstring hebWStr;
+  std::u32string hebWStr;
   try {
-    hebWStr = Utf8::decode( hebStr );
+    hebWStr = Text::toUtf32( hebStr );
   }
-  catch ( Utf8::exCantDecode & ) {
+  catch ( Text::exCantDecode & ) {
     hebStr = "Utf-8 decoding error";
     return;
   }
@@ -608,7 +608,7 @@ void BglArticleRequest::fixHebString( string & hebStr ) // Hebrew support - conv
       i += 1488 - 224;    // Convert to Hebrew unicode
     }
   }
-  hebStr = Utf8::encode( hebWStr );
+  hebStr = Text::toUtf8( hebWStr );
 }
 
 void BglArticleRequest::fixHebArticle( string & hebArticle ) // Hebrew support - remove extra chars at the end
@@ -644,7 +644,7 @@ void BglArticleRequest::run()
     chain.insert( chain.end(), altChain.begin(), altChain.end() );
   }
 
-  multimap< wstring, pair< string, string > > mainArticles, alternateArticles;
+  multimap< std::u32string, pair< string, string > > mainArticles, alternateArticles;
 
   set< uint32_t > articlesIncluded; // Some synonims make it that the articles
                                     // appear several times. We combat this
@@ -653,7 +653,7 @@ void BglArticleRequest::run()
   // the bodies to account for this.
   set< QByteArray > articleBodiesIncluded;
 
-  wstring wordCaseFolded = Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( word );
+  std::u32string wordCaseFolded = Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( word );
   if ( ignoreDiacritics ) {
     wordCaseFolded = Folding::applyDiacriticsOnly( wordCaseFolded );
   }
@@ -681,7 +681,7 @@ void BglArticleRequest::run()
 
       // We do the case-folded and postfix-less comparison here.
 
-      wstring headwordStripped = Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( removePostfix( headword ) );
+      std::u32string headwordStripped = Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( removePostfix( headword ) );
       if ( ignoreDiacritics ) {
         headwordStripped = Folding::applyDiacriticsOnly( headwordStripped );
       }
@@ -704,7 +704,7 @@ void BglArticleRequest::run()
         continue; // Already had this body
       }
 
-      multimap< wstring, pair< string, string > > & mapToUse =
+      multimap< std::u32string, pair< string, string > > & mapToUse =
         ( wordCaseFolded == headwordStripped ) ? mainArticles : alternateArticles;
 
       mapToUse.insert( pair( Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( headword ), pair( targetHeadword, articleText ) ) );
@@ -725,7 +725,7 @@ void BglArticleRequest::run()
 
   string result;
 
-  multimap< wstring, pair< string, string > >::const_iterator i;
+  multimap< std::u32string, pair< string, string > >::const_iterator i;
 
   string cleaner = Utils::Html::getHtmlCleaner();
   for ( i = mainArticles.begin(); i != mainArticles.end(); ++i ) {
@@ -802,9 +802,9 @@ void BglArticleRequest::run()
   finish();
 }
 
-sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > BglDictionary::getArticle( wstring const & word,
-                                                           vector< wstring > const & alts,
-                                                           wstring const &,
+sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > BglDictionary::getArticle( std::u32string const & word,
+                                                           vector< std::u32string > const & alts,
+                                                           std::u32string const &,
                                                            bool ignoreDiacritics )
 
 {
@@ -1085,7 +1085,7 @@ vector< sptr< Dictionary::Class > > makeDictionaries( vector< string > const & f
         IndexedWords indexedWords;
 
         // We use this buffer to decode utf8 into it.
-        vector< wchar > wcharBuffer;
+        vector< char32_t > wcharBuffer;
 
         ChunkedStorage::Writer chunks( idx );
 
diff --git a/src/dict/btreeidx.cc b/src/dict/btreeidx.cc
index 40a55622..31daf5b9 100644
--- a/src/dict/btreeidx.cc
+++ b/src/dict/btreeidx.cc
@@ -3,11 +3,10 @@
 
 #include "btreeidx.hh"
 #include "folding.hh"
-#include "utf8.hh"
+#include "text.hh"
 #include <math.h>
 #include <string.h>
 #include <stdlib.h>
-#include "wstring_qt.hh"
 #include "utils.hh"
 
 #include <QRegularExpression>
@@ -19,8 +18,6 @@
 
 namespace BtreeIndexing {
 
-using gd::wstring;
-using gd::wchar;
 using std::pair;
 
 enum {
@@ -59,14 +56,14 @@ void BtreeIndex::openIndex( IndexInfo const & indexInfo, File::Index & file, QMu
 }
 
 vector< WordArticleLink >
-BtreeIndex::findArticles( wstring const & search_word, bool ignoreDiacritics, uint32_t maxMatchCount )
+BtreeIndex::findArticles( std::u32string const & search_word, bool ignoreDiacritics, uint32_t maxMatchCount )
 {
   //First trim ending zero
-  wstring word = gd::removeTrailingZero( search_word );
+  std::u32string word = Text::removeTrailingZero( search_word );
   vector< WordArticleLink > result;
 
   try {
-    wstring folded = Folding::apply( word );
+    std::u32string folded = Folding::apply( word );
     if ( folded.empty() ) {
       folded = Folding::applyWhitespaceOnly( word );
     }
@@ -100,7 +97,7 @@ BtreeIndex::findArticles( wstring const & search_word, bool ignoreDiacritics, ui
 
 
 BtreeWordSearchRequest::BtreeWordSearchRequest( BtreeDictionary & dict_,
-                                                wstring const & str_,
+                                                std::u32string const & str_,
                                                 unsigned minLength_,
                                                 int maxSuffixVariation_,
                                                 bool allowMiddleMatches_,
@@ -137,11 +134,11 @@ void BtreeWordSearchRequest::findMatches()
 
   bool useWildcards = false;
   if ( allowMiddleMatches ) {
-    useWildcards = ( str.find( '*' ) != wstring::npos || str.find( '?' ) != wstring::npos
-                     || str.find( '[' ) != wstring::npos || str.find( ']' ) != wstring::npos );
+    useWildcards = ( str.find( '*' ) != std::u32string::npos || str.find( '?' ) != std::u32string::npos
+                     || str.find( '[' ) != std::u32string::npos || str.find( ']' ) != std::u32string::npos );
   }
 
-  wstring folded = Folding::apply( str );
+  std::u32string folded = Folding::apply( str );
 
   int minMatchLength = 0;
 
@@ -154,7 +151,7 @@ void BtreeWordSearchRequest::findMatches()
     regexp.setPatternOptions( QRegularExpression::CaseInsensitiveOption );
 
     bool bNoLetters = folded.empty();
-    wstring foldedWithWildcards;
+    std::u32string foldedWithWildcards;
 
     if ( bNoLetters ) {
       foldedWithWildcards = Folding::applyWhitespaceOnly( str );
@@ -268,9 +265,9 @@ void BtreeWordSearchRequest::findMatches()
 
           vector< WordArticleLink > chain = dict.readChain( chainOffset );
 
-          wstring chainHead = Utf8::decode( chain[ 0 ].word );
+          std::u32string chainHead = Text::toUtf32( chain[ 0 ].word );
 
-          wstring resultFolded = Folding::apply( chainHead );
+          std::u32string resultFolded = Folding::apply( chainHead );
           if ( resultFolded.empty() ) {
             resultFolded = Folding::applyWhitespaceOnly( chainHead );
           }
@@ -286,9 +283,9 @@ void BtreeWordSearchRequest::findMatches()
                 break;
               }
               if ( useWildcards ) {
-                wstring word   = Utf8::decode( x.prefix + x.word );
-                wstring result = Folding::applyDiacriticsOnly( word );
-                if ( result.size() >= (wstring::size_type)minMatchLength ) {
+                std::u32string word   = Text::toUtf32( x.prefix + x.word );
+                std::u32string result = Folding::applyDiacriticsOnly( word );
+                if ( result.size() >= (std::u32string::size_type)minMatchLength ) {
                   QRegularExpressionMatch match = regexp.match( QString::fromStdU32String( result ) );
                   if ( match.hasMatch() && match.capturedStart() == 0 ) {
                     addMatch( word );
@@ -298,10 +295,10 @@ void BtreeWordSearchRequest::findMatches()
               else {
                 // Skip middle matches, if requested. If suffix variation is specified,
                 // make sure the string isn't larger than requested.
-                if ( ( allowMiddleMatches || Folding::apply( Utf8::decode( x.prefix ) ).empty() )
+                if ( ( allowMiddleMatches || Folding::apply( Text::toUtf32( x.prefix ) ).empty() )
                      && ( maxSuffixVariation < 0
                           || (int)resultFolded.size() - initialFoldedSize <= maxSuffixVariation ) ) {
-                  addMatch( Utf8::decode( x.prefix + x.word ) );
+                  addMatch( Text::toUtf32( x.prefix + x.word ) );
                 }
               }
               if ( matches.size() >= maxResults ) {
@@ -393,13 +390,14 @@ BtreeWordSearchRequest::~BtreeWordSearchRequest()
   f.waitForFinished();
 }
 
-sptr< Dictionary::WordSearchRequest > BtreeDictionary::prefixMatch( wstring const & str, unsigned long maxResults )
+sptr< Dictionary::WordSearchRequest > BtreeDictionary::prefixMatch( std::u32string const & str,
+                                                                    unsigned long maxResults )
 
 {
   return std::make_shared< BtreeWordSearchRequest >( *this, str, 0, -1, true, maxResults );
 }
 
-sptr< Dictionary::WordSearchRequest > BtreeDictionary::stemmedMatch( wstring const & str,
+sptr< Dictionary::WordSearchRequest > BtreeDictionary::stemmedMatch( std::u32string const & str,
                                                                      unsigned minLength,
                                                                      unsigned maxSuffixVariation,
                                                                      unsigned long maxResults )
@@ -437,8 +435,11 @@ void BtreeIndex::readNode( uint32_t offset, vector< char > & out )
   }
 }
 
-char const * BtreeIndex::findChainOffsetExactOrPrefix(
-  wstring const & target, bool & exactMatch, vector< char > & extLeaf, uint32_t & nextLeaf, char const *& leafEnd )
+char const * BtreeIndex::findChainOffsetExactOrPrefix( std::u32string const & target,
+                                                       bool & exactMatch,
+                                                       vector< char > & extLeaf,
+                                                       uint32_t & nextLeaf,
+                                                       char const *& leafEnd )
 {
   if ( !idxFile ) {
     throw exIndexWasNotOpened();
@@ -449,7 +450,7 @@ char const * BtreeIndex::findChainOffsetExactOrPrefix(
   // Lookup the index by traversing the index btree
 
   // vector< wchar > wcharBuffer;
-  wstring w_word;
+  std::u32string w_word;
   exactMatch = false;
 
   // Read a node
@@ -530,7 +531,7 @@ char const * BtreeIndex::findChainOffsetExactOrPrefix(
 
         size_t wordSize = strlen( closestString );
 
-        w_word = Utf8::decode( string( closestString, wordSize ) );
+        w_word = Text::toUtf32( string( closestString, wordSize ) );
 
         compareResult = target.compare( w_word );
 
@@ -649,9 +650,9 @@ char const * BtreeIndex::findChainOffsetExactOrPrefix(
 
         size_t wordSize = strlen( ptr );
 
-        w_word = Utf8::decode( string( ptr, wordSize ) );
+        w_word = Text::toUtf32( string( ptr, wordSize ) );
 
-        wstring foldedWord = Folding::apply( w_word );
+        std::u32string foldedWord = Folding::apply( w_word );
         if ( foldedWord.empty() ) {
           foldedWord = Folding::applyWhitespaceOnly( w_word );
         }
@@ -750,9 +751,9 @@ vector< WordArticleLink > BtreeIndex::readChain( char const *& ptr, uint32_t max
   return result;
 }
 
-void BtreeIndex::antialias( wstring const & str, vector< WordArticleLink > & chain, bool ignoreDiacritics )
+void BtreeIndex::antialias( std::u32string const & str, vector< WordArticleLink > & chain, bool ignoreDiacritics )
 {
-  wstring caseFolded = Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( gd::normalize( str ) );
+  std::u32string caseFolded = Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( Text::normalize( str ) );
   if ( ignoreDiacritics ) {
     caseFolded = Folding::applyDiacriticsOnly( caseFolded );
   }
@@ -764,8 +765,8 @@ void BtreeIndex::antialias( wstring const & str, vector< WordArticleLink > & cha
   for ( unsigned x = chain.size(); x--; ) {
     // If after applying case folding to each word they wouldn't match, we
     // drop the entry.
-    wstring entry =
-      Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( gd::normalize( Utf8::decode( chain[ x ].prefix + chain[ x ].word ) ) );
+    std::u32string entry =
+      Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( Text::normalize( Text::toUtf32( chain[ x ].prefix + chain[ x ].word ) ) );
     if ( ignoreDiacritics ) {
       entry = Folding::applyDiacriticsOnly( entry );
     }
@@ -923,9 +924,9 @@ static uint32_t buildBtreeNode( IndexedWords::const_iterator & nextIndex,
   return offset;
 }
 
-void IndexedWords::addWord( wstring const & index_word, uint32_t articleOffset, unsigned int maxHeadwordSize )
+void IndexedWords::addWord( std::u32string const & index_word, uint32_t articleOffset, unsigned int maxHeadwordSize )
 {
-  wstring word               = gd::removeTrailingZero( index_word );
+  std::u32string word        = Text::removeTrailingZero( index_word );
   string::size_type wordSize = word.size();
 
   // Safeguard us against various bugs here. Don't attempt adding words
@@ -945,7 +946,7 @@ void IndexedWords::addWord( wstring const & index_word, uint32_t articleOffset,
 
     wordSize = word.size();
   }
-  wchar const * wordBegin = word.c_str();
+  char32_t const * wordBegin = word.c_str();
 
   // Skip any leading whitespace
   while ( *wordBegin && Folding::isWhitespace( *wordBegin ) ) {
@@ -958,7 +959,7 @@ void IndexedWords::addWord( wstring const & index_word, uint32_t articleOffset,
     --wordSize;
   }
 
-  wchar const * nextChar = wordBegin;
+  char32_t const * nextChar = wordBegin;
 
   vector< char > utfBuffer( wordSize * 4 );
 
@@ -970,11 +971,11 @@ void IndexedWords::addWord( wstring const & index_word, uint32_t articleOffset,
       if ( !*nextChar ) // End of string ends everything
       {
         if ( wordsAdded == 0 ) {
-          wstring folded = Folding::applyWhitespaceOnly( wstring( wordBegin, wordSize ) );
+          std::u32string folded = Folding::applyWhitespaceOnly( std::u32string( wordBegin, wordSize ) );
           if ( !folded.empty() ) {
-            auto i = insert( { Utf8::encode( folded ), vector< WordArticleLink >() } ).first;
+            auto i = insert( { Text::toUtf8( folded ), vector< WordArticleLink >() } ).first;
 
-            string utfWord = Utf8::encode( wstring( wordBegin, wordSize ) );
+            string utfWord = Text::toUtf8( std::u32string( wordBegin, wordSize ) );
             string utfPrefix;
             i->second.emplace_back( utfWord, articleOffset, utfPrefix );
           }
@@ -988,15 +989,15 @@ void IndexedWords::addWord( wstring const & index_word, uint32_t articleOffset,
     }
 
     // Insert this word
-    wstring folded = Folding::apply( nextChar );
-    auto name      = Utf8::encode( folded );
+    std::u32string folded = Folding::apply( nextChar );
+    auto name             = Text::toUtf8( folded );
 
     auto i = insert( { std::move( name ), vector< WordArticleLink >() } ).first;
 
     if ( ( i->second.size() < 1024 ) || ( nextChar == wordBegin ) ) // Don't overpopulate chains with middle matches
     {
-      string utfWord   = Utf8::encode( wstring( nextChar, wordSize - ( nextChar - wordBegin ) ) );
-      string utfPrefix = Utf8::encode( wstring( wordBegin, nextChar - wordBegin ) );
+      string utfWord   = Text::toUtf8( std::u32string( nextChar, wordSize - ( nextChar - wordBegin ) ) );
+      string utfPrefix = Text::toUtf8( std::u32string( wordBegin, nextChar - wordBegin ) );
 
       i->second.emplace_back( std::move( utfWord ), articleOffset, std::move( utfPrefix ) );
       // reduce the vector reallocation.
@@ -1020,14 +1021,14 @@ void IndexedWords::addWord( wstring const & index_word, uint32_t articleOffset,
   }
 }
 
-void IndexedWords::addSingleWord( wstring const & index_word, uint32_t articleOffset )
+void IndexedWords::addSingleWord( std::u32string const & index_word, uint32_t articleOffset )
 {
-  wstring const & word = gd::removeTrailingZero( index_word );
-  wstring folded       = Folding::apply( word );
+  std::u32string const & word = Text::removeTrailingZero( index_word );
+  std::u32string folded       = Folding::apply( word );
   if ( folded.empty() ) {
     folded = Folding::applyWhitespaceOnly( word );
   }
-  operator[]( Utf8::encode( folded ) ).emplace_back( Utf8::encode( word ), articleOffset );
+  operator[]( Text::toUtf8( folded ) ).emplace_back( Text::toUtf8( word ), articleOffset );
 }
 
 IndexInfo buildIndex( IndexedWords const & indexedWords, File::Index & file )
diff --git a/src/dict/btreeidx.hh b/src/dict/btreeidx.hh
index ed0eb8fb..b8513e01 100644
--- a/src/dict/btreeidx.hh
+++ b/src/dict/btreeidx.hh
@@ -18,7 +18,6 @@
 namespace BtreeIndexing {
 
 using std::string;
-using gd::wstring;
 using std::vector;
 using std::map;
 
@@ -80,7 +79,8 @@ public:
 
   /// Finds articles that match the given string. A case-insensitive search
   /// is performed.
-  vector< WordArticleLink > findArticles( wstring const &, bool ignoreDiacritics = false, uint32_t maxMatchCount = -1 );
+  vector< WordArticleLink >
+  findArticles( std::u32string const &, bool ignoreDiacritics = false, uint32_t maxMatchCount = -1 );
 
   /// Find all unique article links in the index
   void findAllArticleLinks( QList< WordArticleLink > & articleLinks );
@@ -116,8 +116,11 @@ protected:
   /// case, the returned pointer wouldn't belong to 'leaf' at all. To that end,
   /// the leafEnd pointer always holds the pointer to the first byte outside
   /// the node data.
-  char const * findChainOffsetExactOrPrefix(
-    wstring const & target, bool & exactMatch, vector< char > & leaf, uint32_t & nextLeaf, char const *& leafEnd );
+  char const * findChainOffsetExactOrPrefix( std::u32string const & target,
+                                             bool & exactMatch,
+                                             vector< char > & leaf,
+                                             uint32_t & nextLeaf,
+                                             char const *& leafEnd );
 
   /// Reads a node or leaf at the given offset. Just uncompresses its data
   /// to the given vector and does nothing more.
@@ -129,7 +132,7 @@ protected:
 
   /// Drops any aliases which arose due to folding. Only case-folded aliases
   /// are left.
-  void antialias( wstring const &, vector< WordArticleLink > &, bool ignoreDiactitics );
+  void antialias( std::u32string const &, vector< WordArticleLink > &, bool ignoreDiactitics );
 
 protected:
 
@@ -161,10 +164,10 @@ public:
 
   /// This function does the search using the btree index. Derivatives usually
   /// need not to implement this function.
-  virtual sptr< Dictionary::WordSearchRequest > prefixMatch( wstring const &, unsigned long );
+  virtual sptr< Dictionary::WordSearchRequest > prefixMatch( std::u32string const &, unsigned long );
 
   virtual sptr< Dictionary::WordSearchRequest >
-  stemmedMatch( wstring const &, unsigned minLength, unsigned maxSuffixVariation, unsigned long maxResults );
+  stemmedMatch( std::u32string const &, unsigned minLength, unsigned maxSuffixVariation, unsigned long maxResults );
 
   virtual bool isLocalDictionary()
   {
@@ -210,7 +213,7 @@ class BtreeWordSearchRequest: public Dictionary::WordSearchRequest
 {
 protected:
   BtreeDictionary & dict;
-  wstring str;
+  std::u32string str;
   unsigned long maxResults;
   unsigned minLength;
   int maxSuffixVariation;
@@ -221,7 +224,7 @@ protected:
 public:
 
   BtreeWordSearchRequest( BtreeDictionary & dict_,
-                          wstring const & str_,
+                          std::u32string const & str_,
                           unsigned minLength_,
                           int maxSuffixVariation_,
                           bool allowMiddleMatches_,
@@ -251,11 +254,11 @@ struct IndexedWords: public map< string, vector< WordArticleLink > >
   /// Instead of adding to the map directly, use this function. It does folding
   /// itself, and for phrases/sentences it adds additional entries beginning with
   /// each new word.
-  void addWord( wstring const & word, uint32_t articleOffset, unsigned int maxHeadwordSize = 100U );
+  void addWord( std::u32string const & word, uint32_t articleOffset, unsigned int maxHeadwordSize = 100U );
 
   /// Differs from addWord() in that it only adds a single entry. We use this
   /// for zip's file names.
-  void addSingleWord( wstring const & word, uint32_t articleOffset );
+  void addSingleWord( std::u32string const & word, uint32_t articleOffset );
 };
 
 /// Builds the index, as a compressed btree. Returns IndexInfo.
diff --git a/src/dict/dictdfiles.cc b/src/dict/dictdfiles.cc
index 4e4690dd..d99262c1 100644
--- a/src/dict/dictdfiles.cc
+++ b/src/dict/dictdfiles.cc
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 #include "dictdfiles.hh"
 #include "btreeidx.hh"
 #include "folding.hh"
-#include "utf8.hh"
+#include "text.hh"
 #include "dictzip.hh"
 #include "htmlescape.hh"
 #include "langcoder.hh"
@@ -29,7 +29,6 @@ using std::multimap;
 using std::pair;
 using std::set;
 using std::string;
-using gd::wstring;
 using std::vector;
 using std::list;
 
@@ -113,8 +112,10 @@ public:
     return idxHeader.langTo;
   }
 
-  sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest >
-  getArticle( wstring const &, vector< wstring > const & alts, wstring const &, bool ignoreDiacritics ) override;
+  sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > getArticle( std::u32string const &,
+                                              vector< std::u32string > const & alts,
+                                              std::u32string const &,
+                                              bool ignoreDiacritics ) override;
 
   QString const & getDescription() override;
 
@@ -234,9 +235,9 @@ uint32_t decodeBase64( string const & str )
   return number;
 }
 
-sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > DictdDictionary::getArticle( wstring const & word,
-                                                             vector< wstring > const & alts,
-                                                             wstring const &,
+sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > DictdDictionary::getArticle( std::u32string const & word,
+                                                             vector< std::u32string > const & alts,
+                                                             std::u32string const &,
                                                              bool ignoreDiacritics )
 
 {
@@ -251,13 +252,13 @@ sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > DictdDictionary::getArticle( wstring const & wor
       chain.insert( chain.end(), altChain.begin(), altChain.end() );
     }
 
-    multimap< wstring, string > mainArticles, alternateArticles;
+    multimap< std::u32string, string > mainArticles, alternateArticles;
 
     set< uint32_t > articlesIncluded; // Some synonyms make it that the articles
                                       // appear several times. We combat this
                                       // by only allowing them to appear once.
 
-    wstring wordCaseFolded = Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( word );
+    std::u32string wordCaseFolded = Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( word );
     if ( ignoreDiacritics ) {
       wordCaseFolded = Folding::applyDiacriticsOnly( wordCaseFolded );
     }
@@ -377,12 +378,12 @@ sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > DictdDictionary::getArticle( wstring const & wor
 
       // We do the case-folded comparison here.
 
-      wstring headwordStripped = Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( x.word );
+      std::u32string headwordStripped = Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( x.word );
       if ( ignoreDiacritics ) {
         headwordStripped = Folding::applyDiacriticsOnly( headwordStripped );
       }
 
-      multimap< wstring, string > & mapToUse =
+      multimap< std::u32string, string > & mapToUse =
         ( wordCaseFolded == headwordStripped ) ? mainArticles : alternateArticles;
 
       mapToUse.insert( pair( Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( x.word ), articleText ) );
@@ -396,7 +397,7 @@ sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > DictdDictionary::getArticle( wstring const & wor
 
     string result;
 
-    multimap< wstring, string >::const_iterator i;
+    multimap< std::u32string, string >::const_iterator i;
 
     for ( i = mainArticles.begin(); i != mainArticles.end(); ++i ) {
       result += i->second;
@@ -422,7 +423,8 @@ QString const & DictdDictionary::getDescription()
     return dictionaryDescription;
   }
 
-  sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > req = getArticle( U"00databaseinfo", vector< wstring >(), wstring(), false );
+  sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > req =
+    getArticle( U"00databaseinfo", vector< std::u32string >(), std::u32string(), false );
 
   if ( req->dataSize() > 0 ) {
     dictionaryDescription = QString::fromUtf8( req->getFullData().data(), req->getFullData().size() );
@@ -629,10 +631,10 @@ vector< sptr< Dictionary::Class > > makeDictionaries( vector< string > const & f
                 // Handle the forth entry, if it exists. From dictfmt man:
                 // When --index-keep-orig option is used fourth column is created
                 // (if necessary) in .index file.
-                indexedWords.addWord( Utf8::decode( string( tab3 + 1, strlen( tab3 + 1 ) ) ), curOffset );
+                indexedWords.addWord( Text::toUtf32( string( tab3 + 1, strlen( tab3 + 1 ) ) ), curOffset );
                 ++idxHeader.wordCount;
               }
-              indexedWords.addWord( Utf8::decode( string( buf, strchr( buf, '\t' ) - buf ) ), curOffset );
+              indexedWords.addWord( Text::toUtf32( string( buf, strchr( buf, '\t' ) - buf ) ), curOffset );
               ++idxHeader.wordCount;
               ++idxHeader.articleCount;
 
@@ -657,7 +659,7 @@ vector< sptr< Dictionary::Class > > makeDictionaries( vector< string > const & f
                       eol = articleBody; // No headword itself
                     }
                     if ( eol ) {
-                      while ( *eol && Utf8::isspace( *eol ) ) {
+                      while ( *eol && Text::isspace( *eol ) ) {
                         ++eol; // skip spaces
                       }
 
diff --git a/src/dict/dictionary.cc b/src/dict/dictionary.cc
index 3224e5f7..1181b7f7 100644
--- a/src/dict/dictionary.cc
+++ b/src/dict/dictionary.cc
@@ -177,7 +177,7 @@ void Class::deferredInit()
   //base method.
 }
 
-sptr< WordSearchRequest > Class::stemmedMatch( wstring const & /*str*/,
+sptr< WordSearchRequest > Class::stemmedMatch( std::u32string const & /*str*/,
                                                unsigned /*minLength*/,
                                                unsigned /*maxSuffixVariation*/,
                                                unsigned long /*maxResults*/ )
@@ -185,12 +185,12 @@ sptr< WordSearchRequest > Class::stemmedMatch( wstring const & /*str*/,
   return std::make_shared< WordSearchRequestInstant >();
 }
 
-sptr< WordSearchRequest > Class::findHeadwordsForSynonym( wstring const & )
+sptr< WordSearchRequest > Class::findHeadwordsForSynonym( std::u32string const & )
 {
   return std::make_shared< WordSearchRequestInstant >();
 }
 
-vector< wstring > Class::getAlternateWritings( wstring const & ) noexcept
+vector< std::u32string > Class::getAlternateWritings( std::u32string const & ) noexcept
 {
   return {};
 }
diff --git a/src/dict/dictionary.hh b/src/dict/dictionary.hh
index 4e099d6e..e290162d 100644
--- a/src/dict/dictionary.hh
+++ b/src/dict/dictionary.hh
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@
 #include "langcoder.hh"
 #include "sptr.hh"
 #include "utils.hh"
-#include "wstring.hh"
+#include "text.hh"
 #include <QtGlobal>
 
 /// Abstract dictionary-related stuff
@@ -27,7 +27,6 @@ namespace Dictionary {
 
 using std::vector;
 using std::string;
-using gd::wstring;
 using std::map;
 
 DEF_EX( Ex, "Dictionary error", std::exception )
@@ -124,19 +123,19 @@ private:
 /// algorithms. Positive values are used by morphology matches.
 struct WordMatch
 {
-  wstring word;
+  std::u32string word;
   int weight;
 
   WordMatch():
     weight( 0 )
   {
   }
-  WordMatch( wstring const & word_ ):
+  WordMatch( std::u32string const & word_ ):
     word( word_ ),
     weight( 0 )
   {
   }
-  WordMatch( wstring const & word_, int weight_ ):
+  WordMatch( std::u32string const & word_, int weight_ ):
     word( word_ ),
     weight( weight_ )
   {
@@ -431,7 +430,7 @@ public:
   /// prefix results should be added. Not more than maxResults results should
   /// be stored. The whole operation is supposed to be fast, though some
   /// dictionaries, the network ones particularly, may of course be slow.
-  virtual sptr< WordSearchRequest > prefixMatch( wstring const &, unsigned long maxResults ) = 0;
+  virtual sptr< WordSearchRequest > prefixMatch( std::u32string const &, unsigned long maxResults ) = 0;
 
   /// Looks up a given word in the dictionary, aiming to find different forms
   /// of the given word by allowing suffix variations. This means allowing words
@@ -442,20 +441,20 @@ public:
   /// in the middle of a phrase got matched should be returned.
   /// The default implementation does nothing, returning an empty result.
   virtual sptr< WordSearchRequest >
-  stemmedMatch( wstring const &, unsigned minLength, unsigned maxSuffixVariation, unsigned long maxResults );
+  stemmedMatch( std::u32string const &, unsigned minLength, unsigned maxSuffixVariation, unsigned long maxResults );
 
   /// Finds known headwords for the given word, that is, the words for which
   /// the given word is a synonym. If a dictionary can't perform this operation,
   /// it should leave the default implementation which always returns an empty
   /// result.
-  virtual sptr< WordSearchRequest > findHeadwordsForSynonym( wstring const & );
+  virtual sptr< WordSearchRequest > findHeadwordsForSynonym( std::u32string const & );
 
   /// For a given word, provides alternate writings of it which are to be looked
   /// up alongside with it. Transliteration dictionaries implement this. The
   /// default implementation returns an empty list. Note that this function is
   /// supposed to be very fast and simple, and the results are thus returned
   /// synchronously.
-  virtual vector< wstring > getAlternateWritings( wstring const & ) noexcept;
+  virtual vector< std::u32string > getAlternateWritings( std::u32string const & ) noexcept;
 
   /// Returns a definition for the given word. The definition should
   /// be an html fragment (without html/head/body tags) in an utf8 encoding.
@@ -464,10 +463,10 @@ public:
   /// synonyms for the main word.
   /// context is a dictionary-specific data, currently only used for the
   /// 'Websites' feature.
-  virtual sptr< DataRequest > getArticle( wstring const &,
-                                          vector< wstring > const & alts,
-                                          wstring const & context = wstring(),
-                                          bool ignoreDiacritics   = false ) = 0;
+  virtual sptr< DataRequest > getArticle( std::u32string const &,
+                                          vector< std::u32string > const & alts,
+                                          std::u32string const & context = std::u32string(),
+                                          bool ignoreDiacritics          = false ) = 0;
 
   /// Loads contents of a resource named 'name' into the 'data' vector. This is
   /// usually a picture file referenced in the article or something like that.
diff --git a/src/dict/dictserver.cc b/src/dict/dictserver.cc
index db798195..2dff23b2 100644
--- a/src/dict/dictserver.cc
+++ b/src/dict/dictserver.cc
@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@
  * Part of GoldenDict. Licensed under GPLv3 or later, see the LICENSE file */
 
 #include "dictserver.hh"
-#include "wstring_qt.hh"
 #include <QTimer>
 #include <QUrl>
 #include <QTcpSocket>
@@ -314,9 +313,10 @@ public:
     return 0;
   }
 
-  sptr< WordSearchRequest > prefixMatch( wstring const &, unsigned long maxResults ) override;
+  sptr< WordSearchRequest > prefixMatch( std::u32string const &, unsigned long maxResults ) override;
 
-  sptr< DataRequest > getArticle( wstring const &, vector< wstring > const & alts, wstring const &, bool ) override;
+  sptr< DataRequest >
+  getArticle( std::u32string const &, vector< std::u32string > const & alts, std::u32string const &, bool ) override;
 
   quint32 getLangFrom() const override
   {
@@ -387,7 +387,7 @@ class DictServerWordSearchRequest: public Dictionary::WordSearchRequest
 {
   Q_OBJECT
   QAtomicInt isCancelled;
-  wstring word;
+  std::u32string word;
   QString errorString;
   DictServerDictionary & dict;
 
@@ -402,7 +402,7 @@ class DictServerWordSearchRequest: public Dictionary::WordSearchRequest
 
 public:
 
-  DictServerWordSearchRequest( wstring word_, DictServerDictionary & dict_ ):
+  DictServerWordSearchRequest( std::u32string word_, DictServerDictionary & dict_ ):
     word( std::move( word_ ) ),
     dict( dict_ ),
     dictImpl( new DictServerImpl( this, dict_.url, "GoldenDict-w" ) )
@@ -562,7 +562,7 @@ void DictServer::DictServerWordSearchRequest::addMatchedWord( const QString & st
 class DictServerArticleRequest: public Dictionary::DataRequest
 {
   QAtomicInt isCancelled;
-  wstring word;
+  std::u32string word;
   QString errorString;
   DictServerDictionary & dict;
   string articleData;
@@ -578,7 +578,7 @@ class DictServerArticleRequest: public Dictionary::DataRequest
 public:
 
   DictServerImpl * dictImpl;
-  DictServerArticleRequest( wstring word_, DictServerDictionary & dict_ ):
+  DictServerArticleRequest( std::u32string word_, DictServerDictionary & dict_ ):
     word( std::move( word_ ) ),
     dict( dict_ ),
     dictImpl( new DictServerImpl( this, dict_.url, "GoldenDict-t" ) )
@@ -870,7 +870,7 @@ void DictServerArticleRequest::cancel()
   finish();
 }
 
-sptr< WordSearchRequest > DictServerDictionary::prefixMatch( wstring const & word, unsigned long maxResults )
+sptr< WordSearchRequest > DictServerDictionary::prefixMatch( std::u32string const & word, unsigned long maxResults )
 {
   (void)maxResults;
   if ( word.size() > 80 ) {
@@ -883,8 +883,10 @@ sptr< WordSearchRequest > DictServerDictionary::prefixMatch( wstring const & wor
   }
 }
 
-sptr< DataRequest >
-DictServerDictionary::getArticle( wstring const & word, vector< wstring > const &, wstring const &, bool )
+sptr< DataRequest > DictServerDictionary::getArticle( std::u32string const & word,
+                                                      vector< std::u32string > const &,
+                                                      std::u32string const &,
+                                                      bool )
 
 {
   if ( word.size() > 80 ) {
diff --git a/src/dict/dsl.cc b/src/dict/dsl.cc
index 71a597f9..ed8dfbe0 100644
--- a/src/dict/dsl.cc
+++ b/src/dict/dsl.cc
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
 #include "dsl_details.hh"
 #include "btreeidx.hh"
 #include "folding.hh"
-#include "utf8.hh"
+#include "text.hh"
 #include "chunkedstorage.hh"
 #include "dictzip.hh"
 #include "htmlescape.hh"
@@ -13,7 +13,6 @@
 #include "filetype.hh"
 #include "audiolink.hh"
 #include "langcoder.hh"
-#include "wstring_qt.hh"
 #include "indexedzip.hh"
 #include "tiff.hh"
 #include "ftshelpers.hh"
@@ -44,11 +43,9 @@ using std::multimap;
 using std::pair;
 using std::set;
 using std::string;
-using gd::wstring;
-using gd::wchar;
 using std::vector;
 using std::list;
-using Utf8::Encoding;
+using Text::Encoding;
 
 using BtreeIndexing::WordArticleLink;
 using BtreeIndexing::IndexedWords;
@@ -100,8 +97,8 @@ struct InsidedCard
 {
   uint32_t offset;
   uint32_t size;
-  QList< wstring > headwords;
-  InsidedCard( uint32_t _offset, uint32_t _size, QList< wstring > const & words ):
+  QList< std::u32string > headwords;
+  InsidedCard( uint32_t _offset, uint32_t _size, QList< std::u32string > const & words ):
     offset( _offset ),
     size( _size ),
     headwords( words )
@@ -144,7 +141,7 @@ class DslDictionary: public BtreeIndexing::BtreeDictionary
   int optionalPartNom;
   quint8 articleNom;
 
-  wstring currentHeadword;
+  std::u32string currentHeadword;
   string resourceDir1, resourceDir2;
 
 public:
@@ -187,8 +184,10 @@ public:
   }
 
 
-  sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest >
-  getArticle( wstring const &, vector< wstring > const & alts, wstring const &, bool ignoreDiacritics ) override;
+  sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > getArticle( std::u32string const &,
+                                              vector< std::u32string > const & alts,
+                                              std::u32string const &,
+                                              bool ignoreDiacritics ) override;
 
   sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > getResource( string const & name ) override;
 
@@ -232,15 +231,15 @@ private:
 
   /// Loads the article. Does not process the DSL language.
   void loadArticle( uint32_t address,
-                    wstring const & requestedHeadwordFolded,
+                    std::u32string const & requestedHeadwordFolded,
                     bool ignoreDiacritics,
-                    wstring & tildeValue,
-                    wstring & displayedHeadword,
+                    std::u32string & tildeValue,
+                    std::u32string & displayedHeadword,
                     unsigned & headwordIndex,
-                    wstring & articleText );
+                    std::u32string & articleText );
 
   /// Converts DSL language to an Html.
-  string dslToHtml( wstring const &, wstring const & headword = wstring() );
+  string dslToHtml( std::u32string const &, std::u32string const & headword = std::u32string() );
 
   // Parts of dslToHtml()
   string nodeToHtml( ArticleDom::Node const & );
@@ -452,7 +451,7 @@ void DslDictionary::loadIcon() noexcept
 /// so nbsp is not a whitespace character for Dsl compiler.
 /// For now we have only space and tab, since those are most likely the only
 /// ones recognized as spaces by that compiler.
-bool isDslWs( wchar ch )
+bool isDslWs( char32_t ch )
 {
   switch ( ch ) {
     case ' ':
@@ -464,14 +463,14 @@ bool isDslWs( wchar ch )
 }
 
 void DslDictionary::loadArticle( uint32_t address,
-                                 wstring const & requestedHeadwordFolded,
+                                 std::u32string const & requestedHeadwordFolded,
                                  bool ignoreDiacritics,
-                                 wstring & tildeValue,
-                                 wstring & displayedHeadword,
+                                 std::u32string & tildeValue,
+                                 std::u32string & displayedHeadword,
                                  unsigned & headwordIndex,
-                                 wstring & articleText )
+                                 std::u32string & articleText )
 {
-  wstring articleData;
+  std::u32string articleData;
 
   {
     vector< char > chunk;
@@ -507,7 +506,7 @@ void DslDictionary::loadArticle( uint32_t address,
     else {
       try {
         articleData =
-          Iconv::toWstring( Utf8::getEncodingNameFor( Encoding( idxHeader.dslEncoding ) ), articleBody, articleSize );
+          Iconv::toWstring( Text::getEncodingNameFor( Encoding( idxHeader.dslEncoding ) ), articleBody, articleSize );
         free( articleBody );
 
         // Strip DSL comments
@@ -528,27 +527,27 @@ void DslDictionary::loadArticle( uint32_t address,
   // Check is we retrieve insided card
   bool insidedCard = isDslWs( articleData.at( 0 ) );
 
-  wstring tildeValueWithUnsorted; // This one has unsorted parts left
+  std::u32string tildeValueWithUnsorted; // This one has unsorted parts left
   for ( headwordIndex = 0;; ) {
     size_t begin = pos;
 
     pos = articleData.find_first_of( U"\n\r", begin );
 
-    if ( pos == wstring::npos ) {
+    if ( pos == std::u32string::npos ) {
       pos = articleData.size();
     }
 
     if ( !foundDisplayedHeadword ) {
       // Process the headword
 
-      wstring rawHeadword = wstring( articleData, begin, pos - begin );
+      std::u32string rawHeadword = std::u32string( articleData, begin, pos - begin );
 
       if ( insidedCard && !rawHeadword.empty() && isDslWs( rawHeadword[ 0 ] ) ) {
         // Headword of the insided card
-        wstring::size_type hpos = rawHeadword.find( L'@' );
+        std::u32string::size_type hpos = rawHeadword.find( L'@' );
         if ( hpos != string::npos ) {
-          wstring head = Folding::trimWhitespace( rawHeadword.substr( hpos + 1 ) );
-          hpos         = head.find( L'~' );
+          std::u32string head = Folding::trimWhitespace( rawHeadword.substr( hpos + 1 ) );
+          hpos                = head.find( L'~' );
           while ( hpos != string::npos ) {
             if ( hpos == 0 || head[ hpos ] != L'\\' ) {
               break;
@@ -569,7 +568,7 @@ void DslDictionary::loadArticle( uint32_t address,
           // We need our tilde expansion value
           tildeValue = rawHeadword;
 
-          list< wstring > lst;
+          list< std::u32string > lst;
 
           expandOptionalParts( tildeValue, &lst );
 
@@ -581,7 +580,7 @@ void DslDictionary::loadArticle( uint32_t address,
 
           processUnsortedParts( tildeValue, false );
         }
-        wstring str = rawHeadword;
+        std::u32string str = rawHeadword;
 
         if ( hadFirstHeadword ) {
           expandTildes( str, tildeValueWithUnsorted );
@@ -591,7 +590,7 @@ void DslDictionary::loadArticle( uint32_t address,
 
         str = Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( str );
 
-        list< wstring > lst;
+        list< std::u32string > lst;
         expandOptionalParts( str, &lst );
 
         // Does one of the results match the requested word? If so, we'd choose
@@ -657,15 +656,15 @@ void DslDictionary::loadArticle( uint32_t address,
       // Check for begin article text
       if ( insidedCard ) {
         // Check for next insided headword
-        wstring::size_type hpos = articleData.find_first_of( U"\n\r", pos );
-        if ( hpos == wstring::npos ) {
+        std::u32string::size_type hpos = articleData.find_first_of( U"\n\r", pos );
+        if ( hpos == std::u32string::npos ) {
           hpos = articleData.size();
         }
 
-        wstring str = wstring( articleData, pos, hpos - pos );
+        std::u32string str = std::u32string( articleData, pos, hpos - pos );
 
         hpos = str.find( L'@' );
-        if ( hpos == wstring::npos || str[ hpos - 1 ] == L'\\' || !isAtSignFirst( str ) ) {
+        if ( hpos == std::u32string::npos || str[ hpos - 1 ] == L'\\' || !isAtSignFirst( str ) ) {
           break;
         }
       }
@@ -687,18 +686,18 @@ void DslDictionary::loadArticle( uint32_t address,
   }
 
   if ( pos != articleData.size() ) {
-    articleText = wstring( articleData, pos );
+    articleText = std::u32string( articleData, pos );
   }
   else {
     articleText.clear();
   }
 }
 
-string DslDictionary::dslToHtml( wstring const & str, wstring const & headword )
+string DslDictionary::dslToHtml( std::u32string const & str, std::u32string const & headword )
 {
   // Normalize the string
-  wstring normalizedStr = gd::normalize( str );
-  currentHeadword       = headword;
+  std::u32string normalizedStr = Text::normalize( str );
+  currentHeadword              = headword;
 
   ArticleDom dom( normalizedStr, getName(), headword );
 
@@ -733,7 +732,7 @@ string DslDictionary::getNodeLink( ArticleDom::Node const & node )
     }
   }
   if ( link.empty() ) {
-    link = Html::escape( Filetype::simplifyString( Utf8::encode( node.renderAsText() ), false ) );
+    link = Html::escape( Filetype::simplifyString( Text::toUtf8( node.renderAsText() ), false ) );
   }
 
   return link;
@@ -744,7 +743,7 @@ string DslDictionary::nodeToHtml( ArticleDom::Node const & node )
   string result;
 
   if ( !node.isTag ) {
-    result = Html::escape( Utf8::encode( node.text ) );
+    result = Html::escape( Text::toUtf8( node.text ) );
 
     // Handle all end-of-line
 
@@ -784,7 +783,7 @@ string DslDictionary::nodeToHtml( ArticleDom::Node const & node )
       result += "<span class=\"c_default_color\">" + processNodeChildren( node ) + "</span>";
     }
     else {
-      result += "<font color=\"" + Html::escape( Utf8::encode( node.tagAttrs ) ) + "\">" + processNodeChildren( node )
+      result += "<font color=\"" + Html::escape( Text::toUtf8( node.tagAttrs ) ) + "\">" + processNodeChildren( node )
         + "</font>";
     }
   }
@@ -797,7 +796,7 @@ string DslDictionary::nodeToHtml( ArticleDom::Node const & node )
     result += "<div class=\"dsl_m\">" + processNodeChildren( node ) + "</div>";
   }
   else if ( node.tagName.size() == 2 && node.tagName[ 0 ] == L'm' && iswdigit( node.tagName[ 1 ] ) ) {
-    result += "<div class=\"dsl_" + Utf8::encode( node.tagName ) + "\">" + processNodeChildren( node ) + "</div>";
+    result += "<div class=\"dsl_" + Text::toUtf8( node.tagName ) + "\">" + processNodeChildren( node ) + "</div>";
   }
   else if ( node.tagName == U"trn" ) {
     result += "<span class=\"dsl_trn\">" + processNodeChildren( node ) + "</span>";
@@ -809,7 +808,7 @@ string DslDictionary::nodeToHtml( ArticleDom::Node const & node )
     result += "<span class=\"dsl_com\">" + processNodeChildren( node ) + "</span>";
   }
   else if ( node.tagName == U"s" || node.tagName == U"video" ) {
-    string filename = Filetype::simplifyString( Utf8::encode( node.renderAsText() ), false );
+    string filename = Filetype::simplifyString( Text::toUtf8( node.renderAsText() ), false );
     string n        = resourceDir1 + filename;
 
     if ( Filetype::isNameOfSound( filename ) ) {
@@ -888,7 +887,7 @@ string DslDictionary::nodeToHtml( ArticleDom::Node const & node )
   else if ( node.tagName == U"p" ) {
     result += "<span class=\"dsl_p\"";
 
-    string val = Utf8::encode( node.renderAsText() );
+    string val = Text::toUtf8( node.renderAsText() );
 
     // If we have such a key, display a title
 
@@ -908,7 +907,8 @@ string DslDictionary::nodeToHtml( ArticleDom::Node const & node )
     // user could pick up the best suitable option.
     string data = processNodeChildren( node );
     result += R"(<span class="dsl_stress"><span class="dsl_stress_without_accent">)" + data + "</span>"
-      + "<span class=\"dsl_stress_with_accent\">" + data + Utf8::encode( wstring( 1, 0x301 ) ) + "</span></span>";
+      + "<span class=\"dsl_stress_with_accent\">" + data + Text::toUtf8( std::u32string( 1, 0x301 ) )
+      + "</span></span>";
   }
   else if ( node.tagName == U"lang" ) {
     result += "<span class=\"dsl_lang\"";
@@ -944,7 +944,7 @@ string DslDictionary::nodeToHtml( ArticleDom::Node const & node )
 
     url.setScheme( "gdlookup" );
     url.setHost( "localhost" );
-    auto nodeStr = Utf8::decode( getNodeLink( node ) );
+    auto nodeStr = Text::toUtf32( getNodeLink( node ) );
 
     normalizeHeadword( nodeStr );
     url.setPath( Utils::Url::ensureLeadingSlash( QString::fromStdU32String( nodeStr ) ) );
@@ -968,7 +968,7 @@ string DslDictionary::nodeToHtml( ArticleDom::Node const & node )
 
     url.setScheme( "gdlookup" );
     url.setHost( "localhost" );
-    wstring nodeStr = node.renderAsText();
+    std::u32string nodeStr = node.renderAsText();
     normalizeHeadword( nodeStr );
     url.setPath( Utils::Url::ensureLeadingSlash( QString::fromStdU32String( nodeStr ) ) );
 
@@ -1120,7 +1120,7 @@ void DslDictionary::getArticleText( uint32_t articleAddress, QString & headword,
   vector< char > chunk;
 
   char * articleProps;
-  wstring articleData;
+  std::u32string articleData;
 
   {
     QMutexLocker _( &idxMutex );
@@ -1161,7 +1161,7 @@ void DslDictionary::getArticleText( uint32_t articleAddress, QString & headword,
   // Skip headword
 
   size_t pos = 0;
-  wstring articleHeadword, tildeValue;
+  std::u32string articleHeadword, tildeValue;
 
   // Check if we retrieve insided card
   bool insidedCard = isDslWs( articleData.at( 0 ) );
@@ -1170,20 +1170,20 @@ void DslDictionary::getArticleText( uint32_t articleAddress, QString & headword,
     size_t begin = pos;
 
     pos = articleData.find_first_of( U"\n\r", begin );
-    if ( pos == wstring::npos ) {
+    if ( pos == std::u32string::npos ) {
       pos = articleData.size();
     }
 
     if ( articleHeadword.empty() ) {
       // Process the headword
-      articleHeadword = wstring( articleData, begin, pos - begin );
+      articleHeadword = std::u32string( articleData, begin, pos - begin );
 
       if ( insidedCard && !articleHeadword.empty() && isDslWs( articleHeadword[ 0 ] ) ) {
         // Headword of the insided card
-        wstring::size_type hpos = articleHeadword.find( L'@' );
+        std::u32string::size_type hpos = articleHeadword.find( L'@' );
         if ( hpos != string::npos ) {
-          wstring head = Folding::trimWhitespace( articleHeadword.substr( hpos + 1 ) );
-          hpos         = head.find( L'~' );
+          std::u32string head = Folding::trimWhitespace( articleHeadword.substr( hpos + 1 ) );
+          hpos                = head.find( L'~' );
           while ( hpos != string::npos ) {
             if ( hpos == 0 || head[ hpos ] != L'\\' ) {
               break;
@@ -1200,7 +1200,7 @@ void DslDictionary::getArticleText( uint32_t articleAddress, QString & headword,
       }
 
       if ( !articleHeadword.empty() ) {
-        list< wstring > lst;
+        list< std::u32string > lst;
 
         tildeValue = articleHeadword;
 
@@ -1237,15 +1237,15 @@ void DslDictionary::getArticleText( uint32_t articleAddress, QString & headword,
       // Check for begin article text
       if ( insidedCard ) {
         // Check for next insided headword
-        wstring::size_type hpos = articleData.find_first_of( U"\n\r", pos );
-        if ( hpos == wstring::npos ) {
+        std::u32string::size_type hpos = articleData.find_first_of( U"\n\r", pos );
+        if ( hpos == std::u32string::npos ) {
           hpos = articleData.size();
         }
 
-        wstring str = wstring( articleData, pos, hpos - pos );
+        std::u32string str = std::u32string( articleData, pos, hpos - pos );
 
         hpos = str.find( L'@' );
-        if ( hpos == wstring::npos || str[ hpos - 1 ] == L'\\' || !isAtSignFirst( str ) ) {
+        if ( hpos == std::u32string::npos || str[ hpos - 1 ] == L'\\' || !isAtSignFirst( str ) ) {
           break;
         }
       }
@@ -1261,17 +1261,17 @@ void DslDictionary::getArticleText( uint32_t articleAddress, QString & headword,
     headword = QString::fromStdU32String( articleHeadword );
   }
 
-  wstring articleText;
+  std::u32string articleText;
 
   if ( pos != articleData.size() ) {
-    articleText = wstring( articleData, pos );
+    articleText = std::u32string( articleData, pos );
   }
   else {
     articleText.clear();
   }
 
   if ( !tildeValue.empty() ) {
-    list< wstring > lst;
+    list< std::u32string > lst;
 
     processUnsortedParts( tildeValue, false );
     expandOptionalParts( tildeValue, &lst );
@@ -1377,8 +1377,8 @@ void DslDictionary::getArticleText( uint32_t articleAddress, QString & headword,
 
 class DslArticleRequest: public Dictionary::DataRequest
 {
-  wstring word;
-  vector< wstring > alts;
+  std::u32string word;
+  vector< std::u32string > alts;
   DslDictionary & dict;
   bool ignoreDiacritics;
 
@@ -1387,8 +1387,8 @@ class DslArticleRequest: public Dictionary::DataRequest
 
 public:
 
-  DslArticleRequest( wstring const & word_,
-                     vector< wstring > const & alts_,
+  DslArticleRequest( std::u32string const & word_,
+                     vector< std::u32string > const & alts_,
                      DslDictionary & dict_,
                      bool ignoreDiacritics_ ):
     word( word_ ),
@@ -1444,7 +1444,7 @@ void DslArticleRequest::run()
   // index here.
   set< pair< uint32_t, unsigned > > articlesIncluded;
 
-  wstring wordCaseFolded = Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( word );
+  std::u32string wordCaseFolded = Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( word );
 
   for ( auto & x : chain ) {
     // Check if we're cancelled occasionally
@@ -1455,9 +1455,9 @@ void DslArticleRequest::run()
 
     // Grab that article
 
-    wstring tildeValue;
-    wstring displayedHeadword;
-    wstring articleBody;
+    std::u32string tildeValue;
+    std::u32string displayedHeadword;
+    std::u32string articleBody;
     unsigned headwordIndex;
 
     string articleText, articleAfter;
@@ -1541,9 +1541,9 @@ void DslArticleRequest::run()
   finish();
 }
 
-sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > DslDictionary::getArticle( wstring const & word,
-                                                           vector< wstring > const & alts,
-                                                           wstring const &,
+sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > DslDictionary::getArticle( std::u32string const & word,
+                                                           vector< std::u32string > const & alts,
+                                                           std::u32string const &,
                                                            bool ignoreDiacritics )
 
 {
@@ -1632,7 +1632,7 @@ void DslResourceRequest::run()
           if ( dict.resourceZip.isOpen() ) {
             QMutexLocker _( &dataMutex );
 
-            if ( !dict.resourceZip.loadFile( Utf8::decode( resourceName ), data ) ) {
+            if ( !dict.resourceZip.loadFile( Text::toUtf32( resourceName ), data ) ) {
               throw; // Make it fail since we couldn't read the archive
             }
           }
@@ -1761,7 +1761,7 @@ vector< sptr< Dictionary::Class > > makeDictionaries( vector< string > const & f
           }
 
           // Building the index
-          initializing.indexingDictionary( Utf8::encode( scanner.getDictionaryName() ) );
+          initializing.indexingDictionary( Text::toUtf8( scanner.getDictionaryName() ) );
 
           qDebug( "Dsl: Building the index for dictionary: %s",
                   QString::fromStdU32String( scanner.getDictionaryName() ).toUtf8().data() );
@@ -1777,12 +1777,12 @@ vector< sptr< Dictionary::Class > > makeDictionaries( vector< string > const & f
 
           idx.write( idxHeader );
 
-          string dictionaryName = Utf8::encode( scanner.getDictionaryName() );
+          string dictionaryName = Text::toUtf8( scanner.getDictionaryName() );
 
           idx.write( (uint32_t)dictionaryName.size() );
           idx.write( dictionaryName.data(), dictionaryName.size() );
 
-          string soundDictName = Utf8::encode( scanner.getSoundDictionaryName() );
+          string soundDictName = Text::toUtf8( scanner.getSoundDictionaryName() );
           if ( !soundDictName.empty() ) {
             idxHeader.hasSoundDictionaryName = 1;
             idx.write( (uint32_t)soundDictName.size() );
@@ -1803,7 +1803,7 @@ vector< sptr< Dictionary::Class > > makeDictionaries( vector< string > const & f
 
               map< string, string > abrv;
 
-              wstring curString;
+              std::u32string curString;
               size_t curOffset;
 
               for ( ;; ) {
@@ -1815,7 +1815,7 @@ vector< sptr< Dictionary::Class > > makeDictionaries( vector< string > const & f
                   continue;
                 }
 
-                list< wstring > keys;
+                list< std::u32string > keys;
 
                 bool eof = false;
 
@@ -1851,13 +1851,13 @@ vector< sptr< Dictionary::Class > > makeDictionaries( vector< string > const & f
                 }
 
                 // If the string has any dsl markup, we strip it
-                string value = Utf8::encode( ArticleDom( curString ).root.renderAsText() );
+                string value = Text::toUtf8( ArticleDom( curString ).root.renderAsText() );
 
                 for ( auto & key : keys ) {
                   unescapeDsl( key );
                   normalizeHeadword( key );
 
-                  abrv[ Utf8::encode( Folding::trimWhitespace( key ) ) ] = value;
+                  abrv[ Text::toUtf8( Folding::trimWhitespace( key ) ) ] = value;
                 }
               }
 
@@ -1885,7 +1885,7 @@ vector< sptr< Dictionary::Class > > makeDictionaries( vector< string > const & f
           }
 
           bool hasString = false;
-          wstring curString;
+          std::u32string curString;
           size_t curOffset;
 
           uint32_t articleCount = 0, wordCount = 0;
@@ -1919,7 +1919,7 @@ vector< sptr< Dictionary::Class > > makeDictionaries( vector< string > const & f
 
             // Ok, got the headword
 
-            list< wstring > allEntryWords;
+            list< std::u32string > allEntryWords;
 
             processUnsortedParts( curString, true );
             expandOptionalParts( curString, &allEntryWords );
@@ -1972,10 +1972,10 @@ vector< sptr< Dictionary::Class > > makeDictionaries( vector< string > const & f
             wordCount += allEntryWords.size();
 
             int insideInsided = 0;
-            wstring headword;
+            std::u32string headword;
             QList< InsidedCard > insidedCards;
             uint32_t offset = curOffset;
-            QList< wstring > insidedHeadwords;
+            QList< std::u32string > insidedHeadwords;
             unsigned linesInsideCard = 0;
             int dogLine              = 0;
             bool wasEmptyLine        = false;
@@ -2018,8 +2018,8 @@ vector< sptr< Dictionary::Class > > makeDictionaries( vector< string > const & f
 
               // Find embedded cards
 
-              wstring::size_type n = curString.find( L'@' );
-              if ( n == wstring::npos || curString[ n - 1 ] == L'\\' ) {
+              std::u32string::size_type n = curString.find( L'@' );
+              if ( n == std::u32string::npos || curString[ n - 1 ] == L'\\' ) {
                 if ( insideInsided ) {
                   linesInsideCard++;
                 }
diff --git a/src/dict/dsl_details.cc b/src/dict/dsl_details.cc
index 55595563..c4afbb1d 100644
--- a/src/dict/dsl_details.cc
+++ b/src/dict/dsl_details.cc
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
 #include "folding.hh"
 #include "langcoder.hh"
 #include "ufile.hh"
-#include "utf8.hh"
+#include "text.hh"
 
 #include <exception>
 #include <stdio.h>
@@ -17,9 +17,8 @@
 namespace Dsl {
 namespace Details {
 
-using gd::wstring;
 using std::list;
-using Utf8::Encoding;
+using Text::Encoding;
 
 static QMap< int, string > lang_codes = {
   { 1, "en" },    { 1033, "en" }, { 2, "ru" },    { 1049, "ru" }, { 1068, "az" }, { 1025, "ar" }, { 1067, "am" },
@@ -40,7 +39,7 @@ string findCodeForDslId( int id )
   return lang_codes[ id ];
 }
 
-bool isAtSignFirst( wstring const & str )
+bool isAtSignFirst( std::u32string const & str )
 {
   // Test if '@' is first in string except spaces and dsl tags
   QRegularExpression reg( R"([ \t]*(?:\[[^\]]+\][ \t]*)*@)", QRegularExpression::PatternOption::CaseInsensitiveOption );
@@ -49,13 +48,13 @@ bool isAtSignFirst( wstring const & str )
 
 /////////////// ArticleDom
 
-wstring ArticleDom::Node::renderAsText( bool stripTrsTag ) const
+std::u32string ArticleDom::Node::renderAsText( bool stripTrsTag ) const
 {
   if ( !isTag ) {
     return text;
   }
 
-  wstring result;
+  std::u32string result;
 
   for ( const auto & i : *this ) {
     if ( !stripTrsTag || i.tagName != U"!trs" ) {
@@ -69,17 +68,17 @@ wstring ArticleDom::Node::renderAsText( bool stripTrsTag ) const
 namespace {
 
 /// @return true if @p tagName equals "mN" where N is a digit
-bool is_mN( wstring const & tagName )
+bool is_mN( std::u32string const & tagName )
 {
   return tagName.size() == 2 && tagName[ 0 ] == U'm' && iswdigit( tagName[ 1 ] );
 }
 
-bool isAnyM( wstring const & tagName )
+bool isAnyM( std::u32string const & tagName )
 {
   return tagName == U"m" || is_mN( tagName );
 }
 
-bool checkM( wstring const & dest, wstring const & src )
+bool checkM( std::u32string const & dest, std::u32string const & src )
 {
   return src == U"m" && is_mN( dest );
 }
@@ -97,8 +96,8 @@ struct MustTagBeClosed
 
 } // unnamed namespace
 
-ArticleDom::ArticleDom( wstring const & str, string const & dictName, wstring const & headword_ ):
-  root( Node::Tag(), wstring(), wstring() ),
+ArticleDom::ArticleDom( std::u32string const & str, string const & dictName, std::u32string const & headword_ ):
+  root( Node::Tag(), std::u32string(), std::u32string() ),
   stringPos( str.c_str() ),
   lineStartPos( str.c_str() ),
   transcriptionCount( 0 ),
@@ -126,7 +125,7 @@ ArticleDom::ArticleDom( wstring const & str, string const & dictName, wstring co
         }
         else {
           // Insided card
-          wstring linkTo;
+          std::u32string linkTo;
           nextChar();
           for ( ;; nextChar() ) {
             if ( ch == L'\n' ) {
@@ -142,13 +141,13 @@ ArticleDom::ArticleDom( wstring const & str, string const & dictName, wstring co
           linkTo = Folding::trimWhitespace( linkTo );
 
           if ( !linkTo.empty() ) {
-            list< wstring > allLinkEntries;
+            list< std::u32string > allLinkEntries;
             processUnsortedParts( linkTo, true );
             expandOptionalParts( linkTo, &allLinkEntries );
 
             for ( auto entry = allLinkEntries.begin(); entry != allLinkEntries.end(); ) {
               if ( !textNode ) {
-                Node text = Node( Node::Text(), wstring() );
+                Node text = Node( Node::Text(), std::u32string() );
 
                 if ( stack.empty() ) {
                   root.push_back( text );
@@ -168,10 +167,10 @@ ArticleDom::ArticleDom( wstring const & str, string const & dictName, wstring co
               stack.pop_back();
               textNode = 0;
 
-              wstring linkText = Folding::trimWhitespace( *entry );
+              std::u32string linkText = Folding::trimWhitespace( *entry );
               ArticleDom nodeDom( linkText, dictName, headword_ );
 
-              Node link( Node::Tag(), U"@", wstring() );
+              Node link( Node::Tag(), U"@", std::u32string() );
               for ( auto & n : nodeDom.root ) {
                 link.push_back( n );
               }
@@ -181,13 +180,13 @@ ArticleDom::ArticleDom( wstring const & str, string const & dictName, wstring co
               if ( stack.empty() ) {
                 root.push_back( link );
                 if ( entry != allLinkEntries.end() ) { // Add line break before next entry
-                  root.push_back( Node( Node::Tag(), U"br", wstring() ) );
+                  root.push_back( Node( Node::Tag(), U"br", std::u32string() ) );
                 }
               }
               else {
                 stack.back()->push_back( link );
                 if ( entry != allLinkEntries.end() ) {
-                  stack.back()->push_back( Node( Node::Tag(), U"br", wstring() ) );
+                  stack.back()->push_back( Node( Node::Tag(), U"br", std::u32string() ) );
                 }
               }
             }
@@ -208,8 +207,8 @@ ArticleDom::ArticleDom( wstring const & str, string const & dictName, wstring co
       if ( ch == L'[' && !escaped ) {
         // Beginning of a tag.
         bool isClosing;
-        wstring name;
-        wstring attrs;
+        std::u32string name;
+        std::u32string attrs;
 
         try {
           do {
@@ -330,7 +329,7 @@ ArticleDom::ArticleDom( wstring const & str, string const & dictName, wstring co
             nextChar();
           } while ( Folding::isWhitespace( ch ) );
 
-          wstring linkTo, linkText;
+          std::u32string linkTo, linkText;
 
           for ( ;; nextChar() ) {
             // Is it the end?
@@ -373,7 +372,7 @@ ArticleDom::ArticleDom( wstring const & str, string const & dictName, wstring co
           processUnsortedParts( linkText, true );
           ArticleDom nodeDom( linkText, dictName, headword_ );
 
-          Node link( Node::Tag(), U"ref", wstring() );
+          Node link( Node::Tag(), U"ref", std::u32string() );
           for ( auto & n : nodeDom.root ) {
             link.push_back( n );
           }
@@ -427,7 +426,7 @@ ArticleDom::ArticleDom( wstring const & str, string const & dictName, wstring co
 
       // If there's currently no text node, open one
       if ( !textNode ) {
-        Node text = Node( Node::Text(), wstring() );
+        Node text = Node( Node::Text(), std::u32string() );
 
         if ( stack.empty() ) {
           root.push_back( text );
@@ -691,7 +690,7 @@ ArticleDom::ArticleDom( wstring const & str, string const & dictName, wstring co
   }
 }
 
-void ArticleDom::openTag( wstring const & name, wstring const & attrs, list< Node * > & stack )
+void ArticleDom::openTag( std::u32string const & name, std::u32string const & attrs, list< Node * > & stack )
 {
   list< Node > nodesToReopen;
 
@@ -746,7 +745,7 @@ void ArticleDom::openTag( wstring const & name, wstring const & attrs, list< Nod
   }
 }
 
-void ArticleDom::closeTag( wstring const & name, list< Node * > & stack, bool warn )
+void ArticleDom::closeTag( std::u32string const & name, list< Node * > & stack, bool warn )
 {
   // Find the tag which is to be closed
 
@@ -839,13 +838,13 @@ bool ArticleDom::atSignFirstInLine()
     return true;
   }
 
-  return isAtSignFirst( wstring( lineStartPos ) );
+  return isAtSignFirst( std::u32string( lineStartPos ) );
 }
 
 /////////////// DslScanner
 
 DslScanner::DslScanner( string const & fileName ):
-  encoding( Utf8::Utf8 ),
+  encoding( Text::Utf8 ),
   readBufferPtr( readBuffer ),
   readBufferLeft( 0 ),
   linesRead( 0 )
@@ -876,19 +875,19 @@ DslScanner::DslScanner( string const & fileName ):
        guessedEncoding.has_value() ) {
     switch ( guessedEncoding.value() ) {
       case QStringConverter::Utf8:
-        encoding = Utf8::Utf8;
+        encoding = Text::Utf8;
         break;
       case QStringConverter::Utf16LE:
-        encoding = Utf8::Utf16LE;
+        encoding = Text::Utf16LE;
         break;
       case QStringConverter::Utf16BE:
-        encoding = Utf8::Utf16BE;
+        encoding = Text::Utf16BE;
         break;
       case QStringConverter::Utf32LE:
-        encoding = Utf8::Utf16LE;
+        encoding = Text::Utf16LE;
         break;
       case QStringConverter::Utf32BE:
-        encoding = Utf8::Utf32BE;
+        encoding = Text::Utf32BE;
         break;
       default:
         break;
@@ -905,10 +904,10 @@ DslScanner::DslScanner( string const & fileName ):
   }
 
   //iconv.reinit( encoding );
-  lineFeed = Utf8::initLineFeed( encoding );
+  lineFeed = Text::initLineFeed( encoding );
   // We now can use our own readNextLine() function
 
-  wstring str;
+  std::u32string str;
   size_t offset;
 
   for ( ;; ) {
@@ -946,7 +945,7 @@ DslScanner::DslScanner( string const & fileName ):
 
     size_t beg = str.find_first_of( L'"' );
 
-    if ( beg == wstring::npos ) {
+    if ( beg == std::u32string::npos ) {
       throw exMalformedDslFile( fileName );
     }
 
@@ -956,7 +955,7 @@ DslScanner::DslScanner( string const & fileName ):
       throw exMalformedDslFile( fileName );
     }
 
-    wstring arg( str, beg + 1, end - beg - 1 );
+    std::u32string arg( str, beg + 1, end - beg - 1 );
 
     if ( isName ) {
       dictionaryName = arg;
@@ -977,13 +976,13 @@ DslScanner::DslScanner( string const & fileName ):
         qWarning( "Warning: encoding was specified in a Unicode file, ignoring." );
       }
       else if ( !arg.compare( U"Latin" ) ) {
-        encoding = Utf8::Windows1252;
+        encoding = Text::Windows1252;
       }
       else if ( !arg.compare( U"Cyrillic" ) ) {
-        encoding = Utf8::Windows1251;
+        encoding = Text::Windows1251;
       }
       else if ( !arg.compare( U"EasternEuropean" ) ) {
-        encoding = Utf8::Windows1250;
+        encoding = Text::Windows1250;
       }
       else {
         gzclose( f );
@@ -1009,7 +1008,7 @@ DslScanner::~DslScanner() noexcept
   gzclose( f );
 }
 
-bool DslScanner::readNextLine( wstring & out, size_t & offset, bool only_head_word )
+bool DslScanner::readNextLine( std::u32string & out, size_t & offset, bool only_head_word )
 {
   offset = gztell( f ) - readBufferLeft /*+pos*/;
 
@@ -1036,7 +1035,7 @@ bool DslScanner::readNextLine( wstring & out, size_t & offset, bool only_head_wo
       return false;
     }
 
-    int pos = Utf8::findFirstLinePosition( readBufferPtr, readBufferLeft, lineFeed.lineFeed, lineFeed.length );
+    int pos = Text::findFirstLinePosition( readBufferPtr, readBufferLeft, lineFeed.lineFeed, lineFeed.length );
     if ( pos == -1 ) {
       return false;
     }
@@ -1057,9 +1056,9 @@ bool DslScanner::readNextLine( wstring & out, size_t & offset, bool only_head_wo
   }
 }
 
-bool DslScanner::readNextLineWithoutComments( wstring & out, size_t & offset, bool only_headword )
+bool DslScanner::readNextLineWithoutComments( std::u32string & out, size_t & offset, bool only_headword )
 {
-  wstring str;
+  std::u32string str;
   bool commentToNextLine = false;
   size_t currentOffset;
 
@@ -1087,14 +1086,14 @@ bool DslScanner::readNextLineWithoutComments( wstring & out, size_t & offset, bo
 
 /////////////// DslScanner
 
-void processUnsortedParts( wstring & str, bool strip )
+void processUnsortedParts( std::u32string & str, bool strip )
 {
   int refCount = 0;
 
   size_t startPos = 0;
 
   for ( size_t x = 0; x < str.size(); ) {
-    wchar ch = str[ x ];
+    char32_t ch = str[ x ];
 
     if ( ch == L'\\' ) {
       // Escape code
@@ -1150,18 +1149,18 @@ void processUnsortedParts( wstring & str, bool strip )
   }
 }
 
-void expandOptionalParts( wstring & str, list< wstring > * result, size_t x, bool inside_recurse )
+void expandOptionalParts( std::u32string & str, list< std::u32string > * result, size_t x, bool inside_recurse )
 {
   // if str is too long ,it can never be headwords.
   if ( str.size() > 100 ) {
     return;
   }
-  list< wstring > expanded;
-  list< wstring > * headwords;
+  list< std::u32string > expanded;
+  list< std::u32string > * headwords;
   headwords = inside_recurse ? result : &expanded;
 
   for ( ; x < str.size(); ) {
-    wchar ch = str[ x ];
+    char32_t ch = str[ x ];
 
     if ( ch == L'\\' ) {
       // Escape code
@@ -1174,7 +1173,7 @@ void expandOptionalParts( wstring & str, list< wstring > * result, size_t x, boo
         int refCount = 1;
 
         for ( size_t y = x + 1; y < str.size(); ++y ) {
-          wchar ch = str[ y ];
+          char32_t ch = str[ y ];
 
           if ( ch == L'\\' ) {
             // Escape code
@@ -1190,7 +1189,7 @@ void expandOptionalParts( wstring & str, list< wstring > * result, size_t x, boo
 
               if ( y != x + 1 ) // Only do for non-empty cases
               {
-                wstring removed( str, 0, x );
+                std::u32string removed( str, 0, x );
                 removed.append( str, y + 1, str.size() - y - 1 );
 
                 expandOptionalParts( removed, headwords, x, true );
@@ -1204,7 +1203,7 @@ void expandOptionalParts( wstring & str, list< wstring > * result, size_t x, boo
         if ( refCount && x != str.size() - 1 ) {
           // Closing paren not found? Chop it.
 
-          wstring removed( str, 0, x );
+          std::u32string removed( str, 0, x );
 
           // Limit the amount of results to avoid excessive resource consumption
           if ( headwords->size() < 32 ) {
@@ -1242,10 +1241,10 @@ void expandOptionalParts( wstring & str, list< wstring > * result, size_t x, boo
   }
 }
 
-static const wstring openBraces( U"{{" );
-static const wstring closeBraces( U"}}" );
+static const std::u32string openBraces( U"{{" );
+static const std::u32string closeBraces( U"}}" );
 
-void stripComments( wstring & str, bool & nextLine )
+void stripComments( std::u32string & str, bool & nextLine )
 {
   string::size_type n = 0, n2 = 0;
 
@@ -1269,9 +1268,9 @@ void stripComments( wstring & str, bool & nextLine )
   }
 }
 
-void expandTildes( wstring & str, wstring const & tildeReplacement )
+void expandTildes( std::u32string & str, std::u32string const & tildeReplacement )
 {
-  wstring tildeValue = Folding::trimWhitespace( tildeReplacement );
+  std::u32string tildeValue = Folding::trimWhitespace( tildeReplacement );
   for ( size_t x = 0; x < str.size(); ) {
     if ( str[ x ] == L'\\' ) {
       x += 2;
@@ -1294,7 +1293,7 @@ void expandTildes( wstring & str, wstring const & tildeReplacement )
   }
 }
 
-void unescapeDsl( wstring & str )
+void unescapeDsl( std::u32string & str )
 {
   for ( size_t x = 0; x < str.size(); ++x ) {
     if ( str[ x ] == L'\\' ) {
@@ -1303,7 +1302,7 @@ void unescapeDsl( wstring & str )
   }
 }
 
-void normalizeHeadword( wstring & str )
+void normalizeHeadword( std::u32string & str )
 {
   for ( size_t x = str.size(); x-- > 1; ) // >1 -- Don't test the first char
   {
@@ -1331,7 +1330,7 @@ void normalizeHeadword( wstring & str )
 }
 
 namespace {
-void cutEnding( wstring & where, wstring const & ending )
+void cutEnding( std::u32string & where, std::u32string const & ending )
 {
   if ( where.size() > ending.size() && where.compare( where.size() - ending.size(), ending.size(), ending ) == 0 ) {
     where.erase( where.size() - ending.size() );
@@ -1339,17 +1338,17 @@ void cutEnding( wstring & where, wstring const & ending )
 }
 } // namespace
 
-quint32 dslLanguageToId( wstring const & name )
+quint32 dslLanguageToId( std::u32string const & name )
 {
-  static wstring newSp( U"newspelling" );
-  static wstring st( U"standard" );
-  static wstring ms( U"modernsort" );
-  static wstring ts( U"traditionalsort" );
-  static wstring prc( U"prc" );
+  static std::u32string newSp( U"newspelling" );
+  static std::u32string st( U"standard" );
+  static std::u32string ms( U"modernsort" );
+  static std::u32string ts( U"traditionalsort" );
+  static std::u32string prc( U"prc" );
 
   // Any of those endings are to be removed
 
-  wstring nameStripped = Folding::apply( name );
+  std::u32string nameStripped = Folding::apply( name );
 
   cutEnding( nameStripped, newSp );
   cutEnding( nameStripped, st );
diff --git a/src/dict/dsl_details.hh b/src/dict/dsl_details.hh
index 8eaa7481..15159661 100644
--- a/src/dict/dsl_details.hh
+++ b/src/dict/dsl_details.hh
@@ -11,23 +11,21 @@
 #include "iconv.hh"
 #include <QtCore5Compat/QTextCodec>
 #include <QByteArray>
-#include "utf8.hh"
+#include "text.hh"
 
 // Implementation details for Dsl, not part of its interface
 namespace Dsl {
 namespace Details {
 
 using std::string;
-using gd::wstring;
-using gd::wchar;
 using std::list;
 using std::vector;
-using Utf8::Encoding;
-using Utf8::LineFeed;
+using Text::Encoding;
+using Text::LineFeed;
 
 string findCodeForDslId( int id );
 
-bool isAtSignFirst( wstring const & str );
+bool isAtSignFirst( std::u32string const & str );
 
 /// Parses the DSL language, representing it in its structural DOM form.
 struct ArticleDom
@@ -37,23 +35,23 @@ struct ArticleDom
     bool isTag; // true if it is a tag with subnodes, false if it's a leaf text
                 // data.
     // Those are only used if isTag is true
-    wstring tagName;
-    wstring tagAttrs;
-    wstring text; // This is only used if isTag is false
+    std::u32string tagName;
+    std::u32string tagAttrs;
+    std::u32string text; // This is only used if isTag is false
 
     class Text
     {};
     class Tag
     {};
 
-    Node( Tag, wstring const & name, wstring const & attrs ):
+    Node( Tag, std::u32string const & name, std::u32string const & attrs ):
       isTag( true ),
       tagName( name ),
       tagAttrs( attrs )
     {
     }
 
-    Node( Text, wstring const & text_ ):
+    Node( Text, std::u32string const & text_ ):
       isTag( false ),
       text( text_ )
     {
@@ -61,30 +59,32 @@ struct ArticleDom
 
     /// Concatenates all childen text nodes recursively to form all text
     /// the node contains stripped of any markup.
-    wstring renderAsText( bool stripTrsTag = false ) const;
+    std::u32string renderAsText( bool stripTrsTag = false ) const;
   };
 
   /// Does the parse at construction. Refer to the 'root' member variable
   /// afterwards.
-  explicit ArticleDom( wstring const &, string const & dictName = string(), wstring const & headword_ = wstring() );
+  explicit ArticleDom( std::u32string const &,
+                       string const & dictName          = string(),
+                       std::u32string const & headword_ = std::u32string() );
 
   /// Root of DOM's tree
   Node root;
 
 private:
 
-  void openTag( wstring const & name, wstring const & attr, list< Node * > & stack );
+  void openTag( std::u32string const & name, std::u32string const & attr, list< Node * > & stack );
 
-  void closeTag( wstring const & name, list< Node * > & stack, bool warn = true );
+  void closeTag( std::u32string const & name, list< Node * > & stack, bool warn = true );
 
   bool atSignFirstInLine();
 
-  wchar const *stringPos, *lineStartPos;
+  char32_t const *stringPos, *lineStartPos;
 
   class eot: std::exception
   {};
 
-  wchar ch;
+  char32_t ch;
   bool escaped;
   unsigned transcriptionCount; // >0 = inside a [t] tag
   unsigned mediaCount;         // >0 = inside a [s] tag
@@ -93,7 +93,7 @@ private:
 
   /// Information for diagnostic purposes
   string dictionaryName;
-  wstring headword;
+  std::u32string headword;
 };
 
 /// Opens the .dsl or .dsl.dz file and allows line-by-line reading. Auto-detects
@@ -103,9 +103,9 @@ class DslScanner
   gzFile f;
   Encoding encoding;
   QTextCodec * codec;
-  wstring dictionaryName;
-  wstring langFrom, langTo;
-  wstring soundDictionary;
+  std::u32string dictionaryName;
+  std::u32string langFrom, langTo;
+  std::u32string soundDictionary;
   char readBuffer[ 65536 ];
   char * readBufferPtr;
   LineFeed lineFeed;
@@ -132,25 +132,25 @@ public:
   }
 
   /// Returns the dictionary's name, as was read from file's headers.
-  wstring const & getDictionaryName() const
+  std::u32string const & getDictionaryName() const
   {
     return dictionaryName;
   }
 
   /// Returns the dictionary's source language, as was read from file's headers.
-  wstring const & getLangFrom() const
+  std::u32string const & getLangFrom() const
   {
     return langFrom;
   }
 
   /// Returns the dictionary's target language, as was read from file's headers.
-  wstring const & getLangTo() const
+  std::u32string const & getLangTo() const
   {
     return langTo;
   }
 
   /// Returns the preferred external dictionary with sounds, as was read from file's headers.
-  wstring const & getSoundDictionaryName() const
+  std::u32string const & getSoundDictionaryName() const
   {
     return soundDictionary;
   }
@@ -161,10 +161,10 @@ public:
   /// If end of file is reached, false is returned.
   /// Reading begins from the first line after the headers (ones which start
   /// with #).
-  bool readNextLine( wstring &, size_t & offset, bool only_head_word = false );
+  bool readNextLine( std::u32string &, size_t & offset, bool only_head_word = false );
 
   /// Similar readNextLine but strip all DSL comments {{...}}
-  bool readNextLineWithoutComments( wstring &, size_t & offset, bool only_headword = false );
+  bool readNextLineWithoutComments( std::u32string &, size_t & offset, bool only_headword = false );
 
   /// Returns the number of lines read so far from the file.
   unsigned getLinesRead() const
@@ -180,32 +180,35 @@ public:
 
 /// This function either removes parts of string enclosed in braces, or leaves
 /// them intact. The braces themselves are removed always, though.
-void processUnsortedParts( wstring & str, bool strip );
+void processUnsortedParts( std::u32string & str, bool strip );
 
 /// Expands optional parts of a headword (ones marked with parentheses),
 /// producing all possible combinations where they are present or absent.
-void expandOptionalParts( wstring & str, list< wstring > * result, size_t x = 0, bool inside_recurse = false );
+void expandOptionalParts( std::u32string & str,
+                          list< std::u32string > * result,
+                          size_t x            = 0,
+                          bool inside_recurse = false );
 
 /// Expands all unescaped tildes, inserting tildeReplacement text instead of
 /// them.
-void expandTildes( wstring & str, wstring const & tildeReplacement );
+void expandTildes( std::u32string & str, std::u32string const & tildeReplacement );
 
 /// Unescapes any escaped chars. Be sure to handle all their special meanings
 /// before unescaping them.
-void unescapeDsl( wstring & str );
+void unescapeDsl( std::u32string & str );
 
 /// Normalizes the headword. Currently turns any sequences of consecutive spaces
 /// into a single space.
-void normalizeHeadword( wstring & );
+void normalizeHeadword( std::u32string & );
 
 /// Strip DSL {{...}} comments
-void stripComments( wstring &, bool & );
+void stripComments( std::u32string &, bool & );
 
 inline size_t DslScanner::distanceToBytes( size_t x ) const
 {
   switch ( encoding ) {
-    case Utf8::Utf16LE:
-    case Utf8::Utf16BE:
+    case Text::Utf16LE:
+    case Text::Utf16BE:
       return x * 2;
     default:
       return x;
@@ -214,7 +217,7 @@ inline size_t DslScanner::distanceToBytes( size_t x ) const
 
 /// Converts the given language name taken from Dsl header (i.e. getLangFrom(),
 /// getLangTo()) to its proper language id.
-quint32 dslLanguageToId( wstring const & name );
+quint32 dslLanguageToId( std::u32string const & name );
 
 } // namespace Details
 } // namespace Dsl
diff --git a/src/dict/epwing.cc b/src/dict/epwing.cc
index c6f020b0..f70f8514 100644
--- a/src/dict/epwing.cc
+++ b/src/dict/epwing.cc
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ using std::multimap;
 using std::vector;
 using std::set;
 using std::pair;
-using gd::wstring;
+using std::u32string;
 
 namespace {
 
@@ -109,10 +109,10 @@ public:
 
   QString const & getDescription() override;
 
-  void getHeadwordPos( wstring const & word_, QList< int > & pg, QList< int > & off );
+  void getHeadwordPos( u32string const & word_, QList< int > & pg, QList< int > & off );
 
   sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest >
-  getArticle( wstring const &, vector< wstring > const & alts, wstring const &, bool ignoreDiacritics ) override;
+  getArticle( u32string const &, vector< u32string > const & alts, u32string const &, bool ignoreDiacritics ) override;
 
   sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > getResource( string const & name ) override;
 
@@ -134,16 +134,16 @@ public:
         && ( fts.maxDictionarySize == 0 || getArticleCount() <= fts.maxDictionarySize );
   }
 
-  static int japaneseWriting( gd::wchar ch );
+  static int japaneseWriting( char32_t ch );
 
-  static bool isSign( gd::wchar ch );
+  static bool isSign( char32_t ch );
 
-  static bool isJapanesePunctiation( gd::wchar ch );
+  static bool isJapanesePunctiation( char32_t ch );
 
-  sptr< Dictionary::WordSearchRequest > prefixMatch( wstring const &, unsigned long ) override;
+  sptr< Dictionary::WordSearchRequest > prefixMatch( u32string const &, unsigned long ) override;
 
   sptr< Dictionary::WordSearchRequest >
-  stemmedMatch( wstring const &, unsigned minLength, unsigned maxSuffixVariation, unsigned long maxResults ) override;
+  stemmedMatch( u32string const &, unsigned minLength, unsigned maxSuffixVariation, unsigned long maxResults ) override;
 
 protected:
 
@@ -156,7 +156,7 @@ private:
     quint32 address, string & articleHeadword, string & articleText, int & articlePage, int & articleOffset );
 
 
-  sptr< Dictionary::WordSearchRequest > findHeadwordsForSynonym( wstring const & word ) override;
+  sptr< Dictionary::WordSearchRequest > findHeadwordsForSynonym( u32string const & word ) override;
 
   void loadArticleNextPage( string & articleHeadword, string & articleText, int & articlePage, int & articleOffset );
   void
@@ -449,7 +449,7 @@ void EpwingDictionary::getArticleText( uint32_t articleAddress, QString & headwo
 
 class EpwingHeadwordsRequest: public Dictionary::WordSearchRequest
 {
-  wstring str;
+  u32string str;
   EpwingDictionary & dict;
 
   QAtomicInt isCancelled;
@@ -457,7 +457,7 @@ class EpwingHeadwordsRequest: public Dictionary::WordSearchRequest
 
 public:
 
-  EpwingHeadwordsRequest( wstring const & word_, EpwingDictionary & dict_ ):
+  EpwingHeadwordsRequest( u32string const & word_, EpwingDictionary & dict_ ):
     str( word_ ),
     dict( dict_ )
   {
@@ -533,7 +533,7 @@ void EpwingHeadwordsRequest::run()
 
   finish();
 }
-sptr< Dictionary::WordSearchRequest > EpwingDictionary::findHeadwordsForSynonym( wstring const & word )
+sptr< Dictionary::WordSearchRequest > EpwingDictionary::findHeadwordsForSynonym( u32string const & word )
 {
   return synonymSearchEnabled ? std::make_shared< EpwingHeadwordsRequest >( word, *this ) :
                                 Class::findHeadwordsForSynonym( word );
@@ -542,8 +542,8 @@ sptr< Dictionary::WordSearchRequest > EpwingDictionary::findHeadwordsForSynonym(
 
 class EpwingArticleRequest: public Dictionary::DataRequest
 {
-  wstring word;
-  vector< wstring > alts;
+  u32string word;
+  vector< u32string > alts;
   EpwingDictionary & dict;
   bool ignoreDiacritics;
 
@@ -552,8 +552,8 @@ class EpwingArticleRequest: public Dictionary::DataRequest
 
 public:
 
-  EpwingArticleRequest( wstring const & word_,
-                        vector< wstring > const & alts_,
+  EpwingArticleRequest( u32string const & word_,
+                        vector< u32string > const & alts_,
                         EpwingDictionary & dict_,
                         bool ignoreDiacritics_ ):
     word( word_ ),
@@ -568,10 +568,10 @@ public:
 
   void run();
 
-  void getBuiltInArticle( wstring const & word_,
+  void getBuiltInArticle( u32string const & word_,
                           QList< int > & pages,
                           QList< int > & offsets,
-                          multimap< wstring, pair< string, string > > & mainArticles );
+                          multimap< u32string, pair< string, string > > & mainArticles );
 
   void cancel() override
   {
@@ -601,13 +601,13 @@ void EpwingArticleRequest::run()
     chain.insert( chain.end(), altChain.begin(), altChain.end() );
   }
 
-  multimap< wstring, pair< string, string > > mainArticles, alternateArticles;
+  multimap< u32string, pair< string, string > > mainArticles, alternateArticles;
 
   set< quint32 > articlesIncluded; // Some synonims make it that the articles
                                    // appear several times. We combat this
                                    // by only allowing them to appear once.
 
-  wstring wordCaseFolded = Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( word );
+  u32string wordCaseFolded = Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( word );
   if ( ignoreDiacritics )
     wordCaseFolded = Folding::applyDiacriticsOnly( wordCaseFolded );
 
@@ -641,11 +641,11 @@ void EpwingArticleRequest::run()
 
     // We do the case-folded comparison here.
 
-    wstring headwordStripped = Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( headword );
+    u32string headwordStripped = Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( headword );
     if ( ignoreDiacritics )
       headwordStripped = Folding::applyDiacriticsOnly( headwordStripped );
 
-    multimap< wstring, pair< string, string > > & mapToUse =
+    multimap< u32string, pair< string, string > > & mapToUse =
       ( wordCaseFolded == headwordStripped ) ? mainArticles : alternateArticles;
 
     mapToUse.insert( pair( Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( headword ), pair( headword, articleText ) ) );
@@ -670,7 +670,7 @@ void EpwingArticleRequest::run()
 
   string result = "<div class=\"epwing_article\">";
 
-  multimap< wstring, pair< string, string > >::const_iterator i;
+  multimap< u32string, pair< string, string > >::const_iterator i;
 
   for ( i = mainArticles.begin(); i != mainArticles.end(); ++i ) {
     result += "<h3>";
@@ -719,10 +719,10 @@ void EpwingArticleRequest::run()
   finish();
 }
 
-void EpwingArticleRequest::getBuiltInArticle( wstring const & word_,
+void EpwingArticleRequest::getBuiltInArticle( u32string const & word_,
                                               QList< int > & pages,
                                               QList< int > & offsets,
-                                              multimap< wstring, pair< string, string > > & mainArticles )
+                                              multimap< u32string, pair< string, string > > & mainArticles )
 {
   try {
     string headword, articleText;
@@ -756,7 +756,7 @@ void EpwingArticleRequest::getBuiltInArticle( wstring const & word_,
   }
 }
 
-void EpwingDictionary::getHeadwordPos( wstring const & word_, QList< int > & pg, QList< int > & off )
+void EpwingDictionary::getHeadwordPos( u32string const & word_, QList< int > & pg, QList< int > & off )
 {
   try {
     QMutexLocker _( &eBook.getLibMutex() );
@@ -767,9 +767,9 @@ void EpwingDictionary::getHeadwordPos( wstring const & word_, QList< int > & pg,
   }
 }
 
-sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > EpwingDictionary::getArticle( wstring const & word,
-                                                              vector< wstring > const & alts,
-                                                              wstring const &,
+sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > EpwingDictionary::getArticle( u32string const & word,
+                                                              vector< u32string > const & alts,
+                                                              u32string const &,
                                                               bool ignoreDiacritics )
 
 {
@@ -882,7 +882,7 @@ sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > EpwingDictionary::getSearchResults( QString cons
                                                             ignoreDiacritics );
 }
 
-int EpwingDictionary::japaneseWriting( gd::wchar ch )
+int EpwingDictionary::japaneseWriting( char32_t ch )
 {
   if ( ( ch >= 0x30A0 && ch <= 0x30FF ) || ( ch >= 0x31F0 && ch <= 0x31FF ) || ( ch >= 0x3200 && ch <= 0x32FF )
        || ( ch >= 0xFF00 && ch <= 0xFFEF ) || ( ch == 0x1B000 ) )
@@ -895,7 +895,7 @@ int EpwingDictionary::japaneseWriting( gd::wchar ch )
   return 0;
 }
 
-bool EpwingDictionary::isSign( gd::wchar ch )
+bool EpwingDictionary::isSign( char32_t ch )
 {
   switch ( ch ) {
     case 0x002B: // PLUS SIGN
@@ -915,7 +915,7 @@ bool EpwingDictionary::isSign( gd::wchar ch )
   }
 }
 
-bool EpwingDictionary::isJapanesePunctiation( gd::wchar ch )
+bool EpwingDictionary::isJapanesePunctiation( char32_t ch )
 {
   return ch >= 0x3000 && ch <= 0x303F;
 }
@@ -929,7 +929,7 @@ class EpwingWordSearchRequest: public BtreeIndexing::BtreeWordSearchRequest
 public:
 
   EpwingWordSearchRequest( EpwingDictionary & dict_,
-                           wstring const & str_,
+                           u32string const & str_,
                            unsigned minLength_,
                            int maxSuffixVariation_,
                            bool allowMiddleMatches_,
@@ -976,13 +976,13 @@ void EpwingWordSearchRequest::findMatches()
   finish();
 }
 
-sptr< Dictionary::WordSearchRequest > EpwingDictionary::prefixMatch( wstring const & str, unsigned long maxResults )
+sptr< Dictionary::WordSearchRequest > EpwingDictionary::prefixMatch( u32string const & str, unsigned long maxResults )
 
 {
   return std::make_shared< EpwingWordSearchRequest >( *this, str, 0, -1, true, maxResults );
 }
 
-sptr< Dictionary::WordSearchRequest > EpwingDictionary::stemmedMatch( wstring const & str,
+sptr< Dictionary::WordSearchRequest > EpwingDictionary::stemmedMatch( u32string const & str,
                                                                       unsigned minLength,
                                                                       unsigned maxSuffixVariation,
                                                                       unsigned long maxResults )
@@ -1021,20 +1021,20 @@ void addWordToChunks( Epwing::Book::EpwingHeadword & head,
     chunks.addToBlock( &head.page, sizeof( head.page ) );
     chunks.addToBlock( &head.offset, sizeof( head.offset ) );
 
-    wstring hw = head.headword.toStdU32String();
+    u32string hw = head.headword.toStdU32String();
 
     indexedWords.addWord( hw, offset );
     wordCount++;
     articleCount++;
 
-    vector< wstring > words;
+    vector< u32string > words;
 
     // Parse combined kanji/katakana/hiragana headwords
 
     int w_prev = 0;
-    wstring word;
-    for ( wstring::size_type n = 0; n < hw.size(); n++ ) {
-      gd::wchar ch = hw[ n ];
+    u32string word;
+    for ( u32string::size_type n = 0; n < hw.size(); n++ ) {
+      char32_t ch = hw[ n ];
 
       if ( Folding::isPunct( ch ) || Folding::isWhitespace( ch ) || EpwingDictionary::isSign( ch )
            || EpwingDictionary::isJapanesePunctiation( ch ) )
@@ -1044,7 +1044,7 @@ void addWordToChunks( Epwing::Book::EpwingHeadword & head,
 
       if ( w > 0 ) {
         // Store only separated words
-        gd::wchar ch_prev = 0;
+        char32_t ch_prev = 0;
         if ( n )
           ch_prev = hw[ n - 1 ];
         bool needStore = ( n == 0 || Folding::isPunct( ch_prev ) || Folding::isWhitespace( ch_prev )
@@ -1052,7 +1052,7 @@ void addWordToChunks( Epwing::Book::EpwingHeadword & head,
 
         word.push_back( ch );
         w_prev = w;
-        wstring::size_type i;
+        u32string::size_type i;
         for ( i = n + 1; i < hw.size(); i++ ) {
           ch = hw[ i ];
           if ( Folding::isPunct( ch ) || Folding::isWhitespace( ch ) || EpwingDictionary::isJapanesePunctiation( ch ) )
diff --git a/src/dict/epwing_book.cc b/src/dict/epwing_book.cc
index 159c42b7..87a10ffc 100644
--- a/src/dict/epwing_book.cc
+++ b/src/dict/epwing_book.cc
@@ -10,8 +10,7 @@
   #include <QTextDocumentFragment>
   #include <QHash>
   #include "audiolink.hh"
-  #include "wstring.hh"
-  #include "wstring_qt.hh"
+  #include "text.hh"
   #include "folding.hh"
   #include "epwing_charmap.hh"
   #include "htmlescape.hh"
@@ -1135,7 +1134,7 @@ void EpwingBook::fixHeadword( QString & headword )
   //  return;
   //}
 
-  gd::wstring folded = Folding::applyPunctOnly( fixed.toStdU32String() );
+  std::u32string folded = Folding::applyPunctOnly( fixed.toStdU32String() );
   //fixed = QString::fromStdU32String( folded );
 
   //if( isHeadwordCorrect( fixed ) )
@@ -1993,4 +1992,4 @@ QMutex EpwingBook::libMutex;
 
 } // namespace Epwing
 
-#endif
\ No newline at end of file
+#endif
diff --git a/src/dict/forvo.cc b/src/dict/forvo.cc
index af5ee64d..6caa752e 100644
--- a/src/dict/forvo.cc
+++ b/src/dict/forvo.cc
@@ -2,14 +2,13 @@
  * Part of GoldenDict. Licensed under GPLv3 or later, see the LICENSE file */
 
 #include "forvo.hh"
-#include "wstring_qt.hh"
 #include <QNetworkAccessManager>
 #include <QNetworkReply>
 #include <QtXml>
 #include <list>
 #include "audiolink.hh"
 #include "htmlescape.hh"
-#include "utf8.hh"
+#include "text.hh"
 
 namespace Forvo {
 
@@ -48,7 +47,7 @@ public:
     return 0;
   }
 
-  sptr< WordSearchRequest > prefixMatch( wstring const & /*word*/, unsigned long /*maxResults*/ ) override
+  sptr< WordSearchRequest > prefixMatch( std::u32string const & /*word*/, unsigned long /*maxResults*/ ) override
   {
     sptr< WordSearchRequestInstant > sr = std::make_shared< WordSearchRequestInstant >();
 
@@ -57,7 +56,8 @@ public:
     return sr;
   }
 
-  sptr< DataRequest > getArticle( wstring const &, vector< wstring > const & alts, wstring const &, bool ) override;
+  sptr< DataRequest >
+  getArticle( std::u32string const &, vector< std::u32string > const & alts, std::u32string const &, bool ) override;
 
 protected:
 
@@ -89,8 +89,8 @@ class ForvoArticleRequest: public Dictionary::DataRequest
 
 public:
 
-  ForvoArticleRequest( wstring const & word,
-                       vector< wstring > const & alts,
+  ForvoArticleRequest( std::u32string const & word,
+                       vector< std::u32string > const & alts,
                        QString const & apiKey_,
                        QString const & languageCode_,
                        string const & dictionaryId_,
@@ -100,14 +100,16 @@ public:
 
 private:
 
-  void addQuery( QNetworkAccessManager & mgr, wstring const & word );
+  void addQuery( QNetworkAccessManager & mgr, std::u32string const & word );
 
 private slots:
   virtual void requestFinished( QNetworkReply * );
 };
 
-sptr< DataRequest >
-ForvoDictionary::getArticle( wstring const & word, vector< wstring > const & alts, wstring const &, bool )
+sptr< DataRequest > ForvoDictionary::getArticle( std::u32string const & word,
+                                                 vector< std::u32string > const & alts,
+                                                 std::u32string const &,
+                                                 bool )
 
 {
   if ( word.size() > 80 || apiKey.isEmpty() ) {
@@ -137,8 +139,8 @@ void ForvoArticleRequest::cancel()
   finish();
 }
 
-ForvoArticleRequest::ForvoArticleRequest( wstring const & str,
-                                          vector< wstring > const & alts,
+ForvoArticleRequest::ForvoArticleRequest( std::u32string const & str,
+                                          vector< std::u32string > const & alts,
                                           QString const & apiKey_,
                                           QString const & languageCode_,
                                           string const & dictionaryId_,
@@ -156,7 +158,7 @@ ForvoArticleRequest::ForvoArticleRequest( wstring const & str,
   }
 }
 
-void ForvoArticleRequest::addQuery( QNetworkAccessManager & mgr, wstring const & str )
+void ForvoArticleRequest::addQuery( QNetworkAccessManager & mgr, std::u32string const & str )
 {
   qDebug( "Forvo: requesting article %s", QString::fromStdU32String( str ).toUtf8().data() );
 
@@ -177,7 +179,7 @@ void ForvoArticleRequest::addQuery( QNetworkAccessManager & mgr, wstring const &
 
   sptr< QNetworkReply > netReply = std::shared_ptr< QNetworkReply >( mgr.get( QNetworkRequest( reqUrl ) ) );
 
-  netReplies.push_back( NetReply( netReply, Utf8::encode( str ) ) );
+  netReplies.push_back( NetReply( netReply, Text::toUtf8( str ) ) );
 }
 
 void ForvoArticleRequest::requestFinished( QNetworkReply * r )
diff --git a/src/dict/gls.cc b/src/dict/gls.cc
index 88516566..299ec99f 100644
--- a/src/dict/gls.cc
+++ b/src/dict/gls.cc
@@ -8,8 +8,7 @@
 #include "ufile.hh"
 #include "btreeidx.hh"
 #include "folding.hh"
-#include "utf8.hh"
-#include "wstring_qt.hh"
+#include "text.hh"
 #include "chunkedstorage.hh"
 #include "langcoder.hh"
 #include "dictzip.hh"
@@ -39,14 +38,12 @@ using std::set;
 using std::multimap;
 using std::pair;
 
-using gd::wstring;
-using gd::wchar;
 
 using BtreeIndexing::WordArticleLink;
 using BtreeIndexing::IndexedWords;
 using BtreeIndexing::IndexInfo;
-using Utf8::Encoding;
-using Utf8::LineFeed;
+using Text::Encoding;
+using Text::LineFeed;
 
 /////////////// GlsScanner
 
@@ -55,9 +52,9 @@ class GlsScanner
   gzFile f;
   Encoding encoding;
   QTextCodec * codec;
-  wstring dictionaryName;
-  wstring dictionaryDecription, dictionaryAuthor;
-  wstring langFrom, langTo;
+  std::u32string dictionaryName;
+  std::u32string dictionaryDecription, dictionaryAuthor;
+  std::u32string langFrom, langTo;
   char readBuffer[ 10000 ];
   char * readBufferPtr;
   size_t readBufferLeft;
@@ -82,31 +79,31 @@ public:
   }
 
   /// Returns the dictionary's name, as was read from file's headers.
-  wstring const & getDictionaryName() const
+  std::u32string const & getDictionaryName() const
   {
     return dictionaryName;
   }
 
   /// Returns the dictionary's author, as was read from file's headers.
-  wstring const & getDictionaryAuthor() const
+  std::u32string const & getDictionaryAuthor() const
   {
     return dictionaryAuthor;
   }
 
   /// Returns the dictionary's description, as was read from file's headers.
-  wstring const & getDictionaryDescription() const
+  std::u32string const & getDictionaryDescription() const
   {
     return dictionaryDecription;
   }
 
   /// Returns the dictionary's source language, as was read from file's headers.
-  wstring const & getLangFrom() const
+  std::u32string const & getLangFrom() const
   {
     return langFrom;
   }
 
   /// Returns the dictionary's target language, as was read from file's headers.
-  wstring const & getLangTo() const
+  std::u32string const & getLangTo() const
   {
     return langTo;
   }
@@ -117,7 +114,7 @@ public:
   /// If end of file is reached, false is returned.
   /// Reading begins from the first line after the headers (ones which end
   /// by the "### Glossary section:" line).
-  bool readNextLine( wstring &, size_t & offset );
+  bool readNextLine( std::u32string &, size_t & offset );
   /// Returns the number of lines read so far from the file.
   unsigned getLinesRead() const
   {
@@ -126,7 +123,7 @@ public:
 };
 
 GlsScanner::GlsScanner( string const & fileName ):
-  encoding( Utf8::Utf8 ),
+  encoding( Text::Utf8 ),
   readBufferPtr( readBuffer ),
   readBufferLeft( 0 ),
   linesRead( 0 )
@@ -152,10 +149,10 @@ GlsScanner::GlsScanner( string const & fileName ):
   // If the file begins with the dedicated Unicode marker, we just consume
   // it. If, on the other hand, it's not, we return the bytes back
   if ( firstBytes[ 0 ] == 0xFF && firstBytes[ 1 ] == 0xFE ) {
-    encoding = Utf8::Utf16LE;
+    encoding = Text::Utf16LE;
   }
   else if ( firstBytes[ 0 ] == 0xFE && firstBytes[ 1 ] == 0xFF ) {
-    encoding = Utf8::Utf16BE;
+    encoding = Text::Utf16BE;
   }
   else if ( firstBytes[ 0 ] == 0xEF && firstBytes[ 1 ] == 0xBB ) {
     // Looks like Utf8, read one more byte
@@ -164,29 +161,29 @@ GlsScanner::GlsScanner( string const & fileName ):
       gzclose( f );
       throw exMalformedGlsFile( fileName );
     }
-    encoding = Utf8::Utf8;
+    encoding = Text::Utf8;
   }
   else {
     if ( gzrewind( f ) ) {
       gzclose( f );
       throw exCantOpen( fileName );
     }
-    encoding = Utf8::Utf8;
+    encoding = Text::Utf8;
   }
 
-  codec = QTextCodec::codecForName( Utf8::getEncodingNameFor( encoding ) );
+  codec = QTextCodec::codecForName( Text::getEncodingNameFor( encoding ) );
   // We now can use our own readNextLine() function
-  lineFeed = Utf8::initLineFeed( encoding );
+  lineFeed = Text::initLineFeed( encoding );
 
-  wstring str;
-  wstring * currentField  = 0;
-  wstring mark            = U"###";
-  wstring titleMark       = U"### Glossary title:";
-  wstring authorMark      = U"### Author:";
-  wstring descriptionMark = U"### Description:";
-  wstring langFromMark    = U"### Source language:";
-  wstring langToMark      = U"### Target language:";
-  wstring endOfHeaderMark = U"### Glossary section:";
+  std::u32string str;
+  std::u32string * currentField  = 0;
+  std::u32string mark            = U"###";
+  std::u32string titleMark       = U"### Glossary title:";
+  std::u32string authorMark      = U"### Author:";
+  std::u32string descriptionMark = U"### Description:";
+  std::u32string langFromMark    = U"### Source language:";
+  std::u32string langToMark      = U"### Target language:";
+  std::u32string endOfHeaderMark = U"### Glossary section:";
   size_t offset;
 
   for ( ;; ) {
@@ -199,22 +196,22 @@ GlsScanner::GlsScanner( string const & fileName ):
       currentField = 0;
 
       if ( str.compare( 0, titleMark.size(), titleMark ) == 0 ) {
-        dictionaryName = wstring( str, titleMark.size(), str.size() - titleMark.size() );
+        dictionaryName = std::u32string( str, titleMark.size(), str.size() - titleMark.size() );
         currentField   = &dictionaryName;
       }
       else if ( str.compare( 0, authorMark.size(), authorMark ) == 0 ) {
-        dictionaryAuthor = wstring( str, authorMark.size(), str.size() - authorMark.size() );
+        dictionaryAuthor = std::u32string( str, authorMark.size(), str.size() - authorMark.size() );
         currentField     = &dictionaryAuthor;
       }
       else if ( str.compare( 0, descriptionMark.size(), descriptionMark ) == 0 ) {
-        dictionaryDecription = wstring( str, descriptionMark.size(), str.size() - descriptionMark.size() );
+        dictionaryDecription = std::u32string( str, descriptionMark.size(), str.size() - descriptionMark.size() );
         currentField         = &dictionaryDecription;
       }
       else if ( str.compare( 0, langFromMark.size(), langFromMark ) == 0 ) {
-        langFrom = wstring( str, langFromMark.size(), str.size() - langFromMark.size() );
+        langFrom = std::u32string( str, langFromMark.size(), str.size() - langFromMark.size() );
       }
       else if ( str.compare( 0, langToMark.size(), langToMark ) == 0 ) {
-        langTo = wstring( str, langToMark.size(), str.size() - langToMark.size() );
+        langTo = std::u32string( str, langToMark.size(), str.size() - langToMark.size() );
       }
       else if ( str.compare( 0, endOfHeaderMark.size(), endOfHeaderMark ) == 0 ) {
         break;
@@ -229,7 +226,7 @@ GlsScanner::GlsScanner( string const & fileName ):
   }
 }
 
-bool GlsScanner::readNextLine( wstring & out, size_t & offset )
+bool GlsScanner::readNextLine( std::u32string & out, size_t & offset )
 {
   offset = (size_t)( gztell( f ) - readBufferLeft );
 
@@ -256,7 +253,7 @@ bool GlsScanner::readNextLine( wstring & out, size_t & offset )
       return false;
     }
 
-    int pos = Utf8::findFirstLinePosition( readBufferPtr, readBufferLeft, lineFeed.lineFeed, lineFeed.length );
+    int pos = Text::findFirstLinePosition( readBufferPtr, readBufferLeft, lineFeed.lineFeed, lineFeed.length );
     if ( pos == -1 ) {
       return false;
     }
@@ -369,10 +366,12 @@ public:
     return idxHeader.langTo;
   }
 
-  sptr< Dictionary::WordSearchRequest > findHeadwordsForSynonym( wstring const & ) override;
+  sptr< Dictionary::WordSearchRequest > findHeadwordsForSynonym( std::u32string const & ) override;
 
-  sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest >
-  getArticle( wstring const &, vector< wstring > const & alts, wstring const &, bool ignoreDiacritics ) override;
+  sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > getArticle( std::u32string const &,
+                                              vector< std::u32string > const & alts,
+                                              std::u32string const &,
+                                              bool ignoreDiacritics ) override;
 
   sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > getResource( string const & name ) override;
 
@@ -503,11 +502,11 @@ QString const & GlsDictionary::getDescription()
 
   try {
     GlsScanner scanner( getDictionaryFilenames()[ 0 ] );
-    string str = Utf8::encode( scanner.getDictionaryAuthor() );
+    string str = Text::toUtf8( scanner.getDictionaryAuthor() );
     if ( !str.empty() ) {
       dictionaryDescription = QObject::tr( "Author: %1%2" ).arg( QString::fromUtf8( str.c_str() ) ).arg( "\n\n" );
     }
-    str = Utf8::encode( scanner.getDictionaryDescription() );
+    str = Text::toUtf8( scanner.getDictionaryDescription() );
     if ( !str.empty() ) {
       QString desc = QString::fromUtf8( str.c_str() );
       desc.replace( "\t", "<br/>" );
@@ -592,7 +591,7 @@ void GlsDictionary::loadArticleText( uint32_t address, vector< string > & headwo
   }
   else {
     string articleData =
-      Iconv::toUtf8( Utf8::getEncodingNameFor( Encoding( idxHeader.glsEncoding ) ), articleBody, articleSize );
+      Iconv::toUtf8( Text::getEncodingNameFor( Encoding( idxHeader.glsEncoding ) ), articleBody, articleSize );
     string::size_type start_pos = 0, end_pos = 0;
 
     for ( ;; ) {
@@ -621,7 +620,7 @@ void GlsDictionary::loadArticleText( uint32_t address, vector< string > & headwo
     end_pos   = 0;
     for ( ;; ) {
       end_pos = headword.find( '|', start_pos );
-      if ( end_pos == wstring::npos ) {
+      if ( end_pos == std::u32string::npos ) {
         string hw = headword.substr( start_pos );
         if ( !hw.empty() ) {
           headwords.push_back( hw );
@@ -804,7 +803,7 @@ void GlsDictionary::getArticleText( uint32_t articleAddress, QString & headword,
 
 class GlsHeadwordsRequest: public Dictionary::WordSearchRequest
 {
-  wstring word;
+  std::u32string word;
   GlsDictionary & dict;
 
   QAtomicInt isCancelled;
@@ -812,7 +811,7 @@ class GlsHeadwordsRequest: public Dictionary::WordSearchRequest
 
 public:
 
-  GlsHeadwordsRequest( wstring const & word_, GlsDictionary & dict_ ):
+  GlsHeadwordsRequest( std::u32string const & word_, GlsDictionary & dict_ ):
     word( word_ ),
     dict( dict_ )
   {
@@ -845,7 +844,7 @@ void GlsHeadwordsRequest::run()
   try {
     vector< WordArticleLink > chain = dict.findArticles( word );
 
-    wstring caseFolded = Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( word );
+    std::u32string caseFolded = Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( word );
 
     for ( auto & x : chain ) {
       if ( Utils::AtomicInt::loadAcquire( isCancelled ) ) {
@@ -858,7 +857,7 @@ void GlsHeadwordsRequest::run()
 
       dict.loadArticleText( x.articleOffset, headwords, articleText );
 
-      wstring headwordDecoded = Utf8::decode( headwords.front() );
+      std::u32string headwordDecoded = Text::toUtf32( headwords.front() );
 
       if ( caseFolded != Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( headwordDecoded ) ) {
         // The headword seems to differ from the input word, which makes the
@@ -876,7 +875,7 @@ void GlsHeadwordsRequest::run()
   finish();
 }
 
-sptr< Dictionary::WordSearchRequest > GlsDictionary::findHeadwordsForSynonym( wstring const & word )
+sptr< Dictionary::WordSearchRequest > GlsDictionary::findHeadwordsForSynonym( std::u32string const & word )
 
 {
   return synonymSearchEnabled ? std::make_shared< GlsHeadwordsRequest >( word, *this ) :
@@ -889,8 +888,8 @@ sptr< Dictionary::WordSearchRequest > GlsDictionary::findHeadwordsForSynonym( ws
 class GlsArticleRequest: public Dictionary::DataRequest
 {
 
-  wstring word;
-  vector< wstring > alts;
+  std::u32string word;
+  vector< std::u32string > alts;
   GlsDictionary & dict;
   bool ignoreDiacritics;
 
@@ -899,8 +898,8 @@ class GlsArticleRequest: public Dictionary::DataRequest
 
 public:
 
-  GlsArticleRequest( wstring const & word_,
-                     vector< wstring > const & alts_,
+  GlsArticleRequest( std::u32string const & word_,
+                     vector< std::u32string > const & alts_,
                      GlsDictionary & dict_,
                      bool ignoreDiacritics_ ):
     word( word_ ),
@@ -944,13 +943,13 @@ void GlsArticleRequest::run()
       chain.insert( chain.end(), altChain.begin(), altChain.end() );
     }
 
-    multimap< wstring, pair< string, string > > mainArticles, alternateArticles;
+    multimap< std::u32string, pair< string, string > > mainArticles, alternateArticles;
 
     set< uint32_t > articlesIncluded; // Some synonims make it that the articles
                                       // appear several times. We combat this
                                       // by only allowing them to appear once.
 
-    wstring wordCaseFolded = Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( word );
+    std::u32string wordCaseFolded = Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( word );
     if ( ignoreDiacritics ) {
       wordCaseFolded = Folding::applyDiacriticsOnly( wordCaseFolded );
     }
@@ -976,16 +975,16 @@ void GlsArticleRequest::run()
 
       // We do the case-folded comparison here.
 
-      wstring headwordStripped = Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( Utf8::decode( headword ) );
+      std::u32string headwordStripped = Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( Text::toUtf32( headword ) );
       if ( ignoreDiacritics ) {
         headwordStripped = Folding::applyDiacriticsOnly( headwordStripped );
       }
 
-      multimap< wstring, pair< string, string > > & mapToUse =
+      multimap< std::u32string, pair< string, string > > & mapToUse =
         ( wordCaseFolded == headwordStripped ) ? mainArticles : alternateArticles;
 
       mapToUse.insert(
-        pair( Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( Utf8::decode( headword ) ), pair( headword, articleText ) ) );
+        pair( Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( Text::toUtf32( headword ) ), pair( headword, articleText ) ) );
 
       articlesIncluded.insert( x.articleOffset );
     }
@@ -998,7 +997,7 @@ void GlsArticleRequest::run()
 
     string result;
 
-    multimap< wstring, pair< string, string > >::const_iterator i;
+    multimap< std::u32string, pair< string, string > >::const_iterator i;
 
     for ( i = mainArticles.begin(); i != mainArticles.end(); ++i ) {
       result += i->second.second;
@@ -1019,9 +1018,9 @@ void GlsArticleRequest::run()
   finish();
 }
 
-sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > GlsDictionary::getArticle( wstring const & word,
-                                                           vector< wstring > const & alts,
-                                                           wstring const &,
+sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > GlsDictionary::getArticle( std::u32string const & word,
+                                                           vector< std::u32string > const & alts,
+                                                           std::u32string const &,
                                                            bool ignoreDiacritics )
 
 {
@@ -1097,7 +1096,7 @@ void GlsResourceRequest::run()
         if ( dict.resourceZip.isOpen() ) {
           QMutexLocker _( &dataMutex );
 
-          if ( !dict.resourceZip.loadFile( Utf8::decode( resourceName ), data ) ) {
+          if ( !dict.resourceZip.loadFile( Text::toUtf32( resourceName ), data ) ) {
             throw; // Make it fail since we couldn't read the archive
           }
         }
@@ -1239,7 +1238,7 @@ vector< sptr< Dictionary::Class > > makeDictionaries( vector< string > const & f
               // which the incident happened. We need alive scanner for that.
 
           // Building the index
-          initializing.indexingDictionary( Utf8::encode( scanner.getDictionaryName() ) );
+          initializing.indexingDictionary( Text::toUtf8( scanner.getDictionaryName() ) );
 
           qDebug( "Gls: Building the index for dictionary: %s",
                   QString::fromStdU32String( scanner.getDictionaryName() ).toUtf8().data() );
@@ -1255,7 +1254,7 @@ vector< sptr< Dictionary::Class > > makeDictionaries( vector< string > const & f
 
           idx.write( idxHeader );
 
-          string dictionaryName = Utf8::encode( scanner.getDictionaryName() );
+          string dictionaryName = Text::toUtf8( scanner.getDictionaryName() );
 
           idx.write( (uint32_t)dictionaryName.size() );
           idx.write( dictionaryName.data(), dictionaryName.size() );
@@ -1266,7 +1265,7 @@ vector< sptr< Dictionary::Class > > makeDictionaries( vector< string > const & f
 
           ChunkedStorage::Writer chunks( idx );
 
-          wstring curString;
+          std::u32string curString;
           size_t curOffset;
 
           uint32_t articleCount = 0, wordCount = 0;
@@ -1286,12 +1285,12 @@ vector< sptr< Dictionary::Class > > makeDictionaries( vector< string > const & f
 
             // Parse headwords
 
-            list< wstring > allEntryWords;
-            wstring::size_type start_pos = 0, end_pos = 0;
+            list< std::u32string > allEntryWords;
+            std::u32string::size_type start_pos = 0, end_pos = 0;
             for ( ;; ) {
               end_pos = curString.find( '|', start_pos );
-              if ( end_pos == wstring::npos ) {
-                wstring headword = curString.substr( start_pos );
+              if ( end_pos == std::u32string::npos ) {
+                std::u32string headword = curString.substr( start_pos );
                 if ( !headword.empty() ) {
                   allEntryWords.push_back( headword );
                 }
diff --git a/src/dict/hunspell.cc b/src/dict/hunspell.cc
index 8478eff1..dfb93dcb 100644
--- a/src/dict/hunspell.cc
+++ b/src/dict/hunspell.cc
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
  * Part of GoldenDict. Licensed under GPLv3 or later, see the LICENSE file */
 
 #include "hunspell.hh"
-#include "utf8.hh"
+#include "text.hh"
 #include "htmlescape.hh"
 #include "iconv.hh"
 #include "folding.hh"
@@ -21,7 +21,6 @@ namespace HunspellMorpho {
 
 using namespace Dictionary;
 
-using gd::wchar;
 
 namespace {
 
@@ -60,18 +59,19 @@ public:
     return 0;
   }
 
-  sptr< WordSearchRequest > prefixMatch( wstring const &, unsigned long maxResults ) override;
+  sptr< WordSearchRequest > prefixMatch( std::u32string const &, unsigned long maxResults ) override;
 
-  sptr< WordSearchRequest > findHeadwordsForSynonym( wstring const & ) override;
+  sptr< WordSearchRequest > findHeadwordsForSynonym( std::u32string const & ) override;
 
-  sptr< DataRequest > getArticle( wstring const &, vector< wstring > const & alts, wstring const &, bool ) override;
+  sptr< DataRequest >
+  getArticle( std::u32string const &, vector< std::u32string > const & alts, std::u32string const &, bool ) override;
 
   bool isLocalDictionary() override
   {
     return true;
   }
 
-  vector< wstring > getAlternateWritings( const wstring & word ) noexcept override;
+  vector< std::u32string > getAlternateWritings( const std::u32string & word ) noexcept override;
 
 protected:
 
@@ -94,25 +94,25 @@ private:
 
 /// Encodes the given string to be passed to the hunspell object. May throw
 /// Iconv::Ex
-string encodeToHunspell( Hunspell &, wstring const & );
+string encodeToHunspell( Hunspell &, std::u32string const & );
 
 /// Decodes the given string returned by the hunspell object. May throw
 /// Iconv::Ex
-wstring decodeFromHunspell( Hunspell &, char const * );
+std::u32string decodeFromHunspell( Hunspell &, char const * );
 
 /// Generates suggestions via hunspell
-QList< wstring > suggest( wstring & word, QMutex & hunspellMutex, Hunspell & hunspell );
+QList< std::u32string > suggest( std::u32string & word, QMutex & hunspellMutex, Hunspell & hunspell );
 
 /// Generates suggestions for compound expression
-void getSuggestionsForExpression( wstring const & expression,
-                                  vector< wstring > & suggestions,
+void getSuggestionsForExpression( std::u32string const & expression,
+                                  vector< std::u32string > & suggestions,
                                   QMutex & hunspellMutex,
                                   Hunspell & hunspell );
 
 /// Returns true if the string contains whitespace, false otherwise
-bool containsWhitespace( wstring const & str )
+bool containsWhitespace( std::u32string const & str )
 {
-  wchar const * next = str.c_str();
+  char32_t const * next = str.c_str();
 
   for ( ; *next; ++next ) {
     if ( Folding::isWhitespace( *next ) ) {
@@ -142,9 +142,9 @@ void HunspellDictionary::loadIcon() noexcept
   dictionaryIconLoaded = true;
 }
 
-vector< wstring > HunspellDictionary::getAlternateWritings( wstring const & word ) noexcept
+vector< std::u32string > HunspellDictionary::getAlternateWritings( std::u32string const & word ) noexcept
 {
-  vector< wstring > results;
+  vector< std::u32string > results;
 
   if ( containsWhitespace( word ) ) {
     getSuggestionsForExpression( word, results, getHunspellMutex(), hunspell );
@@ -160,14 +160,14 @@ class HunspellArticleRequest: public Dictionary::DataRequest
 
   QMutex & hunspellMutex;
   Hunspell & hunspell;
-  wstring word;
+  std::u32string word;
 
   QAtomicInt isCancelled;
   QFuture< void > f;
 
 public:
 
-  HunspellArticleRequest( wstring const & word_, QMutex & hunspellMutex_, Hunspell & hunspell_ ):
+  HunspellArticleRequest( std::u32string const & word_, QMutex & hunspellMutex_, Hunspell & hunspell_ ):
     hunspellMutex( hunspellMutex_ ),
     hunspell( hunspell_ ),
     word( word_ )
@@ -201,7 +201,7 @@ void HunspellArticleRequest::run()
   vector< string > suggestions;
 
   try {
-    wstring trimmedWord = Folding::trimWhitespaceOrPunct( word );
+    std::u32string trimmedWord = Folding::trimWhitespaceOrPunct( word );
 
     if ( containsWhitespace( trimmedWord ) ) {
       // For now we don't analyze whitespace-containing phrases
@@ -226,10 +226,10 @@ void HunspellArticleRequest::run()
       string result = "<div class=\"gdspellsuggestion\">"
         + Html::escape( QCoreApplication::translate( "Hunspell", "Spelling suggestions: " ).toUtf8().data() );
 
-      wstring lowercasedWord = Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( word );
+      std::u32string lowercasedWord = Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( word );
 
       for ( vector< string >::size_type x = 0; x < suggestions.size(); ++x ) {
-        wstring suggestion = decodeFromHunspell( hunspell, suggestions[ x ].c_str() );
+        std::u32string suggestion = decodeFromHunspell( hunspell, suggestions[ x ].c_str() );
 
         if ( Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( suggestion ) == lowercasedWord ) {
           // If among suggestions we see the same word just with the different
@@ -240,7 +240,7 @@ void HunspellArticleRequest::run()
 
           return;
         }
-        string suggestionUtf8 = Utf8::encode( suggestion );
+        string suggestionUtf8 = Text::toUtf8( suggestion );
 
         result += "<a href=\"bword:";
         result += Html::escape( suggestionUtf8 ) + "\">";
@@ -268,8 +268,10 @@ void HunspellArticleRequest::run()
   finish();
 }
 
-sptr< DataRequest >
-HunspellDictionary::getArticle( wstring const & word, vector< wstring > const &, wstring const &, bool )
+sptr< DataRequest > HunspellDictionary::getArticle( std::u32string const & word,
+                                                    vector< std::u32string > const &,
+                                                    std::u32string const &,
+                                                    bool )
 
 {
   return std::make_shared< HunspellArticleRequest >( word, getHunspellMutex(), hunspell );
@@ -282,7 +284,7 @@ class HunspellHeadwordsRequest: public Dictionary::WordSearchRequest
 
   QMutex & hunspellMutex;
   Hunspell & hunspell;
-  wstring word;
+  std::u32string word;
 
   QAtomicInt isCancelled;
   QFuture< void > f;
@@ -290,7 +292,7 @@ class HunspellHeadwordsRequest: public Dictionary::WordSearchRequest
 
 public:
 
-  HunspellHeadwordsRequest( wstring const & word_, QMutex & hunspellMutex_, Hunspell & hunspell_ ):
+  HunspellHeadwordsRequest( std::u32string const & word_, QMutex & hunspellMutex_, Hunspell & hunspell_ ):
     hunspellMutex( hunspellMutex_ ),
     hunspell( hunspell_ ),
     word( word_ )
@@ -322,7 +324,7 @@ void HunspellHeadwordsRequest::run()
     return;
   }
 
-  wstring trimmedWord = Folding::trimWhitespaceOrPunct( word );
+  std::u32string trimmedWord = Folding::trimWhitespaceOrPunct( word );
 
   if ( trimmedWord.size() > 80 ) {
     // We won't do anything for overly long sentences since that would probably
@@ -332,7 +334,7 @@ void HunspellHeadwordsRequest::run()
   }
 
   if ( containsWhitespace( trimmedWord ) ) {
-    vector< wstring > results;
+    vector< std::u32string > results;
 
     getSuggestionsForExpression( trimmedWord, results, hunspellMutex, hunspell );
 
@@ -342,7 +344,7 @@ void HunspellHeadwordsRequest::run()
     }
   }
   else {
-    QList< wstring > suggestions = suggest( trimmedWord, hunspellMutex, hunspell );
+    QList< std::u32string > suggestions = suggest( trimmedWord, hunspellMutex, hunspell );
 
     if ( !suggestions.empty() ) {
       QMutexLocker _( &dataMutex );
@@ -356,9 +358,9 @@ void HunspellHeadwordsRequest::run()
   finish();
 }
 
-QList< wstring > suggest( wstring & word, QMutex & hunspellMutex, Hunspell & hunspell )
+QList< std::u32string > suggest( std::u32string & word, QMutex & hunspellMutex, Hunspell & hunspell )
 {
-  QList< wstring > result;
+  QList< std::u32string > result;
 
   vector< string > suggestions;
 
@@ -371,7 +373,7 @@ QList< wstring > suggest( wstring & word, QMutex & hunspellMutex, Hunspell & hun
     if ( !suggestions.empty() ) {
       // There were some suggestions made for us. Make an appropriate output.
 
-      wstring lowercasedWord = Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( word );
+      std::u32string lowercasedWord = Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( word );
 
       static QRegularExpression cutStem( R"(^\s*st:(((\s+(?!\w{2}:)(?!-)(?!\+))|\S+)+))" );
 
@@ -388,7 +390,7 @@ QList< wstring > suggest( wstring & word, QMutex & hunspellMutex, Hunspell & hun
 
         auto match = cutStem.match( suggestion.trimmed() );
         if ( match.hasMatch() ) {
-          wstring alt = match.captured( 1 ).toStdU32String();
+          std::u32string alt = match.captured( 1 ).toStdU32String();
 
           if ( Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( alt ) != lowercasedWord ) // No point in providing same word
           {
@@ -406,7 +408,7 @@ QList< wstring > suggest( wstring & word, QMutex & hunspellMutex, Hunspell & hun
 }
 
 
-sptr< WordSearchRequest > HunspellDictionary::findHeadwordsForSynonym( wstring const & word )
+sptr< WordSearchRequest > HunspellDictionary::findHeadwordsForSynonym( std::u32string const & word )
 
 {
   return std::make_shared< HunspellHeadwordsRequest >( word, getHunspellMutex(), hunspell );
@@ -420,14 +422,14 @@ class HunspellPrefixMatchRequest: public Dictionary::WordSearchRequest
 
   QMutex & hunspellMutex;
   Hunspell & hunspell;
-  wstring word;
+  std::u32string word;
 
   QAtomicInt isCancelled;
   QFuture< void > f;
 
 public:
 
-  HunspellPrefixMatchRequest( wstring const & word_, QMutex & hunspellMutex_, Hunspell & hunspell_ ):
+  HunspellPrefixMatchRequest( std::u32string const & word_, QMutex & hunspellMutex_, Hunspell & hunspell_ ):
     hunspellMutex( hunspellMutex_ ),
     hunspell( hunspell_ ),
     word( word_ )
@@ -460,7 +462,7 @@ void HunspellPrefixMatchRequest::run()
   }
 
   try {
-    wstring trimmedWord = Folding::trimWhitespaceOrPunct( word );
+    std::u32string trimmedWord = Folding::trimWhitespaceOrPunct( word );
 
     if ( trimmedWord.empty() || containsWhitespace( trimmedWord ) ) {
       // For now we don't analyze whitespace-containing phrases
@@ -487,14 +489,14 @@ void HunspellPrefixMatchRequest::run()
   finish();
 }
 
-sptr< WordSearchRequest > HunspellDictionary::prefixMatch( wstring const & word, unsigned long /*maxResults*/ )
+sptr< WordSearchRequest > HunspellDictionary::prefixMatch( std::u32string const & word, unsigned long /*maxResults*/ )
 
 {
   return std::make_shared< HunspellPrefixMatchRequest >( word, getHunspellMutex(), hunspell );
 }
 
-void getSuggestionsForExpression( wstring const & expression,
-                                  vector< wstring > & suggestions,
+void getSuggestionsForExpression( std::u32string const & expression,
+                                  vector< std::u32string > & suggestions,
                                   QMutex & hunspellMutex,
                                   Hunspell & hunspell )
 {
@@ -502,15 +504,15 @@ void getSuggestionsForExpression( wstring const & expression,
   // This is useful for compound expressions where some words is
   // in different form, e.g. "dozing off" -> "doze off".
 
-  wstring trimmedWord = Folding::trimWhitespaceOrPunct( expression );
-  wstring word, punct;
-  QList< wstring > words;
+  std::u32string trimmedWord = Folding::trimWhitespaceOrPunct( expression );
+  std::u32string word, punct;
+  QList< std::u32string > words;
 
   suggestions.clear();
 
   // Parse string to separate words
 
-  for ( wchar const * c = trimmedWord.c_str();; ++c ) {
+  for ( char32_t const * c = trimmedWord.c_str();; ++c ) {
     if ( !*c || Folding::isPunct( *c ) || Folding::isWhitespace( *c ) ) {
       if ( word.size() ) {
         words.push_back( word );
@@ -541,7 +543,7 @@ void getSuggestionsForExpression( wstring const & expression,
 
   // Combine result strings from suggestions
 
-  QList< wstring > results;
+  QList< std::u32string > results;
 
   for ( const auto & i : words ) {
     word = i;
@@ -551,13 +553,13 @@ void getSuggestionsForExpression( wstring const & expression,
       }
     }
     else {
-      QList< wstring > sugg = suggest( word, hunspellMutex, hunspell );
+      QList< std::u32string > sugg = suggest( word, hunspellMutex, hunspell );
       int suggNum           = sugg.size() + 1;
       if ( suggNum > 3 ) {
         suggNum = 3;
       }
       int resNum = results.size();
-      wstring resultStr;
+      std::u32string resultStr;
 
       if ( resNum == 0 ) {
         for ( int k = 0; k < suggNum; k++ ) {
@@ -587,12 +589,12 @@ void getSuggestionsForExpression( wstring const & expression,
   }
 }
 
-string encodeToHunspell( Hunspell & hunspell, wstring const & str )
+string encodeToHunspell( Hunspell & hunspell, std::u32string const & str )
 {
   Iconv conv( Iconv::GdWchar );
 
   void const * in = str.data();
-  size_t inLeft   = str.size() * sizeof( wchar );
+  size_t inLeft   = str.size() * sizeof( char32_t );
 
   vector< char > result( str.size() * 4 + 1 ); // +1 isn't actually needed,
                                                // but then iconv complains on empty
@@ -605,17 +607,17 @@ string encodeToHunspell( Hunspell & hunspell, wstring const & str )
   return convStr.toStdString();
 }
 
-wstring decodeFromHunspell( Hunspell & hunspell, char const * str )
+std::u32string decodeFromHunspell( Hunspell & hunspell, char const * str )
 {
   Iconv conv( hunspell.get_dic_encoding() );
 
   void const * in = str;
   size_t inLeft   = strlen( str );
 
-  vector< wchar > result( inLeft + 1 ); // +1 isn't needed, but see above
+  vector< char32_t > result( inLeft + 1 ); // +1 isn't needed, but see above
 
   void * out     = &result.front();
-  size_t outLeft = result.size() * sizeof( wchar );
+  size_t outLeft = result.size() * sizeof( char32_t );
 
   QString convStr = conv.convert( in, inLeft );
   return convStr.toStdU32String();
diff --git a/src/dict/lingualibre.cc b/src/dict/lingualibre.cc
index e63d27af..e77b7fd1 100644
--- a/src/dict/lingualibre.cc
+++ b/src/dict/lingualibre.cc
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 #include "lingualibre.hh"
-#include "utf8.hh"
+#include "text.hh"
 #include "audiolink.hh"
 
 #include <QJsonArray>
@@ -40,8 +40,8 @@ class LinguaArticleRequest: public Dictionary::DataRequest
 
 public:
 
-  LinguaArticleRequest( wstring const & word,
-                        vector< wstring > const & alts,
+  LinguaArticleRequest( std::u32string const & word,
+                        vector< std::u32string > const & alts,
                         QString const & languageCode_,
                         QString const & langWikipediaID_,
                         string const & dictionaryId_,
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ public:
 
 private:
 
-  void addQuery( QNetworkAccessManager & mgr, wstring const & word );
+  void addQuery( QNetworkAccessManager & mgr, std::u32string const & word );
 
 private slots:
   virtual void requestFinished( QNetworkReply * );
@@ -175,7 +175,7 @@ WHERE {
     return 0;
   }
 
-  sptr< WordSearchRequest > prefixMatch( wstring const & /*word*/, unsigned long /*maxResults*/ ) override
+  sptr< WordSearchRequest > prefixMatch( std::u32string const & /*word*/, unsigned long /*maxResults*/ ) override
   {
     sptr< WordSearchRequestInstant > sr = std::make_shared< WordSearchRequestInstant >();
 
@@ -184,7 +184,10 @@ WHERE {
     return sr;
   }
 
-  sptr< DataRequest > getArticle( wstring const & word, vector< wstring > const & alts, wstring const &, bool ) override
+  sptr< DataRequest > getArticle( std::u32string const & word,
+                                  vector< std::u32string > const & alts,
+                                  std::u32string const &,
+                                  bool ) override
   {
     if ( word.size() < 50 ) {
       return std::make_shared< LinguaArticleRequest >( word, alts, languageCode, langWikipediaID, getId(), netMgr );
@@ -231,8 +234,8 @@ void LinguaArticleRequest::cancel()
   finish();
 }
 
-LinguaArticleRequest::LinguaArticleRequest( const wstring & str,
-                                            const vector< wstring > & alts,
+LinguaArticleRequest::LinguaArticleRequest( const std::u32string & str,
+                                            const vector< std::u32string > & alts,
                                             const QString & languageCode_,
                                             const QString & langWikipediaID,
                                             const string & dictionaryId_,
@@ -245,7 +248,7 @@ LinguaArticleRequest::LinguaArticleRequest( const wstring & str,
   addQuery( mgr, str );
 }
 
-void LinguaArticleRequest::addQuery( QNetworkAccessManager & mgr, const wstring & word )
+void LinguaArticleRequest::addQuery( QNetworkAccessManager & mgr, const std::u32string & word )
 {
 
   // Doc of the <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/API:Query>
@@ -273,7 +276,7 @@ void LinguaArticleRequest::addQuery( QNetworkAccessManager & mgr, const wstring
   auto netReply = std::shared_ptr< QNetworkReply >( mgr.get( netRequest ) );
 
 
-  netReplies.emplace_back( netReply, Utf8::encode( word ) );
+  netReplies.emplace_back( netReply, Text::toUtf8( word ) );
 }
 
 
diff --git a/src/dict/lsa.cc b/src/dict/lsa.cc
index d6614e33..1af16bdf 100644
--- a/src/dict/lsa.cc
+++ b/src/dict/lsa.cc
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
 #include "dictfile.hh"
 #include "iconv.hh"
 #include "folding.hh"
-#include "utf8.hh"
+#include "text.hh"
 #include "btreeidx.hh"
 
 #include "audiolink.hh"
@@ -24,7 +24,6 @@
 namespace Lsa {
 
 using std::string;
-using gd::wstring;
 using std::map;
 using std::multimap;
 using std::set;
@@ -169,8 +168,10 @@ public:
     return getArticleCount();
   }
 
-  sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest >
-  getArticle( wstring const &, vector< wstring > const & alts, wstring const &, bool ignoreDiacritics ) override;
+  sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > getArticle( std::u32string const &,
+                                              vector< std::u32string > const & alts,
+                                              std::u32string const &,
+                                              bool ignoreDiacritics ) override;
 
   sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > getResource( string const & name ) override;
 
@@ -199,9 +200,9 @@ LsaDictionary::LsaDictionary( string const & id, string const & indexFile, vecto
   openIndex( IndexInfo( idxHeader.indexBtreeMaxElements, idxHeader.indexRootOffset ), idx, idxMutex );
 }
 
-sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > LsaDictionary::getArticle( wstring const & word,
-                                                           vector< wstring > const & alts,
-                                                           wstring const &,
+sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > LsaDictionary::getArticle( std::u32string const & word,
+                                                           vector< std::u32string > const & alts,
+                                                           std::u32string const &,
                                                            bool ignoreDiacritics )
 
 {
@@ -215,13 +216,13 @@ sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > LsaDictionary::getArticle( wstring const & word,
     chain.insert( chain.end(), altChain.begin(), altChain.end() );
   }
 
-  multimap< wstring, string > mainArticles, alternateArticles;
+  multimap< std::u32string, string > mainArticles, alternateArticles;
 
   set< uint32_t > articlesIncluded; // Some synonims make it that the articles
                                     // appear several times. We combat this
                                     // by only allowing them to appear once.
 
-  wstring wordCaseFolded = Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( word );
+  std::u32string wordCaseFolded = Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( word );
   if ( ignoreDiacritics ) {
     wordCaseFolded = Folding::applyDiacriticsOnly( wordCaseFolded );
   }
@@ -236,12 +237,13 @@ sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > LsaDictionary::getArticle( wstring const & word,
 
     // We do the case-folded comparison here.
 
-    wstring headwordStripped = Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( x.word );
+    std::u32string headwordStripped = Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( x.word );
     if ( ignoreDiacritics ) {
       headwordStripped = Folding::applyDiacriticsOnly( headwordStripped );
     }
 
-    multimap< wstring, string > & mapToUse = ( wordCaseFolded == headwordStripped ) ? mainArticles : alternateArticles;
+    multimap< std::u32string, string > & mapToUse =
+      ( wordCaseFolded == headwordStripped ) ? mainArticles : alternateArticles;
 
     mapToUse.insert( std::pair( Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( x.word ), x.word ) );
 
@@ -254,7 +256,7 @@ sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > LsaDictionary::getArticle( wstring const & word,
 
   string result;
 
-  multimap< wstring, string >::const_iterator i;
+  multimap< std::u32string, string >::const_iterator i;
 
   result += "<table class=\"lsa_play\">";
   for ( i = mainArticles.begin(); i != mainArticles.end(); ++i ) {
@@ -389,7 +391,7 @@ sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > LsaDictionary::getResource( string const & name
 
   string strippedName = Utils::endsWithIgnoreCase( name, ".wav" ) ? string( name, 0, name.size() - 4 ) : name;
 
-  vector< WordArticleLink > chain = findArticles( Utf8::decode( strippedName ) );
+  vector< WordArticleLink > chain = findArticles( Text::toUtf32( strippedName ) );
 
   if ( chain.empty() ) {
     return std::make_shared< Dictionary::DataRequestInstant >( false ); // No such resource
@@ -572,7 +574,7 @@ vector< sptr< Dictionary::Class > > makeDictionaries( vector< string > const & f
 
           // Insert new entry into an index
 
-          indexedWords.addWord( Utf8::decode( e.name ), offset );
+          indexedWords.addWord( Text::toUtf32( e.name ), offset );
         }
 
         idxHeader.vorbisOffset = f.tell();
diff --git a/src/dict/mdx.cc b/src/dict/mdx.cc
index 99aba846..49a15bb1 100644
--- a/src/dict/mdx.cc
+++ b/src/dict/mdx.cc
@@ -4,10 +4,9 @@
 #include "mdx.hh"
 #include "btreeidx.hh"
 #include "folding.hh"
-#include "utf8.hh"
+#include "text.hh"
 #include "dictfile.hh"
-#include "wstring.hh"
-#include "wstring_qt.hh"
+#include "text.hh"
 #include "chunkedstorage.hh"
 #include "langcoder.hh"
 #include "audiolink.hh"
@@ -37,8 +36,6 @@ namespace Mdx {
 using std::map;
 using std::multimap;
 using std::set;
-using gd::wstring;
-using gd::wchar;
 using std::list;
 using std::pair;
 using std::string;
@@ -129,7 +126,7 @@ public:
 
   /// Checks whether the given file exists in the mdd file or not.
   /// Note that this function is thread-safe, since it does not access mdd file.
-  bool hasFile( gd::wstring const & name )
+  bool hasFile( std::u32string const & name )
   {
     if ( !isFileOpen ) {
       return false;
@@ -140,7 +137,7 @@ public:
 
   /// Attempts loading the given file into the given vector. Returns true on
   /// success, false otherwise.
-  bool loadFile( gd::wstring const & name, std::vector< char > & result )
+  bool loadFile( std::u32string const & name, std::vector< char > & result )
   {
     if ( !isFileOpen ) {
       return false;
@@ -232,8 +229,10 @@ public:
     return idxHeader.langTo;
   }
 
-  sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest >
-  getArticle( wstring const & word, vector< wstring > const & alts, wstring const &, bool ignoreDiacritics ) override;
+  sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > getArticle( std::u32string const & word,
+                                              vector< std::u32string > const & alts,
+                                              std::u32string const &,
+                                              bool ignoreDiacritics ) override;
   sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > getResource( string const & name ) override;
   QString const & getDescription() override;
 
@@ -281,7 +280,7 @@ private:
 
   friend class MdxArticleRequest;
   friend class MddResourceRequest;
-  void loadResourceFile( const wstring & resourceName, vector< char > & data );
+  void loadResourceFile( const std::u32string & resourceName, vector< char > & data );
 };
 
 MdxDictionary::MdxDictionary( string const & id, string const & indexFile, vector< string > const & dictionaryFiles ):
@@ -488,8 +487,8 @@ sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > MdxDictionary::getSearchResults( QString const &
 
 class MdxArticleRequest: public Dictionary::DataRequest
 {
-  wstring word;
-  vector< wstring > alts;
+  std::u32string word;
+  vector< std::u32string > alts;
   MdxDictionary & dict;
   bool ignoreDiacritics;
 
@@ -498,8 +497,8 @@ class MdxArticleRequest: public Dictionary::DataRequest
 
 public:
 
-  MdxArticleRequest( wstring const & word_,
-                     vector< wstring > const & alts_,
+  MdxArticleRequest( std::u32string const & word_,
+                     vector< std::u32string > const & alts_,
                      MdxDictionary & dict_,
                      bool ignoreDiacritics_ ):
     word( word_ ),
@@ -602,8 +601,8 @@ void MdxArticleRequest::run()
 
     // Handle internal redirects
     if ( strncmp( articleBody.c_str(), "@@@LINK=", 8 ) == 0 ) {
-      wstring target = Utf8::decode( articleBody.c_str() + 8 );
-      target         = Folding::trimWhitespace( target );
+      std::u32string target = Text::toUtf32( articleBody.c_str() + 8 );
+      target                = Folding::trimWhitespace( target );
       // Make an additional query for this redirection
       vector< WordArticleLink > altChain = dict.findArticles( target );
       chain.insert( chain.end(), altChain.begin(), altChain.end() );
@@ -626,9 +625,9 @@ void MdxArticleRequest::run()
   finish();
 }
 
-sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > MdxDictionary::getArticle( const wstring & word,
-                                                           const vector< wstring > & alts,
-                                                           const wstring &,
+sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > MdxDictionary::getArticle( const std::u32string & word,
+                                                           const vector< std::u32string > & alts,
+                                                           const std::u32string &,
                                                            bool ignoreDiacritics )
 {
   return std::make_shared< MdxArticleRequest >( word, alts, *this, ignoreDiacritics );
@@ -638,7 +637,7 @@ sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > MdxDictionary::getArticle( const wstring & word,
 class MddResourceRequest: public Dictionary::DataRequest
 {
   MdxDictionary & dict;
-  wstring resourceName;
+  std::u32string resourceName;
   QAtomicInt isCancelled;
   QFuture< void > f;
 
@@ -647,7 +646,7 @@ public:
   MddResourceRequest( MdxDictionary & dict_, string const & resourceName_ ):
     Dictionary::DataRequest( &dict_ ),
     dict( dict_ ),
-    resourceName( Utf8::decode( resourceName_ ) )
+    resourceName( Text::toUtf32( resourceName_ ) )
   {
     f = QtConcurrent::run( [ this ]() {
       this->run();
@@ -722,7 +721,7 @@ void MddResourceRequest::run()
   }
 
   // In order to prevent recursive internal redirection...
-  set< wstring, std::less<> > resourceIncluded;
+  set< std::u32string, std::less<> > resourceIncluded;
 
   for ( ;; ) {
     // Some runnables linger enough that they are cancelled before they start
@@ -730,7 +729,7 @@ void MddResourceRequest::run()
       finish();
       return;
     }
-    string u8ResourceName = Utf8::encode( resourceName );
+    string u8ResourceName = Text::toUtf8( resourceName );
     if ( !resourceIncluded.insert( resourceName ).second ) {
       finish();
       return;
@@ -1151,11 +1150,11 @@ QString MdxDictionary::getCachedFileName( QString filename )
     qWarning( R"(Mdx: file "%s" creating error: "%s")", fullName.toUtf8().data(), f.errorString().toUtf8().data() );
     return QString();
   }
-  gd::wstring resourceName = filename.toStdU32String();
+  std::u32string resourceName = filename.toStdU32String();
   vector< char > data;
 
   // In order to prevent recursive internal redirection...
-  set< wstring, std::less<> > resourceIncluded;
+  set< std::u32string, std::less<> > resourceIncluded;
 
   for ( ;; ) {
     if ( !resourceIncluded.insert( resourceName ).second ) {
@@ -1194,10 +1193,10 @@ QString MdxDictionary::getCachedFileName( QString filename )
   return fullName;
 }
 
-void MdxDictionary::loadResourceFile( const wstring & resourceName, vector< char > & data )
+void MdxDictionary::loadResourceFile( const std::u32string & resourceName, vector< char > & data )
 {
-  wstring newResourceName = resourceName;
-  string u8ResourceName   = Utf8::encode( resourceName );
+  std::u32string newResourceName = resourceName;
+  string u8ResourceName          = Text::toUtf8( resourceName );
 
   // Convert to the Windows separator
   std::replace( newResourceName.begin(), newResourceName.end(), '/', '\\' );
diff --git a/src/dict/mediawiki.cc b/src/dict/mediawiki.cc
index b7a4a65e..c0865d94 100644
--- a/src/dict/mediawiki.cc
+++ b/src/dict/mediawiki.cc
@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@
  * Part of GoldenDict. Licensed under GPLv3 or later, see the LICENSE file */
 
 #include "mediawiki.hh"
-#include "wstring_qt.hh"
 #include <QNetworkAccessManager>
 #include <QNetworkReply>
 #include <QUrl>
@@ -66,9 +65,10 @@ public:
     return 0;
   }
 
-  sptr< WordSearchRequest > prefixMatch( wstring const &, unsigned long maxResults ) override;
+  sptr< WordSearchRequest > prefixMatch( std::u32string const &, unsigned long maxResults ) override;
 
-  sptr< DataRequest > getArticle( wstring const &, vector< wstring > const & alts, wstring const &, bool ) override;
+  sptr< DataRequest >
+  getArticle( std::u32string const &, vector< std::u32string > const & alts, std::u32string const &, bool ) override;
 
   quint32 getLangFrom() const override
   {
@@ -133,7 +133,10 @@ class MediaWikiWordSearchRequest: public MediaWikiWordSearchRequestSlots
 
 public:
 
-  MediaWikiWordSearchRequest( wstring const &, QString const & url, QString const & lang, QNetworkAccessManager & mgr );
+  MediaWikiWordSearchRequest( std::u32string const &,
+                              QString const & url,
+                              QString const & lang,
+                              QNetworkAccessManager & mgr );
 
   ~MediaWikiWordSearchRequest();
 
@@ -144,7 +147,7 @@ private:
   void downloadFinished() override;
 };
 
-MediaWikiWordSearchRequest::MediaWikiWordSearchRequest( wstring const & str,
+MediaWikiWordSearchRequest::MediaWikiWordSearchRequest( std::u32string const & str,
                                                         QString const & url,
                                                         QString const & lang,
                                                         QNetworkAccessManager & mgr ):
@@ -390,8 +393,8 @@ class MediaWikiArticleRequest: public MediaWikiDataRequestSlots
 
 public:
 
-  MediaWikiArticleRequest( wstring const & word,
-                           vector< wstring > const & alts,
+  MediaWikiArticleRequest( std::u32string const & word,
+                           vector< std::u32string > const & alts,
                            QString const & url,
                            QString const & lang,
                            QNetworkAccessManager & mgr,
@@ -401,7 +404,7 @@ public:
 
 private:
 
-  void addQuery( QNetworkAccessManager & mgr, wstring const & word );
+  void addQuery( QNetworkAccessManager & mgr, std::u32string const & word );
 
   void requestFinished( QNetworkReply * ) override;
 
@@ -435,8 +438,8 @@ void MediaWikiArticleRequest::cancel()
   finish();
 }
 
-MediaWikiArticleRequest::MediaWikiArticleRequest( wstring const & str,
-                                                  vector< wstring > const & alts,
+MediaWikiArticleRequest::MediaWikiArticleRequest( std::u32string const & str,
+                                                  vector< std::u32string > const & alts,
                                                   QString const & url_,
                                                   QString const & lang_,
                                                   QNetworkAccessManager & mgr,
@@ -458,7 +461,7 @@ MediaWikiArticleRequest::MediaWikiArticleRequest( wstring const & str,
   }
 }
 
-void MediaWikiArticleRequest::addQuery( QNetworkAccessManager & mgr, wstring const & str )
+void MediaWikiArticleRequest::addQuery( QNetworkAccessManager & mgr, std::u32string const & str )
 {
   qDebug( "MediaWiki: requesting article %s", QString::fromStdU32String( str ).toUtf8().data() );
 
@@ -705,7 +708,7 @@ void MediaWikiArticleRequest::requestFinished( QNetworkReply * r )
   }
 }
 
-sptr< WordSearchRequest > MediaWikiDictionary::prefixMatch( wstring const & word, unsigned long maxResults )
+sptr< WordSearchRequest > MediaWikiDictionary::prefixMatch( std::u32string const & word, unsigned long maxResults )
 
 {
   (void)maxResults;
@@ -719,8 +722,10 @@ sptr< WordSearchRequest > MediaWikiDictionary::prefixMatch( wstring const & word
   }
 }
 
-sptr< DataRequest >
-MediaWikiDictionary::getArticle( wstring const & word, vector< wstring > const & alts, wstring const &, bool )
+sptr< DataRequest > MediaWikiDictionary::getArticle( std::u32string const & word,
+                                                     vector< std::u32string > const & alts,
+                                                     std::u32string const &,
+                                                     bool )
 
 {
   if ( word.size() > 80 ) {
diff --git a/src/dict/programs.cc b/src/dict/programs.cc
index 13cd69cf..9052d492 100644
--- a/src/dict/programs.cc
+++ b/src/dict/programs.cc
@@ -4,8 +4,7 @@
 #include "programs.hh"
 #include "audiolink.hh"
 #include "htmlescape.hh"
-#include "utf8.hh"
-#include "wstring_qt.hh"
+#include "text.hh"
 #include "iconv.hh"
 #include "utils.hh"
 #include "globalbroadcaster.hh"
@@ -46,16 +45,17 @@ public:
     return 0;
   }
 
-  sptr< WordSearchRequest > prefixMatch( wstring const & word, unsigned long maxResults ) override;
+  sptr< WordSearchRequest > prefixMatch( std::u32string const & word, unsigned long maxResults ) override;
 
-  sptr< DataRequest > getArticle( wstring const &, vector< wstring > const & alts, wstring const &, bool ) override;
+  sptr< DataRequest >
+  getArticle( std::u32string const &, vector< std::u32string > const & alts, std::u32string const &, bool ) override;
 
 protected:
 
   void loadIcon() noexcept override;
 };
 
-sptr< WordSearchRequest > ProgramsDictionary::prefixMatch( wstring const & word, unsigned long /*maxResults*/ )
+sptr< WordSearchRequest > ProgramsDictionary::prefixMatch( std::u32string const & word, unsigned long /*maxResults*/ )
 
 {
   if ( prg.type == Config::Program::PrefixMatch ) {
@@ -70,8 +70,10 @@ sptr< WordSearchRequest > ProgramsDictionary::prefixMatch( wstring const & word,
   }
 }
 
-sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest >
-ProgramsDictionary::getArticle( wstring const & word, vector< wstring > const &, wstring const &, bool )
+sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > ProgramsDictionary::getArticle( std::u32string const & word,
+                                                                vector< std::u32string > const &,
+                                                                std::u32string const &,
+                                                                bool )
 
 {
   switch ( prg.type ) {
@@ -79,7 +81,7 @@ ProgramsDictionary::getArticle( wstring const & word, vector< wstring > const &,
       // Audio results are instantaneous
       string result;
 
-      string wordUtf8( Utf8::encode( word ) );
+      string wordUtf8( Text::toUtf8( word ) );
 
       result += "<table class=\"programs_play\"><tr>";
 
diff --git a/src/dict/programs.hh b/src/dict/programs.hh
index 772cecf9..7814f5a4 100644
--- a/src/dict/programs.hh
+++ b/src/dict/programs.hh
@@ -6,14 +6,13 @@
 #include <QProcess>
 #include "dictionary.hh"
 #include "config.hh"
-#include "wstring.hh"
+#include "text.hh"
 
 /// Support for arbitrary programs.
 namespace Programs {
 
 using std::vector;
 using std::string;
-using gd::wstring;
 
 vector< sptr< Dictionary::Class > > makeDictionaries( Config::Programs const & );
 
diff --git a/src/dict/sdict.cc b/src/dict/sdict.cc
index fd4877a0..65c7f715 100644
--- a/src/dict/sdict.cc
+++ b/src/dict/sdict.cc
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@
 #include "htmlescape.hh"
 #include "langcoder.hh"
 #include "sdict.hh"
-#include "utf8.hh"
+#include "text.hh"
 #include <map>
 #include <QAtomicInt>
 #include <QDir>
@@ -26,7 +26,6 @@ using std::multimap;
 using std::pair;
 using std::set;
 using std::string;
-using gd::wstring;
 
 using BtreeIndexing::WordArticleLink;
 using BtreeIndexing::IndexedWords;
@@ -133,8 +132,10 @@ public:
     return idxHeader.langTo;
   }
 
-  sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest >
-  getArticle( wstring const &, vector< wstring > const & alts, wstring const &, bool ignoreDiacritics ) override;
+  sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > getArticle( std::u32string const &,
+                                              vector< std::u32string > const & alts,
+                                              std::u32string const &,
+                                              bool ignoreDiacritics ) override;
 
   QString const & getDescription() override;
 
@@ -416,8 +417,8 @@ SdictDictionary::getSearchResults( QString const & searchString, int searchMode,
 class SdictArticleRequest: public Dictionary::DataRequest
 {
 
-  wstring word;
-  vector< wstring > alts;
+  std::u32string word;
+  vector< std::u32string > alts;
   SdictDictionary & dict;
   bool ignoreDiacritics;
 
@@ -427,8 +428,8 @@ class SdictArticleRequest: public Dictionary::DataRequest
 
 public:
 
-  SdictArticleRequest( wstring const & word_,
-                       vector< wstring > const & alts_,
+  SdictArticleRequest( std::u32string const & word_,
+                       vector< std::u32string > const & alts_,
                        SdictDictionary & dict_,
                        bool ignoreDiacritics_ ):
     word( word_ ),
@@ -472,13 +473,13 @@ void SdictArticleRequest::run()
     chain.insert( chain.end(), altChain.begin(), altChain.end() );
   }
 
-  multimap< wstring, pair< string, string > > mainArticles, alternateArticles;
+  multimap< std::u32string, pair< string, string > > mainArticles, alternateArticles;
 
   set< uint32_t > articlesIncluded; // Some synonims make it that the articles
                                     // appear several times. We combat this
                                     // by only allowing them to appear once.
 
-  wstring wordCaseFolded = Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( word );
+  std::u32string wordCaseFolded = Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( word );
   if ( ignoreDiacritics ) {
     wordCaseFolded = Folding::applyDiacriticsOnly( wordCaseFolded );
   }
@@ -507,12 +508,12 @@ void SdictArticleRequest::run()
 
       // We do the case-folded comparison here.
 
-      wstring headwordStripped = Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( headword );
+      std::u32string headwordStripped = Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( headword );
       if ( ignoreDiacritics ) {
         headwordStripped = Folding::applyDiacriticsOnly( headwordStripped );
       }
 
-      multimap< wstring, pair< string, string > > & mapToUse =
+      multimap< std::u32string, pair< string, string > > & mapToUse =
         ( wordCaseFolded == headwordStripped ) ? mainArticles : alternateArticles;
 
       mapToUse.insert( pair( Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( headword ), pair( headword, articleText ) ) );
@@ -532,7 +533,7 @@ void SdictArticleRequest::run()
 
   string result;
 
-  multimap< wstring, pair< string, string > >::const_iterator i;
+  multimap< std::u32string, pair< string, string > >::const_iterator i;
 
   for ( i = mainArticles.begin(); i != mainArticles.end(); ++i ) {
     result += dict.isFromLanguageRTL() ? "<h3 dir=\"rtl\">" : "<h3>";
@@ -561,9 +562,9 @@ void SdictArticleRequest::run()
   finish();
 }
 
-sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > SdictDictionary::getArticle( wstring const & word,
-                                                             vector< wstring > const & alts,
-                                                             wstring const &,
+sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > SdictDictionary::getArticle( std::u32string const & word,
+                                                             vector< std::u32string > const & alts,
+                                                             std::u32string const &,
                                                              bool ignoreDiacritics )
 
 {
@@ -741,7 +742,7 @@ vector< sptr< Dictionary::Class > > makeDictionaries( vector< string > const & f
 
           // Insert new entry
 
-          indexedWords.addWord( Utf8::decode( string( data.data(), size ) ), articleOffset );
+          indexedWords.addWord( Text::toUtf32( string( data.data(), size ) ), articleOffset );
 
           pos += el.nextWord;
         }
diff --git a/src/dict/slob.cc b/src/dict/slob.cc
index e6b82ade..2a2fc588 100644
--- a/src/dict/slob.cc
+++ b/src/dict/slob.cc
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
 #include "btreeidx.hh"
 
 #include "folding.hh"
-#include "utf8.hh"
+#include "text.hh"
 #include "decompress.hh"
 #include "langcoder.hh"
 #include "ftshelpers.hh"
@@ -40,7 +40,6 @@ using std::vector;
 using std::multimap;
 using std::pair;
 using std::set;
-using gd::wstring;
 
 using BtreeIndexing::WordArticleLink;
 using BtreeIndexing::IndexedWords;
@@ -630,8 +629,10 @@ public:
     return idxHeader.langTo;
   }
 
-  sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest >
-  getArticle( wstring const &, vector< wstring > const & alts, wstring const &, bool ignoreDiacritics ) override;
+  sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > getArticle( std::u32string const &,
+                                              vector< std::u32string > const & alts,
+                                              std::u32string const &,
+                                              bool ignoreDiacritics ) override;
 
   sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > getResource( string const & name ) override;
 
@@ -853,7 +854,7 @@ void SlobDictionary::loadResource( std::string & resourceName, string & data )
   vector< WordArticleLink > link;
   RefEntry entry;
 
-  link = resourceIndex.findArticles( Utf8::decode( resourceName ) );
+  link = resourceIndex.findArticles( Text::toUtf32( resourceName ) );
 
   if ( link.empty() ) {
     return;
@@ -989,8 +990,8 @@ SlobDictionary::getSearchResults( QString const & searchString, int searchMode,
 class SlobArticleRequest: public Dictionary::DataRequest
 {
 
-  wstring word;
-  vector< wstring > alts;
+  std::u32string word;
+  vector< std::u32string > alts;
   SlobDictionary & dict;
   bool ignoreDiacritics;
 
@@ -999,8 +1000,8 @@ class SlobArticleRequest: public Dictionary::DataRequest
 
 public:
 
-  SlobArticleRequest( wstring const & word_,
-                      vector< wstring > const & alts_,
+  SlobArticleRequest( std::u32string const & word_,
+                      vector< std::u32string > const & alts_,
                       SlobDictionary & dict_,
                       bool ignoreDiacritics_ ):
     word( word_ ),
@@ -1045,13 +1046,13 @@ void SlobArticleRequest::run()
     chain.insert( chain.end(), altChain.begin(), altChain.end() );
   }
 
-  multimap< wstring, pair< string, string > > mainArticles, alternateArticles;
+  multimap< std::u32string, pair< string, string > > mainArticles, alternateArticles;
 
   set< quint64 > articlesIncluded; // Some synonims make it that the articles
                                    // appear several times. We combat this
                                    // by only allowing them to appear once.
 
-  wstring wordCaseFolded = Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( word );
+  std::u32string wordCaseFolded = Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( word );
   if ( ignoreDiacritics ) {
     wordCaseFolded = Folding::applyDiacriticsOnly( wordCaseFolded );
   }
@@ -1084,12 +1085,12 @@ void SlobArticleRequest::run()
 
     // We do the case-folded comparison here.
 
-    wstring headwordStripped = Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( headword );
+    std::u32string headwordStripped = Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( headword );
     if ( ignoreDiacritics ) {
       headwordStripped = Folding::applyDiacriticsOnly( headwordStripped );
     }
 
-    multimap< wstring, pair< string, string > > & mapToUse =
+    multimap< std::u32string, pair< string, string > > & mapToUse =
       ( wordCaseFolded == headwordStripped ) ? mainArticles : alternateArticles;
 
     mapToUse.insert( pair( Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( headword ), pair( headword, articleText ) ) );
@@ -1105,7 +1106,7 @@ void SlobArticleRequest::run()
 
   string result;
 
-  multimap< wstring, pair< string, string > >::const_iterator i;
+  multimap< std::u32string, pair< string, string > >::const_iterator i;
 
   for ( i = mainArticles.begin(); i != mainArticles.end(); ++i ) {
     result += R"(<div class="slobdict"><h3 class="slobdict_headword">)";
@@ -1128,9 +1129,9 @@ void SlobArticleRequest::run()
   finish();
 }
 
-sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > SlobDictionary::getArticle( wstring const & word,
-                                                            vector< wstring > const & alts,
-                                                            wstring const &,
+sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > SlobDictionary::getArticle( std::u32string const & word,
+                                                            vector< std::u32string > const & alts,
+                                                            std::u32string const &,
                                                             bool ignoreDiacritics )
 
 {
diff --git a/src/dict/sounddir.cc b/src/dict/sounddir.cc
index 7806bd2b..23a707f2 100644
--- a/src/dict/sounddir.cc
+++ b/src/dict/sounddir.cc
@@ -3,13 +3,12 @@
 
 #include "sounddir.hh"
 #include "folding.hh"
-#include "utf8.hh"
+#include "text.hh"
 #include "btreeidx.hh"
 #include "chunkedstorage.hh"
 #include "filetype.hh"
 #include "htmlescape.hh"
 #include "audiolink.hh"
-#include "wstring_qt.hh"
 
 #include "utils.hh"
 
@@ -21,7 +20,6 @@
 namespace SoundDir {
 
 using std::string;
-using gd::wstring;
 using std::map;
 using std::multimap;
 using std::set;
@@ -85,8 +83,10 @@ public:
     return getArticleCount();
   }
 
-  sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest >
-  getArticle( wstring const &, vector< wstring > const & alts, wstring const &, bool ignoreDiacritics ) override;
+  sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > getArticle( std::u32string const &,
+                                              vector< std::u32string > const & alts,
+                                              std::u32string const &,
+                                              bool ignoreDiacritics ) override;
 
   sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > getResource( string const & name ) override;
 
@@ -114,9 +114,9 @@ SoundDirDictionary::SoundDirDictionary( string const & id,
   openIndex( IndexInfo( idxHeader.indexBtreeMaxElements, idxHeader.indexRootOffset ), idx, idxMutex );
 }
 
-sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > SoundDirDictionary::getArticle( wstring const & word,
-                                                                vector< wstring > const & alts,
-                                                                wstring const &,
+sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > SoundDirDictionary::getArticle( std::u32string const & word,
+                                                                vector< std::u32string > const & alts,
+                                                                std::u32string const &,
                                                                 bool ignoreDiacritics )
 {
   vector< WordArticleLink > chain = findArticles( word, ignoreDiacritics );
@@ -130,13 +130,13 @@ sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > SoundDirDictionary::getArticle( wstring const &
   }
 
   // maps to the chain number
-  multimap< wstring, unsigned > mainArticles, alternateArticles;
+  multimap< std::u32string, unsigned > mainArticles, alternateArticles;
 
   set< uint32_t > articlesIncluded; // Some synonims make it that the articles
                                     // appear several times. We combat this
                                     // by only allowing them to appear once.
 
-  wstring wordCaseFolded = Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( word );
+  std::u32string wordCaseFolded = Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( word );
   if ( ignoreDiacritics ) {
     wordCaseFolded = Folding::applyDiacriticsOnly( wordCaseFolded );
   }
@@ -151,12 +151,12 @@ sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > SoundDirDictionary::getArticle( wstring const &
 
     // We do the case-folded comparison here.
 
-    wstring headwordStripped = Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( chain[ x ].word );
+    std::u32string headwordStripped = Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( chain[ x ].word );
     if ( ignoreDiacritics ) {
       headwordStripped = Folding::applyDiacriticsOnly( headwordStripped );
     }
 
-    multimap< wstring, unsigned > & mapToUse =
+    multimap< std::u32string, unsigned > & mapToUse =
       ( wordCaseFolded == headwordStripped ) ? mainArticles : alternateArticles;
 
     mapToUse.insert( std::pair( Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( chain[ x ].word ), x ) );
@@ -170,7 +170,7 @@ sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > SoundDirDictionary::getArticle( wstring const &
 
   string result;
 
-  multimap< wstring, uint32_t >::const_iterator i;
+  multimap< std::u32string, uint32_t >::const_iterator i;
 
   string displayedName;
   vector< char > chunk;
@@ -399,11 +399,11 @@ void addDir( QDir const & baseDir,
       const uint32_t articleOffset = chunks.startNewBlock();
       chunks.addToBlock( fileName.c_str(), fileName.size() + 1 );
 
-      wstring name = i->fileName().toStdU32String();
+      std::u32string name = i->fileName().toStdU32String();
 
-      const wstring::size_type pos = name.rfind( L'.' );
+      const std::u32string::size_type pos = name.rfind( L'.' );
 
-      if ( pos != wstring::npos ) {
+      if ( pos != std::u32string::npos ) {
         name.erase( pos );
       }
 
diff --git a/src/dict/stardict.cc b/src/dict/stardict.cc
index cb42f2a7..d8c718c6 100644
--- a/src/dict/stardict.cc
+++ b/src/dict/stardict.cc
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 #include "stardict.hh"
 #include "btreeidx.hh"
 #include "folding.hh"
-#include "utf8.hh"
+#include "text.hh"
 #include "chunkedstorage.hh"
 #include "dictzip.hh"
 #include "xdxf2html.hh"
@@ -42,7 +42,6 @@ using std::multimap;
 using std::pair;
 using std::set;
 using std::string;
-using gd::wstring;
 
 using BtreeIndexing::WordArticleLink;
 using BtreeIndexing::IndexedWords;
@@ -154,10 +153,12 @@ public:
     return idxHeader.langTo;
   }
 
-  sptr< Dictionary::WordSearchRequest > findHeadwordsForSynonym( wstring const & ) override;
+  sptr< Dictionary::WordSearchRequest > findHeadwordsForSynonym( std::u32string const & ) override;
 
-  sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest >
-  getArticle( wstring const &, vector< wstring > const & alts, wstring const &, bool ignoreDiacritics ) override;
+  sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > getArticle( std::u32string const &,
+                                              vector< std::u32string > const & alts,
+                                              std::u32string const &,
+                                              bool ignoreDiacritics ) override;
 
   sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > getResource( string const & name ) override;
 
@@ -1164,7 +1165,7 @@ sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > StardictDictionary::getSearchResults( QString co
 class StardictHeadwordsRequest: public Dictionary::WordSearchRequest
 {
 
-  wstring word;
+  std::u32string word;
   StardictDictionary & dict;
 
   QAtomicInt isCancelled;
@@ -1172,7 +1173,7 @@ class StardictHeadwordsRequest: public Dictionary::WordSearchRequest
 
 public:
 
-  StardictHeadwordsRequest( wstring const & word_, StardictDictionary & dict_ ):
+  StardictHeadwordsRequest( std::u32string const & word_, StardictDictionary & dict_ ):
     word( word_ ),
     dict( dict_ )
   {
@@ -1207,7 +1208,7 @@ void StardictHeadwordsRequest::run()
     //limited the synomys to at most 10 entries
     vector< WordArticleLink > chain = dict.findArticles( word, false, 10 );
 
-    wstring caseFolded = Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( word );
+    std::u32string caseFolded = Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( word );
 
     for ( auto & x : chain ) {
       if ( Utils::AtomicInt::loadAcquire( isCancelled ) ) {
@@ -1219,7 +1220,7 @@ void StardictHeadwordsRequest::run()
 
       dict.loadArticle( x.articleOffset, headword, articleText );
 
-      wstring headwordDecoded = Utf8::decode( headword );
+      std::u32string headwordDecoded = Text::toUtf32( headword );
 
       if ( caseFolded != Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( headwordDecoded ) ) {
         // The headword seems to differ from the input word, which makes the
@@ -1237,7 +1238,7 @@ void StardictHeadwordsRequest::run()
   finish();
 }
 
-sptr< Dictionary::WordSearchRequest > StardictDictionary::findHeadwordsForSynonym( wstring const & word )
+sptr< Dictionary::WordSearchRequest > StardictDictionary::findHeadwordsForSynonym( std::u32string const & word )
 {
   return synonymSearchEnabled ? std::make_shared< StardictHeadwordsRequest >( word, *this ) :
                                 Class::findHeadwordsForSynonym( word );
@@ -1250,8 +1251,8 @@ sptr< Dictionary::WordSearchRequest > StardictDictionary::findHeadwordsForSynony
 class StardictArticleRequest: public Dictionary::DataRequest
 {
 
-  wstring word;
-  vector< wstring > alts;
+  std::u32string word;
+  vector< std::u32string > alts;
   StardictDictionary & dict;
   bool ignoreDiacritics;
 
@@ -1261,8 +1262,8 @@ class StardictArticleRequest: public Dictionary::DataRequest
 
 public:
 
-  StardictArticleRequest( wstring const & word_,
-                          vector< wstring > const & alts_,
+  StardictArticleRequest( std::u32string const & word_,
+                          vector< std::u32string > const & alts_,
                           StardictDictionary & dict_,
                           bool ignoreDiacritics_ ):
     word( word_ ),
@@ -1312,13 +1313,13 @@ void StardictArticleRequest::run()
       }
     }
 
-    multimap< wstring, pair< string, string > > mainArticles, alternateArticles;
+    multimap< std::u32string, pair< string, string > > mainArticles, alternateArticles;
 
     set< uint32_t > articlesIncluded; // Some synonyms make it that the articles
                                       // appear several times. We combat this
                                       // by only allowing them to appear once.
 
-    wstring wordCaseFolded = Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( word );
+    std::u32string wordCaseFolded = Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( word );
     if ( ignoreDiacritics ) {
       wordCaseFolded = Folding::applyDiacriticsOnly( wordCaseFolded );
     }
@@ -1345,12 +1346,12 @@ void StardictArticleRequest::run()
 
       // We do the case-folded comparison here.
 
-      wstring headwordStripped = Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( headword );
+      std::u32string headwordStripped = Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( headword );
       if ( ignoreDiacritics ) {
         headwordStripped = Folding::applyDiacriticsOnly( headwordStripped );
       }
 
-      multimap< wstring, pair< string, string > > & mapToUse =
+      multimap< std::u32string, pair< string, string > > & mapToUse =
         ( wordCaseFolded == headwordStripped ) ? mainArticles : alternateArticles;
 
       mapToUse.insert( pair( Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( headword ), pair( headword, articleText ) ) );
@@ -1366,7 +1367,7 @@ void StardictArticleRequest::run()
 
     string result;
 
-    multimap< wstring, pair< string, string > >::const_iterator i;
+    multimap< std::u32string, pair< string, string > >::const_iterator i;
 
     string cleaner = Utils::Html::getHtmlCleaner();
 
@@ -1409,9 +1410,9 @@ void StardictArticleRequest::run()
   finish();
 }
 
-sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > StardictDictionary::getArticle( wstring const & word,
-                                                                vector< wstring > const & alts,
-                                                                wstring const &,
+sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > StardictDictionary::getArticle( std::u32string const & word,
+                                                                vector< std::u32string > const & alts,
+                                                                std::u32string const &,
                                                                 bool ignoreDiacritics )
 
 {
@@ -1569,7 +1570,7 @@ void StardictResourceRequest::run()
       if ( dict.resourceZip.isOpen() ) {
         QMutexLocker _( &dataMutex );
 
-        if ( !dict.resourceZip.loadFile( Utf8::decode( resourceName ), data ) ) {
+        if ( !dict.resourceZip.loadFile( Text::toUtf32( resourceName ), data ) ) {
           throw; // Make it fail since we couldn't read the archive
         }
       }
@@ -1801,10 +1802,10 @@ static void handleIdxSynFile( string const & fileName,
     // Insert new entry into an index
 
     if ( parseHeadwords ) {
-      indexedWords.addWord( Utf8::decode( word ), offset );
+      indexedWords.addWord( Text::toUtf32( word ), offset );
     }
     else {
-      indexedWords.addSingleWord( Utf8::decode( word ), offset );
+      indexedWords.addSingleWord( Text::toUtf32( word ), offset );
     }
   }
 
diff --git a/src/dict/transliteration/chinese.cc b/src/dict/transliteration/chinese.cc
index 8bf78b76..f6c485b8 100644
--- a/src/dict/transliteration/chinese.cc
+++ b/src/dict/transliteration/chinese.cc
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
 #include <opencc/opencc.h>
 #include "folding.hh"
 #include "transliteration.hh"
-#include "utf8.hh"
+#include "text.hh"
 
 namespace ChineseTranslit {
 
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ public:
                                  QString const & openccConfig );
   ~CharacterConversionDictionary();
 
-  std::vector< gd::wstring > getAlternateWritings( gd::wstring const & ) noexcept override;
+  std::vector< std::u32string > getAlternateWritings( std::u32string const & ) noexcept override;
 };
 
 CharacterConversionDictionary::CharacterConversionDictionary( std::string const & id,
@@ -68,15 +68,15 @@ CharacterConversionDictionary::~CharacterConversionDictionary()
   // #endif
 }
 
-std::vector< gd::wstring > CharacterConversionDictionary::getAlternateWritings( gd::wstring const & str ) noexcept
+std::vector< std::u32string > CharacterConversionDictionary::getAlternateWritings( std::u32string const & str ) noexcept
 {
-  std::vector< gd::wstring > results;
+  std::vector< std::u32string > results;
 
   if ( converter != NULL ) {
-    gd::wstring folded = Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( str );
-    std::string input  = Utf8::encode( folded );
+    std::u32string folded = Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( str );
+    std::string input     = Text::toUtf8( folded );
     std::string output;
-    gd::wstring result;
+    std::u32string result;
 
     try {
       // #ifdef Q_OS_MAC
@@ -93,7 +93,7 @@ std::vector< gd::wstring > CharacterConversionDictionary::getAlternateWritings(
       // #else
       //       output = converter->Convert( input );
       // #endif
-      result = Utf8::decode( output );
+      result = Text::toUtf32( output );
     }
     catch ( std::exception & ex ) {
       qWarning( "OpenCC: conversion failed %s", ex.what() );
diff --git a/src/dict/transliteration/transliteration.cc b/src/dict/transliteration/transliteration.cc
index b39d27bb..e41b9ec2 100644
--- a/src/dict/transliteration/transliteration.cc
+++ b/src/dict/transliteration/transliteration.cc
@@ -2,12 +2,11 @@
  * Part of GoldenDict. Licensed under GPLv3 or later, see the LICENSE file */
 
 #include "transliteration.hh"
-#include "utf8.hh"
+#include "text.hh"
 #include "folding.hh"
 
 namespace Transliteration {
 
-using gd::wchar;
 
 BaseTransliterationDictionary::BaseTransliterationDictionary( string const & id,
                                                               string const & name_,
@@ -36,24 +35,28 @@ unsigned long BaseTransliterationDictionary::getWordCount() noexcept
   return 0;
 }
 
-sptr< Dictionary::WordSearchRequest > BaseTransliterationDictionary::prefixMatch( wstring const &, unsigned long )
+sptr< Dictionary::WordSearchRequest > BaseTransliterationDictionary::prefixMatch( std::u32string const &,
+                                                                                  unsigned long )
 {
   return std::make_shared< Dictionary::WordSearchRequestInstant >();
 }
 
-sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest >
-BaseTransliterationDictionary::getArticle( wstring const &, vector< wstring > const &, wstring const &, bool )
+sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > BaseTransliterationDictionary::getArticle( std::u32string const &,
+                                                                           vector< std::u32string > const &,
+                                                                           std::u32string const &,
+                                                                           bool )
 
 {
   return std::make_shared< Dictionary::DataRequestInstant >( false );
 }
 
-sptr< Dictionary::WordSearchRequest > BaseTransliterationDictionary::findHeadwordsForSynonym( wstring const & str )
+sptr< Dictionary::WordSearchRequest >
+BaseTransliterationDictionary::findHeadwordsForSynonym( std::u32string const & str )
 
 {
   sptr< Dictionary::WordSearchRequestInstant > result = std::make_shared< Dictionary::WordSearchRequestInstant >();
 
-  vector< wstring > alts = getAlternateWritings( str );
+  vector< std::u32string > alts = getAlternateWritings( str );
 
   qDebug( "alts = %u", (unsigned)alts.size() );
 
@@ -67,13 +70,13 @@ sptr< Dictionary::WordSearchRequest > BaseTransliterationDictionary::findHeadwor
 
 void Table::ins( char const * from, char const * to )
 {
-  wstring fr = Utf8::decode( std::string( from ) );
+  std::u32string fr = Text::toUtf32( std::string( from ) );
 
   if ( fr.size() > maxEntrySize ) {
     maxEntrySize = fr.size();
   }
 
-  insert( std::pair< wstring, wstring >( fr, Utf8::decode( std::string( to ) ) ) );
+  insert( std::pair< std::u32string, std::u32string >( fr, Text::toUtf32( std::string( to ) ) ) );
 }
 
 
@@ -84,12 +87,12 @@ TransliterationDictionary::TransliterationDictionary(
 {
 }
 
-vector< wstring > TransliterationDictionary::getAlternateWritings( wstring const & str ) noexcept
+vector< std::u32string > TransliterationDictionary::getAlternateWritings( std::u32string const & str ) noexcept
 {
-  vector< wstring > results;
+  vector< std::u32string > results;
 
-  wstring result, folded;
-  wstring const * target;
+  std::u32string result, folded;
+  std::u32string const * target;
 
   if ( caseSensitive ) {
     // Don't do any transform -- the transliteration is case-sensitive
@@ -100,8 +103,8 @@ vector< wstring > TransliterationDictionary::getAlternateWritings( wstring const
     target = &folded;
   }
 
-  wchar const * ptr = target->c_str();
-  size_t left       = target->size();
+  char32_t const * ptr = target->c_str();
+  size_t left          = target->size();
 
   Table::const_iterator i;
 
@@ -110,7 +113,7 @@ vector< wstring > TransliterationDictionary::getAlternateWritings( wstring const
 
     for ( x = table.getMaxEntrySize(); x >= 1; --x ) {
       if ( left >= x ) {
-        i = table.find( wstring( ptr, x ) );
+        i = table.find( std::u32string( ptr, x ) );
 
         if ( i != table.end() ) {
           result.append( i->second );
diff --git a/src/dict/transliteration/transliteration.hh b/src/dict/transliteration/transliteration.hh
index 7003cd73..04335fea 100644
--- a/src/dict/transliteration/transliteration.hh
+++ b/src/dict/transliteration/transliteration.hh
@@ -9,7 +9,6 @@
 namespace Transliteration {
 
 using std::map;
-using gd::wstring;
 using std::string;
 using std::vector;
 
@@ -32,18 +31,18 @@ public:
 
   virtual unsigned long getWordCount() noexcept;
 
-  virtual vector< wstring > getAlternateWritings( wstring const & ) noexcept = 0;
+  virtual vector< std::u32string > getAlternateWritings( std::u32string const & ) noexcept = 0;
 
-  virtual sptr< Dictionary::WordSearchRequest > findHeadwordsForSynonym( wstring const & );
+  virtual sptr< Dictionary::WordSearchRequest > findHeadwordsForSynonym( std::u32string const & );
 
-  virtual sptr< Dictionary::WordSearchRequest > prefixMatch( wstring const &, unsigned long );
+  virtual sptr< Dictionary::WordSearchRequest > prefixMatch( std::u32string const &, unsigned long );
 
   virtual sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest >
-  getArticle( wstring const &, vector< wstring > const &, wstring const &, bool );
+  getArticle( std::u32string const &, vector< std::u32string > const &, std::u32string const &, bool );
 };
 
 
-class Table: public map< wstring, wstring >
+class Table: public map< std::u32string, std::u32string >
 {
   unsigned maxEntrySize;
 
@@ -77,7 +76,7 @@ public:
   TransliterationDictionary(
     string const & id, string const & name, QIcon icon, Table const & table, bool caseSensitive = true );
 
-  virtual vector< wstring > getAlternateWritings( wstring const & ) noexcept;
+  virtual vector< std::u32string > getAlternateWritings( std::u32string const & ) noexcept;
 };
 
 } // namespace Transliteration
diff --git a/src/dict/utils/indexedzip.cc b/src/dict/utils/indexedzip.cc
index 90cdaf57..c1aa4c60 100644
--- a/src/dict/utils/indexedzip.cc
+++ b/src/dict/utils/indexedzip.cc
@@ -4,9 +4,8 @@
 #include "indexedzip.hh"
 #include "zipfile.hh"
 #include <zlib.h>
-#include "utf8.hh"
+#include "text.hh"
 #include "iconv.hh"
-#include "wstring_qt.hh"
 #include <QtCore5Compat/QTextCodec>
 
 #include <QMutexLocker>
@@ -23,7 +22,7 @@ bool IndexedZip::openZipFile( QString const & name )
   return zipIsOpen;
 }
 
-bool IndexedZip::hasFile( gd::wstring const & name )
+bool IndexedZip::hasFile( std::u32string const & name )
 {
   if ( !zipIsOpen ) {
     return false;
@@ -34,7 +33,7 @@ bool IndexedZip::hasFile( gd::wstring const & name )
   return !links.empty();
 }
 
-bool IndexedZip::loadFile( gd::wstring const & name, vector< char > & data )
+bool IndexedZip::loadFile( std::u32string const & name, vector< char > & data )
 {
   if ( !zipIsOpen ) {
     return false;
@@ -180,7 +179,7 @@ bool IndexedZip::indexFile( BtreeIndexing::IndexedWords & zipFileNames, quint32
     if ( !hasNonAscii ) {
       // Add entry as is
 
-      zipFileNames.addSingleWord( Utf8::decode( entry.fileName.data() ), entry.localHeaderOffset );
+      zipFileNames.addSingleWord( Text::toUtf32( entry.fileName.data() ), entry.localHeaderOffset );
       if ( filesCount ) {
         *filesCount += 1;
       }
@@ -192,7 +191,7 @@ bool IndexedZip::indexFile( BtreeIndexing::IndexedWords & zipFileNames, quint32
 
       // Utf8
       try {
-        wstring decoded = Utf8::decode( entry.fileName.constData() );
+        std::u32string decoded = Text::toUtf32( entry.fileName.constData() );
 
         zipFileNames.addSingleWord( decoded, entry.localHeaderOffset );
         if ( filesCount != 0 && !alreadyCounted ) {
@@ -200,12 +199,12 @@ bool IndexedZip::indexFile( BtreeIndexing::IndexedWords & zipFileNames, quint32
           alreadyCounted = true;
         }
       }
-      catch ( Utf8::exCantDecode & ) {
+      catch ( Text::exCantDecode & ) {
         // Failed to decode
       }
 
       if ( !entry.fileNameInUTF8 ) {
-        wstring nameInSystemLocale;
+        std::u32string nameInSystemLocale;
 
         // System locale
         if ( localeCodec ) {
@@ -224,7 +223,7 @@ bool IndexedZip::indexFile( BtreeIndexing::IndexedWords & zipFileNames, quint32
 
         // CP866
         try {
-          wstring decoded = Iconv::toWstring( "CP866", entry.fileName.constData(), entry.fileName.size() );
+          std::u32string decoded = Iconv::toWstring( "CP866", entry.fileName.constData(), entry.fileName.size() );
 
           if ( nameInSystemLocale != decoded ) {
             zipFileNames.addSingleWord( decoded, entry.localHeaderOffset );
@@ -241,7 +240,7 @@ bool IndexedZip::indexFile( BtreeIndexing::IndexedWords & zipFileNames, quint32
 
         // CP1251
         try {
-          wstring decoded = Iconv::toWstring( "CP1251", entry.fileName.constData(), entry.fileName.size() );
+          std::u32string decoded = Iconv::toWstring( "CP1251", entry.fileName.constData(), entry.fileName.size() );
 
           if ( nameInSystemLocale != decoded ) {
             zipFileNames.addSingleWord( decoded, entry.localHeaderOffset );
diff --git a/src/dict/utils/indexedzip.hh b/src/dict/utils/indexedzip.hh
index 750f2b15..41337b2d 100644
--- a/src/dict/utils/indexedzip.hh
+++ b/src/dict/utils/indexedzip.hh
@@ -37,11 +37,11 @@ public:
 
   /// Checks whether the given file exists in the zip file or not.
   /// Note that this function is thread-safe, since it does not access zip file.
-  bool hasFile( gd::wstring const & name );
+  bool hasFile( std::u32string const & name );
 
   /// Attempts loading the given file into the given vector. Returns true on
   /// success, false otherwise.
-  bool loadFile( gd::wstring const & name, std::vector< char > & );
+  bool loadFile( std::u32string const & name, std::vector< char > & );
   bool loadFile( uint32_t offset, std::vector< char > & );
 
   /// Index compressed files in zip file
diff --git a/src/dict/voiceengines.cc b/src/dict/voiceengines.cc
index 8e01138b..bba36760 100644
--- a/src/dict/voiceengines.cc
+++ b/src/dict/voiceengines.cc
@@ -5,8 +5,7 @@
   #include "voiceengines.hh"
   #include "audiolink.hh"
   #include "htmlescape.hh"
-  #include "utf8.hh"
-  #include "wstring_qt.hh"
+  #include "text.hh"
 
   #include <string>
   #include <map>
@@ -21,6 +20,7 @@ namespace VoiceEngines {
 
 using namespace Dictionary;
 using std::string;
+using std::u32string;
 using std::map;
 
 inline string toMd5( QByteArray const & b )
@@ -58,16 +58,18 @@ public:
     return 0;
   }
 
-  sptr< WordSearchRequest > prefixMatch( wstring const & word, unsigned long maxResults ) override;
+  sptr< WordSearchRequest > prefixMatch( u32string const & word, unsigned long maxResults ) override;
 
-  sptr< DataRequest > getArticle( wstring const &, vector< wstring > const & alts, wstring const &, bool ) override;
+  sptr< DataRequest >
+  getArticle( u32string const &, vector< u32string > const & alts, u32string const &, bool ) override;
 
 protected:
 
   void loadIcon() noexcept override;
 };
 
-sptr< WordSearchRequest > VoiceEnginesDictionary::prefixMatch( wstring const & /*word*/, unsigned long /*maxResults*/ )
+sptr< WordSearchRequest > VoiceEnginesDictionary::prefixMatch( u32string const & /*word*/,
+                                                               unsigned long /*maxResults*/ )
 
 {
   WordSearchRequestInstant * sr = new WordSearchRequestInstant();
@@ -76,11 +78,11 @@ sptr< WordSearchRequest > VoiceEnginesDictionary::prefixMatch( wstring const & /
 }
 
 sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest >
-VoiceEnginesDictionary::getArticle( wstring const & word, vector< wstring > const &, wstring const &, bool )
+VoiceEnginesDictionary::getArticle( u32string const & word, vector< u32string > const &, u32string const &, bool )
 
 {
   string result;
-  string wordUtf8( Utf8::encode( word ) );
+  string wordUtf8( Text::toUtf8( word ) );
 
   result += "<table class=\"voiceengines_play\"><tr>";
 
@@ -135,4 +137,4 @@ vector< sptr< Dictionary::Class > > makeDictionaries( Config::VoiceEngines const
 
 } // namespace VoiceEngines
 
-#endif
\ No newline at end of file
+#endif
diff --git a/src/dict/voiceengines.hh b/src/dict/voiceengines.hh
index 17e9a8e3..bf0981b1 100644
--- a/src/dict/voiceengines.hh
+++ b/src/dict/voiceengines.hh
@@ -5,16 +5,13 @@
 
   #include "dictionary.hh"
   #include "config.hh"
-  #include "wstring.hh"
-
+  #include "text.hh"
   #include <QCryptographicHash>
 
-
 namespace VoiceEngines {
 
 using std::vector;
 using std::string;
-using gd::wstring;
 
 vector< sptr< Dictionary::Class > > makeDictionaries( Config::VoiceEngines const & voiceEngines );
 
diff --git a/src/dict/website.cc b/src/dict/website.cc
index 4f229a4d..f4d40947 100644
--- a/src/dict/website.cc
+++ b/src/dict/website.cc
@@ -2,8 +2,7 @@
  * Part of GoldenDict. Licensed under GPLv3 or later, see the LICENSE file */
 
 #include "website.hh"
-#include "wstring_qt.hh"
-#include "utf8.hh"
+#include "text.hh"
 #include <QUrl>
 #include <QTextCodec>
 #include <QDir>
@@ -62,10 +61,12 @@ public:
     return 0;
   }
 
-  sptr< WordSearchRequest > prefixMatch( wstring const & word, unsigned long ) override;
+  sptr< WordSearchRequest > prefixMatch( std::u32string const & word, unsigned long ) override;
 
-  sptr< DataRequest >
-  getArticle( wstring const &, vector< wstring > const & alts, wstring const & context, bool ) override;
+  sptr< DataRequest > getArticle( std::u32string const &,
+                                  vector< std::u32string > const & alts,
+                                  std::u32string const & context,
+                                  bool ) override;
 
   sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > getResource( string const & name ) override;
 
@@ -90,7 +91,7 @@ protected slots:
   virtual void requestFinished( QNetworkReply * ) {}
 };
 
-sptr< WordSearchRequest > WebSiteDictionary::prefixMatch( wstring const & /*word*/, unsigned long )
+sptr< WordSearchRequest > WebSiteDictionary::prefixMatch( std::u32string const & /*word*/, unsigned long )
 {
   sptr< WordSearchRequestInstant > sr = std::make_shared< WordSearchRequestInstant >();
 
@@ -308,9 +309,9 @@ void WebSiteArticleRequest::requestFinished( QNetworkReply * r )
   finish();
 }
 
-sptr< DataRequest > WebSiteDictionary::getArticle( wstring const & str,
-                                                   vector< wstring > const & /*alts*/,
-                                                   wstring const & context,
+sptr< DataRequest > WebSiteDictionary::getArticle( std::u32string const & str,
+                                                   vector< std::u32string > const & /*alts*/,
+                                                   std::u32string const & context,
                                                    bool /*ignoreDiacritics*/ )
 {
   QString urlString = Utils::WebSite::urlReplaceWord( QString( urlTemplate ), QString::fromStdU32String( str ) );
diff --git a/src/dict/xdxf.cc b/src/dict/xdxf.cc
index 2fae7ff2..2b717260 100644
--- a/src/dict/xdxf.cc
+++ b/src/dict/xdxf.cc
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 #include "xdxf.hh"
 #include "btreeidx.hh"
 #include "folding.hh"
-#include "utf8.hh"
+#include "text.hh"
 #include "chunkedstorage.hh"
 #include "dictzip.hh"
 #include "htmlescape.hh"
@@ -39,7 +39,6 @@ using std::multimap;
 using std::pair;
 using std::set;
 using std::string;
-using gd::wstring;
 using std::vector;
 using std::list;
 
@@ -160,8 +159,10 @@ public:
     return idxHeader.langTo;
   }
 
-  sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest >
-  getArticle( wstring const &, vector< wstring > const & alts, wstring const &, bool ignoreDiacritics ) override;
+  sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > getArticle( std::u32string const &,
+                                              vector< std::u32string > const & alts,
+                                              std::u32string const &,
+                                              bool ignoreDiacritics ) override;
 
   sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > getResource( string const & name ) override;
 
@@ -411,8 +412,8 @@ XdxfDictionary::getSearchResults( QString const & searchString, int searchMode,
 class XdxfArticleRequest: public Dictionary::DataRequest
 {
 
-  wstring word;
-  vector< wstring > alts;
+  std::u32string word;
+  vector< std::u32string > alts;
   XdxfDictionary & dict;
   bool ignoreDiacritics;
 
@@ -421,8 +422,8 @@ class XdxfArticleRequest: public Dictionary::DataRequest
 
 public:
 
-  XdxfArticleRequest( wstring const & word_,
-                      vector< wstring > const & alts_,
+  XdxfArticleRequest( std::u32string const & word_,
+                      vector< std::u32string > const & alts_,
                       XdxfDictionary & dict_,
                       bool ignoreDiacritics_ ):
     word( word_ ),
@@ -467,13 +468,13 @@ void XdxfArticleRequest::run()
     chain.insert( chain.end(), altChain.begin(), altChain.end() );
   }
 
-  multimap< wstring, pair< string, string > > mainArticles, alternateArticles;
+  multimap< std::u32string, pair< string, string > > mainArticles, alternateArticles;
 
   set< uint32_t > articlesIncluded; // Some synonims make it that the articles
                                     // appear several times. We combat this
                                     // by only allowing them to appear once.
 
-  wstring wordCaseFolded = Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( word );
+  std::u32string wordCaseFolded = Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( word );
   if ( ignoreDiacritics ) {
     wordCaseFolded = Folding::applyDiacriticsOnly( wordCaseFolded );
   }
@@ -502,12 +503,12 @@ void XdxfArticleRequest::run()
 
       // We do the case-folded comparison here.
 
-      wstring headwordStripped = Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( headword );
+      std::u32string headwordStripped = Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( headword );
       if ( ignoreDiacritics ) {
         headwordStripped = Folding::applyDiacriticsOnly( headwordStripped );
       }
 
-      multimap< wstring, pair< string, string > > & mapToUse =
+      multimap< std::u32string, pair< string, string > > & mapToUse =
         ( wordCaseFolded == headwordStripped ) ? mainArticles : alternateArticles;
 
       mapToUse.insert( pair( Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( headword ), pair( headword, articleText ) ) );
@@ -527,7 +528,7 @@ void XdxfArticleRequest::run()
 
   string result;
 
-  multimap< wstring, pair< string, string > >::const_iterator i;
+  multimap< std::u32string, pair< string, string > >::const_iterator i;
 
   string cleaner = Utils::Html::getHtmlCleaner();
 
@@ -554,9 +555,9 @@ void XdxfArticleRequest::run()
   finish();
 }
 
-sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > XdxfDictionary::getArticle( wstring const & word,
-                                                            vector< wstring > const & alts,
-                                                            wstring const &,
+sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > XdxfDictionary::getArticle( std::u32string const & word,
+                                                            vector< std::u32string > const & alts,
+                                                            std::u32string const &,
                                                             bool ignoreDiacritics )
 
 {
@@ -973,7 +974,7 @@ void XdxfResourceRequest::run()
         if ( dict.resourceZip.isOpen() ) {
           QMutexLocker _( &dataMutex );
 
-          if ( !dict.resourceZip.loadFile( Utf8::decode( resourceName ), data ) ) {
+          if ( !dict.resourceZip.loadFile( Text::toUtf32( resourceName ), data ) ) {
             throw; // Make it fail since we couldn't read the archive
           }
         }
@@ -1194,7 +1195,7 @@ vector< sptr< Dictionary::Class > > makeDictionaries( vector< string > const & f
                   else if ( stream.name() == u"abbreviations" ) {
                     QString s;
                     string value;
-                    list< wstring > keys;
+                    list< std::u32string > keys;
                     while ( !( stream.isEndElement() && stream.name() == u"abbreviations" ) && !stream.atEnd() ) {
                       if ( !stream.readNextStartElement() ) {
                         break;
@@ -1210,7 +1211,7 @@ vector< sptr< Dictionary::Class > > makeDictionaries( vector< string > const & f
                             s     = readElementText( stream );
                             value = Folding::trimWhitespace( s ).toStdString();
                             for ( const auto & key : keys ) {
-                              abrv[ Utf8::encode( Folding::trimWhitespace( key ) ) ] = value;
+                              abrv[ Text::toUtf8( Folding::trimWhitespace( key ) ) ] = value;
                             }
                             keys.clear();
                           }
@@ -1230,7 +1231,7 @@ vector< sptr< Dictionary::Class > > makeDictionaries( vector< string > const & f
                             s     = readElementText( stream );
                             value = Folding::trimWhitespace( s ).toStdString();
                             for ( const auto & key : keys ) {
-                              abrv[ Utf8::encode( Folding::trimWhitespace( key ) ) ] = value;
+                              abrv[ Text::toUtf8( Folding::trimWhitespace( key ) ) ] = value;
                             }
                             keys.clear();
                           }
diff --git a/src/dict/xdxf2html.cc b/src/dict/xdxf2html.cc
index 7c7d9875..1508858e 100644
--- a/src/dict/xdxf2html.cc
+++ b/src/dict/xdxf2html.cc
@@ -3,8 +3,7 @@
 
 #include "xdxf2html.hh"
 #include <QtXml>
-#include "utf8.hh"
-#include "wstring_qt.hh"
+#include "text.hh"
 #include "folding.hh"
 
 #include "audiolink.hh"
@@ -442,7 +441,7 @@ string convert( string const & in,
       if ( i != pAbrv->end() ) {
         string title;
 
-        if ( Utf8::decode( i->second ).size() < 70 ) {
+        if ( Text::toUtf32( i->second ).size() < 70 ) {
           // Replace all spaces with non-breakable ones, since that's how Lingvo shows tooltips
           title.reserve( i->second.size() );
 
@@ -466,7 +465,7 @@ string convert( string const & in,
         else {
           title = i->second;
         }
-        el.setAttribute( "title", QString::fromStdU32String( Utf8::decode( title ) ) );
+        el.setAttribute( "title", QString::fromStdU32String( Text::toUtf32( title ) ) );
       }
     }
   }
@@ -628,7 +627,7 @@ string convert( string const & in,
 
     //    if( type == XDXF && dictPtr != NULL && !el.hasAttribute( "start" ) )
     if ( dictPtr != NULL && !el.hasAttribute( "start" ) ) {
-      string filename = Utf8::encode( el.text().toStdU32String() );
+      string filename = Text::toUtf8( el.text().toStdU32String() );
 
       if ( Filetype::isNameOfPicture( filename ) ) {
         QUrl url;
diff --git a/src/dict/zim.cc b/src/dict/zim.cc
index 4efe6316..07cee834 100644
--- a/src/dict/zim.cc
+++ b/src/dict/zim.cc
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
   #include "zim.hh"
   #include "btreeidx.hh"
   #include "folding.hh"
-  #include "utf8.hh"
+  #include "text.hh"
   #include "langcoder.hh"
   #include "filetype.hh"
   #include "dictfile.hh"
@@ -38,12 +38,12 @@
 namespace Zim {
 
 using std::string;
+using std::u32string;
 using std::map;
 using std::vector;
 using std::multimap;
 using std::pair;
 using std::set;
-using gd::wstring;
 
 using BtreeIndexing::WordArticleLink;
 using BtreeIndexing::IndexedWords;
@@ -182,7 +182,7 @@ public:
   }
 
   sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest >
-  getArticle( wstring const &, vector< wstring > const & alts, wstring const &, bool ignoreDiacritics ) override;
+  getArticle( u32string const &, vector< u32string > const & alts, u32string const &, bool ignoreDiacritics ) override;
 
   sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > getResource( string const & name ) override;
 
@@ -519,8 +519,8 @@ ZimDictionary::getSearchResults( QString const & searchString, int searchMode, b
 
 class ZimArticleRequest: public Dictionary::DataRequest
 {
-  wstring word;
-  vector< wstring > alts;
+  u32string word;
+  vector< u32string > alts;
   ZimDictionary & dict;
   bool ignoreDiacritics;
 
@@ -529,7 +529,10 @@ class ZimArticleRequest: public Dictionary::DataRequest
 
 public:
 
-  ZimArticleRequest( wstring word_, vector< wstring > const & alts_, ZimDictionary & dict_, bool ignoreDiacritics_ ):
+  ZimArticleRequest( u32string word_,
+                     vector< u32string > const & alts_,
+                     ZimDictionary & dict_,
+                     bool ignoreDiacritics_ ):
     word( std::move( word_ ) ),
     alts( alts_ ),
     dict( dict_ ),
@@ -571,13 +574,13 @@ void ZimArticleRequest::run()
     chain.insert( chain.end(), altChain.begin(), altChain.end() );
   }
 
-  multimap< wstring, pair< string, string > > mainArticles, alternateArticles;
+  multimap< u32string, pair< string, string > > mainArticles, alternateArticles;
 
   set< quint32 > articlesIncluded; // Some synonyms make it that the articles
                                    // appear several times. We combat this
                                    // by only allowing them to appear once.
 
-  wstring wordCaseFolded = Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( word );
+  u32string wordCaseFolded = Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( word );
   if ( ignoreDiacritics ) {
     wordCaseFolded = Folding::applyDiacriticsOnly( wordCaseFolded );
   }
@@ -614,12 +617,12 @@ void ZimArticleRequest::run()
 
     // We do the case-folded comparison here.
 
-    wstring headwordStripped = Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( headword );
+    u32string headwordStripped = Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( headword );
     if ( ignoreDiacritics ) {
       headwordStripped = Folding::applyDiacriticsOnly( headwordStripped );
     }
 
-    multimap< wstring, pair< string, string > > & mapToUse =
+    multimap< u32string, pair< string, string > > & mapToUse =
       ( wordCaseFolded == headwordStripped ) ? mainArticles : alternateArticles;
 
     mapToUse.insert( pair( Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( headword ), pair( headword, articleText ) ) );
@@ -638,7 +641,7 @@ void ZimArticleRequest::run()
   // See Issue #271: A mechanism to clean-up invalid HTML cards.
   string cleaner = Utils::Html::getHtmlCleaner();
 
-  multimap< wstring, pair< string, string > >::const_iterator i;
+  multimap< u32string, pair< string, string > >::const_iterator i;
 
 
   for ( i = mainArticles.begin(); i != mainArticles.end(); ++i ) {
@@ -666,9 +669,9 @@ void ZimArticleRequest::run()
   finish();
 }
 
-sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > ZimDictionary::getArticle( wstring const & word,
-                                                           vector< wstring > const & alts,
-                                                           wstring const &,
+sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > ZimDictionary::getArticle( u32string const & word,
+                                                           vector< u32string > const & alts,
+                                                           u32string const &,
                                                            bool ignoreDiacritics )
 
 {
@@ -766,7 +769,7 @@ sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > ZimDictionary::getResource( string const & name
   return std::make_shared< ZimResourceRequest >( *this, noLeadingDot.toStdString() );
 }
 
-wstring normalizeWord( const std::string & url );
+u32string normalizeWord( const std::string & url );
 vector< sptr< Dictionary::Class > > makeDictionaries( vector< string > const & fileNames,
                                                       string const & indicesDir,
                                                       Dictionary::Initializing & initializing,
@@ -849,7 +852,7 @@ vector< sptr< Dictionary::Class > > makeDictionaries( vector< string > const & f
 
           if ( maxHeadwordsToExpand > 0 && ( articleCount >= maxHeadwordsToExpand ) ) {
             if ( !title.empty() ) {
-              wstring word = Utf8::decode( title );
+              u32string word = Text::toUtf32( title );
               indexedWords.addSingleWord( word, index );
             }
             else if ( !url.empty() ) {
@@ -858,7 +861,7 @@ vector< sptr< Dictionary::Class > > makeDictionaries( vector< string > const & f
           }
           else {
             if ( !title.empty() ) {
-              auto word = Utf8::decode( title );
+              auto word = Text::toUtf32( title );
               indexedWords.addWord( word, index );
               wordCount++;
             }
@@ -903,7 +906,7 @@ vector< sptr< Dictionary::Class > > makeDictionaries( vector< string > const & f
   }
   return dictionaries;
 }
-wstring normalizeWord( const std::string & url )
+u32string normalizeWord( const std::string & url )
 {
   auto formattedUrl = QString::fromStdString( url ).remove( RX::Zim::leadingDotSlash );
   return formattedUrl.toStdU32String();
diff --git a/src/dict/zipsounds.cc b/src/dict/zipsounds.cc
index b6e73b28..50d6f444 100644
--- a/src/dict/zipsounds.cc
+++ b/src/dict/zipsounds.cc
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 #include "zipsounds.hh"
 #include "dictfile.hh"
 #include "folding.hh"
-#include "utf8.hh"
+#include "text.hh"
 #include "btreeidx.hh"
 
 #include "audiolink.hh"
@@ -24,7 +24,6 @@
 namespace ZipSounds {
 
 using std::string;
-using gd::wstring;
 using std::map;
 using std::multimap;
 using std::set;
@@ -64,19 +63,19 @@ bool indexIsOldOrBad( string const & indexFile )
     || header.formatVersion != CurrentFormatVersion;
 }
 
-wstring stripExtension( string const & str )
+std::u32string stripExtension( string const & str )
 {
-  wstring name;
+  std::u32string name;
   try {
-    name = Utf8::decode( str );
+    name = Text::toUtf32( str );
   }
-  catch ( Utf8::exCantDecode & ) {
+  catch ( Text::exCantDecode & ) {
     return name;
   }
 
   if ( Filetype::isNameOfSound( str ) ) {
-    wstring::size_type pos = name.rfind( L'.' );
-    if ( pos != wstring::npos ) {
+    std::u32string::size_type pos = name.rfind( L'.' );
+    if ( pos != std::u32string::npos ) {
       name.erase( pos );
     }
 
@@ -118,8 +117,10 @@ public:
     return getArticleCount();
   }
 
-  sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest >
-  getArticle( wstring const &, vector< wstring > const & alts, wstring const &, bool ignoreDiacritics ) override;
+  sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > getArticle( std::u32string const &,
+                                              vector< std::u32string > const & alts,
+                                              std::u32string const &,
+                                              bool ignoreDiacritics ) override;
 
   sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > getResource( string const & name ) override;
 
@@ -157,9 +158,9 @@ string ZipSoundsDictionary::getName() noexcept
   return result;
 }
 
-sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > ZipSoundsDictionary::getArticle( wstring const & word,
-                                                                 vector< wstring > const & alts,
-                                                                 wstring const &,
+sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > ZipSoundsDictionary::getArticle( std::u32string const & word,
+                                                                 vector< std::u32string > const & alts,
+                                                                 std::u32string const &,
                                                                  bool ignoreDiacritics )
 
 {
@@ -173,13 +174,13 @@ sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > ZipSoundsDictionary::getArticle( wstring const &
     chain.insert( chain.end(), altChain.begin(), altChain.end() );
   }
 
-  multimap< wstring, uint32_t > mainArticles, alternateArticles;
+  multimap< std::u32string, uint32_t > mainArticles, alternateArticles;
 
   set< uint32_t > articlesIncluded; // Some synonims make it that the articles
                                     // appear several times. We combat this
                                     // by only allowing them to appear once.
 
-  wstring wordCaseFolded = Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( word );
+  std::u32string wordCaseFolded = Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( word );
   if ( ignoreDiacritics ) {
     wordCaseFolded = Folding::applyDiacriticsOnly( wordCaseFolded );
   }
@@ -194,12 +195,12 @@ sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > ZipSoundsDictionary::getArticle( wstring const &
 
     // We do the case-folded comparison here.
 
-    wstring headwordStripped = Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( x.word );
+    std::u32string headwordStripped = Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( x.word );
     if ( ignoreDiacritics ) {
       headwordStripped = Folding::applyDiacriticsOnly( headwordStripped );
     }
 
-    multimap< wstring, uint32_t > & mapToUse =
+    multimap< std::u32string, uint32_t > & mapToUse =
       ( wordCaseFolded == headwordStripped ) ? mainArticles : alternateArticles;
 
     mapToUse.insert( std::pair( Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( x.word ), x.articleOffset ) );
@@ -213,7 +214,7 @@ sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > ZipSoundsDictionary::getArticle( wstring const &
 
   string result;
 
-  multimap< wstring, uint32_t >::const_iterator i;
+  multimap< std::u32string, uint32_t >::const_iterator i;
 
   result += "<table class=\"lsa_play\">";
 
@@ -244,7 +245,7 @@ sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > ZipSoundsDictionary::getArticle( wstring const &
     nameBlock += sz;
 
     string displayedName =
-      mainArticles.size() + alternateArticles.size() > 1 ? name : Utf8::encode( stripExtension( name ) );
+      mainArticles.size() + alternateArticles.size() > 1 ? name : Text::toUtf8( stripExtension( name ) );
 
     result += "<tr>";
 
@@ -286,7 +287,7 @@ sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > ZipSoundsDictionary::getArticle( wstring const &
     nameBlock += sz;
 
     string displayedName =
-      mainArticles.size() + alternateArticles.size() > 1 ? name : Utf8::encode( stripExtension( name ) );
+      mainArticles.size() + alternateArticles.size() > 1 ? name : Text::toUtf8( stripExtension( name ) );
 
     result += "<tr>";
 
@@ -316,7 +317,7 @@ sptr< Dictionary::DataRequest > ZipSoundsDictionary::getResource( string const &
 {
   // Remove extension for sound files (like in sound dirs)
 
-  wstring strippedName = stripExtension( name );
+  std::u32string strippedName = stripExtension( name );
 
   vector< WordArticleLink > chain = findArticles( strippedName );
 
@@ -430,7 +431,7 @@ vector< sptr< Dictionary::Class > > makeDictionaries( vector< string > const & f
 
               // Remove extension for sound files (like in sound dirs)
 
-              wstring word = stripExtension( link.word );
+              std::u32string word = stripExtension( link.word );
               if ( !word.empty() ) {
                 names.addWord( word, offset );
               }
diff --git a/src/ftshelpers.cc b/src/ftshelpers.cc
index fe110318..f190ae02 100644
--- a/src/ftshelpers.cc
+++ b/src/ftshelpers.cc
@@ -5,7 +5,6 @@
 #include <cstdlib>
 #include "fulltextsearch.hh"
 #include "ftshelpers.hh"
-#include "wstring_qt.hh"
 #include "dictfile.hh"
 #include "folding.hh"
 #include "utils.hh"
diff --git a/src/ftshelpers.hh b/src/ftshelpers.hh
index fa786af0..6a6829cb 100644
--- a/src/ftshelpers.hh
+++ b/src/ftshelpers.hh
@@ -7,7 +7,6 @@
 #include "btreeidx.hh"
 #include "fulltextsearch.hh"
 #include "folding.hh"
-#include "wstring_qt.hh"
 
 namespace FtsHelpers {
 
@@ -44,7 +43,7 @@ public:
   {
     if ( ignoreDiacritics_ )
       searchString =
-        QString::fromStdU32String( Folding::applyDiacriticsOnly( gd::removeTrailingZero( searchString_ ) ) );
+        QString::fromStdU32String( Folding::applyDiacriticsOnly( Text::removeTrailingZero( searchString_ ) ) );
 
     foundHeadwords = new QList< FTS::FtsHeadword >;
     results        = 0;
diff --git a/src/headwordsmodel.cc b/src/headwordsmodel.cc
index 20054d14..1eda7b9d 100644
--- a/src/headwordsmodel.cc
+++ b/src/headwordsmodel.cc
@@ -1,5 +1,4 @@
 #include "headwordsmodel.hh"
-#include "wstring_qt.hh"
 
 HeadwordListModel::HeadwordListModel( QObject * parent ):
   QAbstractListModel( parent ),
@@ -67,7 +66,7 @@ void HeadwordListModel::setFilter( const QRegularExpression & reg )
     }
   }
   filterWords.clear();
-  auto sr = _dict->prefixMatch( gd::removeTrailingZero( reg.pattern() ), maxFilterResults );
+  auto sr = _dict->prefixMatch( Text::removeTrailingZero( reg.pattern() ), maxFilterResults );
   connect( sr.get(), &Dictionary::Request::finished, this, &HeadwordListModel::requestFinished, Qt::QueuedConnection );
   queuedRequests.push_back( sr );
 }
diff --git a/src/langcoder.cc b/src/langcoder.cc
index 04a3c093..95c33581 100644
--- a/src/langcoder.cc
+++ b/src/langcoder.cc
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 
 #include "langcoder.hh"
 #include "language.hh"
-#include "utf8.hh"
+#include "text.hh"
 
 #include <QFileInfo>
 #include <QLocale>
@@ -226,9 +226,9 @@ QString LangCoder::intToCode2( quint32 val )
   return QString::fromLatin1( ba );
 }
 
-quint32 LangCoder::findIdForLanguage( gd::wstring const & lang )
+quint32 LangCoder::findIdForLanguage( std::u32string const & lang )
 {
-  const auto langFolded = QByteArrayView( Utf8::encode( lang ) );
+  const auto langFolded = QByteArrayView( Text::toUtf8( lang ) );
 
   for ( auto const & lc : LANG_CODE_MAP ) {
     if ( langFolded.compare( lc.lang, Qt::CaseInsensitive ) == 0 ) {
diff --git a/src/langcoder.hh b/src/langcoder.hh
index 647730f8..797b702c 100644
--- a/src/langcoder.hh
+++ b/src/langcoder.hh
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
 #include <QString>
 #include <QIcon>
-#include "wstring.hh"
+#include "text.hh"
 
 struct GDLangCode
 {
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ public:
 
   /// Finds the id for the given language name, written in english. The search
   /// is case- and punctuation insensitive.
-  static quint32 findIdForLanguage( gd::wstring const & );
+  static quint32 findIdForLanguage( std::u32string const & );
 
   static quint32 findIdForLanguageCode3( std::string const & );
 
diff --git a/src/language.cc b/src/language.cc
index 72d894fe..dded6763 100644
--- a/src/language.cc
+++ b/src/language.cc
@@ -465,7 +465,7 @@ BabylonLang getBabylonLangByIndex( int index )
   return BabylonDb[ index ];
 }
 
-quint32 findBlgLangIDByEnglishName( gd::wstring const & lang )
+quint32 findBlgLangIDByEnglishName( std::u32string const & lang )
 {
   QString enName = QString::fromStdU32String( lang );
   for ( const auto & idx : BabylonDb ) {
diff --git a/src/language.hh b/src/language.hh
index 01e974bb..50486cfb 100644
--- a/src/language.hh
+++ b/src/language.hh
@@ -4,7 +4,6 @@
 #pragma once
 
 #include <QString>
-#include "wstring_qt.hh"
 /// Language-specific stuff - codes, names, ids etc.
 namespace Language {
 
@@ -47,5 +46,5 @@ struct BabylonLang
   const char * localizedName;
 };
 BabylonLang getBabylonLangByIndex( int index );
-quint32 findBlgLangIDByEnglishName( gd::wstring const & lang );
+quint32 findBlgLangIDByEnglishName( std::u32string const & lang );
 } // namespace Language
diff --git a/src/ui/articleview.cc b/src/ui/articleview.cc
index 9c633241..7ed39335 100644
--- a/src/ui/articleview.cc
+++ b/src/ui/articleview.cc
@@ -10,7 +10,6 @@
 #include "utils.hh"
 #include "webmultimediadownload.hh"
 #include "wildcard.hh"
-#include "wstring_qt.hh"
 #include <QBuffer>
 #include <QClipboard>
 #include <QCryptographicHash>
diff --git a/src/wordfinder.cc b/src/wordfinder.cc
index 3a9341fb..e2dcc748 100644
--- a/src/wordfinder.cc
+++ b/src/wordfinder.cc
@@ -3,14 +3,11 @@
 
 #include "wordfinder.hh"
 #include "folding.hh"
-#include "wstring_qt.hh"
 #include <map>
 
 
 using std::vector;
 using std::list;
-using gd::wstring;
-using gd::wchar;
 using std::map;
 using std::pair;
 
@@ -134,7 +131,7 @@ void WordFinder::startSearch()
   allWordWritings[ 0 ] = inputWord.toStdU32String();
 
   for ( const auto & inputDict : *inputDicts ) {
-    vector< wstring > writings = inputDict->getAlternateWritings( allWordWritings[ 0 ] );
+    vector< std::u32string > writings = inputDict->getAlternateWritings( allWordWritings[ 0 ] );
 
     allWordWritings.insert( allWordWritings.end(), writings.begin(), writings.end() );
   }
@@ -255,7 +252,9 @@ unsigned saturated( unsigned x )
 /// both sides by either whitespace, punctuation or begin/end of string.
 /// If true is returned, pos holds the offset in the haystack. If the offset
 /// is larger than 255, it is set to 255.
-bool hasSurroundedWithWs( wstring const & haystack, wstring const & needle, wstring::size_type & pos )
+bool hasSurroundedWithWs( std::u32string const & haystack,
+                          std::u32string const & needle,
+                          std::u32string::size_type & pos )
 {
   if ( haystack.size() < needle.size() ) {
     return false; // Needle won't even fit into a haystack
@@ -264,7 +263,7 @@ bool hasSurroundedWithWs( wstring const & haystack, wstring const & needle, wstr
   for ( pos = 0;; ++pos ) {
     pos = haystack.find( needle, pos );
 
-    if ( pos == wstring::npos ) {
+    if ( pos == std::u32string::npos ) {
       return false; // Not found
     }
 
@@ -290,13 +289,13 @@ void WordFinder::updateResults()
     updateResultsTimer.stop(); // Can happen when we were done before it'd expire
   }
 
-  wstring original = Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( allWordWritings[ 0 ] );
+  std::u32string original = Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( allWordWritings[ 0 ] );
 
   for ( auto i = finishedRequests.begin(); i != finishedRequests.end(); ) {
     for ( size_t count = ( *i )->matchesCount(), x = 0; x < count; ++x ) {
-      wstring match      = ( **i )[ x ].word;
-      int weight         = ( **i )[ x ].weight;
-      wstring lowerCased = Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( match );
+      std::u32string match      = ( **i )[ x ].word;
+      int weight                = ( **i )[ x ].weight;
+      std::u32string lowerCased = Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( match );
 
       if ( searchType == ExpressionMatch ) {
         unsigned ws;
@@ -320,7 +319,7 @@ void WordFinder::updateResults()
         weight = ws;
       }
       auto insertResult =
-        resultsIndex.insert( pair< wstring, ResultsArray::iterator >( lowerCased, resultsArray.end() ) );
+        resultsIndex.insert( pair< std::u32string, ResultsArray::iterator >( lowerCased, resultsArray.end() ) );
 
       if ( !insertResult.second ) {
         // Wasn't inserted since there was already an item -- check the case
@@ -369,16 +368,16 @@ void WordFinder::updateResults()
       };
 
       for ( const auto & allWordWriting : allWordWritings ) {
-        wstring target           = Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( allWordWriting );
-        wstring targetNoFullCase = Folding::applyFullCaseOnly( target );
-        wstring targetNoDia      = Folding::applyDiacriticsOnly( targetNoFullCase );
-        wstring targetNoPunct    = Folding::applyPunctOnly( targetNoDia );
-        wstring targetNoWs       = Folding::applyWhitespaceOnly( targetNoPunct );
+        std::u32string target           = Folding::applySimpleCaseOnly( allWordWriting );
+        std::u32string targetNoFullCase = Folding::applyFullCaseOnly( target );
+        std::u32string targetNoDia      = Folding::applyDiacriticsOnly( targetNoFullCase );
+        std::u32string targetNoPunct    = Folding::applyPunctOnly( targetNoDia );
+        std::u32string targetNoWs       = Folding::applyWhitespaceOnly( targetNoPunct );
 
-        wstring::size_type matchPos = 0;
+        std::u32string::size_type matchPos = 0;
 
         for ( const auto & i : resultsIndex ) {
-          wstring resultNoFullCase, resultNoDia, resultNoPunct, resultNoWs;
+          std::u32string resultNoFullCase, resultNoDia, resultNoPunct, resultNoWs;
 
           int rank;
 
@@ -441,14 +440,14 @@ void WordFinder::updateResults()
       // only the first one, storing it in rank. Then we sort the results using
       // SortByRankAndLength.
       for ( const auto & allWordWriting : allWordWritings ) {
-        wstring target = Folding::apply( allWordWriting );
+        std::u32string target = Folding::apply( allWordWriting );
 
         for ( const auto & i : resultsIndex ) {
-          wstring resultFolded = Folding::apply( i.first );
+          std::u32string resultFolded = Folding::apply( i.first );
 
           int charsInCommon = 0;
 
-          for ( wchar const *t = target.c_str(), *r = resultFolded.c_str(); *t && *t == *r;
+          for ( char32_t const *t = target.c_str(), *r = resultFolded.c_str(); *t && *t == *r;
                 ++t, ++r, ++charsInCommon ) {
             ;
           }
diff --git a/src/wordfinder.hh b/src/wordfinder.hh
index 49f938bc..189d8098 100644
--- a/src/wordfinder.hh
+++ b/src/wordfinder.hh
@@ -48,11 +48,11 @@ private:
 
   std::vector< sptr< Dictionary::Class > > const * inputDicts;
 
-  std::vector< gd::wstring > allWordWritings; // All writings of the inputWord
+  std::vector< std::u32string > allWordWritings; // All writings of the inputWord
 
   struct OneResult
   {
-    gd::wstring word;
+    std::u32string word;
     int rank;
     bool wasSuggested;
   };
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ private:
   // Maps lowercased string to the original one. This catches all duplicates
   // without case sensitivity. Made as an array and a map indexing that array.
   using ResultsArray = std::list< OneResult >;
-  using ResultsIndex = std::map< gd::wstring, ResultsArray::iterator >;
+  using ResultsIndex = std::map< std::u32string, ResultsArray::iterator >;
   ResultsArray resultsArray;
   ResultsIndex resultsIndex;