diff --git a/src/core/Makefile.am b/src/core/Makefile.am
index f64d9e2e..4cc2226c 100644
--- a/src/core/Makefile.am
+++ b/src/core/Makefile.am
@@ -53,6 +53,7 @@ libcore_a_SOURCES = \
 	utf8.c \
 	$(regex_impl) \
 	wcwidth.c \
+	wcwidth-wrapper.c \
 	tls.c \
 	write-buffer.c
 
diff --git a/src/core/core.c b/src/core/core.c
index 506d6a13..3c335fd2 100644
--- a/src/core/core.c
+++ b/src/core/core.c
@@ -60,6 +60,9 @@ void chat_commands_deinit(void);
 void log_away_init(void);
 void log_away_deinit(void);
 
+void wcwidth_wrapper_init(void);
+void wcwidth_wrapper_deinit(void);
+
 int irssi_gui;
 int irssi_init_finished;
 int reload_config;
@@ -258,6 +261,7 @@ void core_init(void)
 	nicklist_init();
 
 	chat_commands_init();
+	wcwidth_wrapper_init();
 
 	settings_add_str("misc", "ignore_signals", "");
 	settings_add_bool("misc", "override_coredump_limit", FALSE);
@@ -281,6 +285,7 @@ void core_deinit(void)
 	signal_remove("setup changed", (SIGNAL_FUNC) read_settings);
 	signal_remove("irssi init finished", (SIGNAL_FUNC) sig_irssi_init_finished);
 
+	wcwidth_wrapper_deinit();
 	chat_commands_deinit();
 
 	nicklist_deinit();
diff --git a/src/core/utf8.c b/src/core/utf8.c
index c53d8816..c44fdbd6 100644
--- a/src/core/utf8.c
+++ b/src/core/utf8.c
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ int string_advance(char const **str, int policy)
 		c = g_utf8_get_char(*str);
 		*str = g_utf8_next_char(*str);
 
-		return unichar_isprint(c) ? mk_wcwidth(c) : 1;
+		return unichar_isprint(c) ? i_wcwidth(c) : 1;
 	} else {
 		/* Assume TREAT_STRING_AS_BYTES: */
 		*str += 1;
diff --git a/src/core/utf8.h b/src/core/utf8.h
index 5bb53193..9f7d1aaa 100644
--- a/src/core/utf8.h
+++ b/src/core/utf8.h
@@ -12,8 +12,14 @@
 typedef guint32 unichar;
 
 /* Returns width for character (0-2). */
+int i_wcwidth(unichar c);
+
+/* Older variant of the above */
 int mk_wcwidth(unichar c);
 
+/* Signature for wcwidth implementations */
+typedef int (*WCWIDTH_FUNC) (unichar ucs);
+
 /* Advance the str pointer one character further; return the number of columns
  * occupied by the skipped character.
  */
diff --git a/src/core/wcwidth-wrapper.c b/src/core/wcwidth-wrapper.c
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..e08707e9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/core/wcwidth-wrapper.c
@@ -0,0 +1,117 @@
+/*
+ wcwidth-wrapper.c : irssi
+
+    Copyright (C) 2018 dequis
+
+    This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
+    it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+    the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or
+    (at your option) any later version.
+
+    This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+    but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+    MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+    GNU General Public License for more details.
+
+    You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along
+    with this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc.,
+    51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA.
+*/
+
+#define _XOPEN_SOURCE
+#include <wchar.h>
+
+#include "module.h"
+#include "signals.h"
+#include "settings.h"
+#include "utf8.h"
+
+/* wcwidth=2 since unicode 5.2.0 */
+#define UNICODE_SQUARE_HIRAGANA_HOKA 0x1F200
+
+/* wcwidth=2 since unicode 9.0.0 */
+#define UNICODE_IRSSI_LOGO 0x1F525
+
+enum {
+	WCWIDTH_IMPL_AUTO = 0,
+	WCWIDTH_IMPL_OLD,
+	WCWIDTH_IMPL_SYSTEM,
+};
+
+WCWIDTH_FUNC wcwidth_impl_func = mk_wcwidth;
+
+int i_wcwidth(unichar ucs)
+{
+	return (*wcwidth_impl_func)(ucs);
+}
+
+static int system_wcwidth(unichar ucs)
+{
+	int retval = wcwidth((wchar_t) ucs);
+
+	if (retval < 0) {
+		/* Treat all unknown characters as taking one cell. This is
+		 * the reason mk_wcwidth and other outdated implementations
+		 * mostly worked with newer unicode, while glibc's wcwidth
+		 * needs updating to recognize new characters.
+		 *
+		 * Instead of relying on that, we keep the behavior of assuming
+		 * one cell even for glibc's implementation, which is still
+		 * highly accurate and less of a headache overall.
+		 */
+		return 1;
+	}
+
+	return retval;
+}
+
+static void read_settings(void)
+{
+	static int choice = -1;
+	int newchoice;
+
+	newchoice = settings_get_choice("wcwidth_implementation");
+
+	if (choice == newchoice) {
+		return;
+	}
+
+	choice = newchoice;
+
+	switch (choice) {
+	case WCWIDTH_IMPL_AUTO:
+		/* Test against characters that have wcwidth=2
+		 * since unicode 5.2 and 9.0 respectively */
+
+		if (system_wcwidth(UNICODE_SQUARE_HIRAGANA_HOKA) == 2 ||
+		    system_wcwidth(UNICODE_IRSSI_LOGO) == 2) {
+			wcwidth_impl_func = &system_wcwidth;
+		} else {
+			/* Fall back to our own (which implements 5.0) */
+			wcwidth_impl_func = &mk_wcwidth;
+		}
+		break;
+
+	case WCWIDTH_IMPL_OLD:
+		wcwidth_impl_func = &mk_wcwidth;
+		break;
+
+	case WCWIDTH_IMPL_SYSTEM:
+		wcwidth_impl_func = &system_wcwidth;
+		break;
+	}
+
+}
+
+void wcwidth_wrapper_init(void)
+{
+	settings_add_choice("misc", "wcwidth_implementation", WCWIDTH_IMPL_AUTO, "auto;old;system");
+
+	read_settings();
+	signal_add("setup changed", (SIGNAL_FUNC) read_settings);
+}
+
+void wcwidth_wrapper_deinit(void)
+{
+	signal_remove("setup changed", (SIGNAL_FUNC) read_settings);
+}
diff --git a/src/fe-text/gui-entry.c b/src/fe-text/gui-entry.c
index 52a39969..b3c73c15 100644
--- a/src/fe-text/gui-entry.c
+++ b/src/fe-text/gui-entry.c
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ static unichar i_tolower(unichar c)
 static int i_isalnum(unichar c)
 {
 	if (term_type == TERM_TYPE_UTF8)
-		return (g_unichar_isalnum(c) || mk_wcwidth(c) == 0);
+		return (g_unichar_isalnum(c) || i_wcwidth(c) == 0);
 	return c <= 255 ? isalnum(c) : 0;
 }
 
@@ -219,7 +219,7 @@ static int pos2scrpos(GUI_ENTRY_REC *entry, int pos, int cursor)
 		if (term_type == TERM_TYPE_BIG5)
 			xpos += big5_width(c);
 		else if (entry->utf8)
-			xpos += unichar_isprint(c) ? mk_wcwidth(c) : 1;
+			xpos += unichar_isprint(c) ? i_wcwidth(c) : 1;
 		else
 			xpos++;
 
@@ -246,7 +246,7 @@ static int scrpos2pos(GUI_ENTRY_REC *entry, int pos)
 		if (term_type == TERM_TYPE_BIG5)
 			width = big5_width(c);
 		else if (entry->utf8)
-			width = unichar_isprint(c) ? mk_wcwidth(c) : 1;
+			width = unichar_isprint(c) ? i_wcwidth(c) : 1;
 		else
 			width = 1;
 
@@ -373,7 +373,7 @@ static void gui_entry_draw_from(GUI_ENTRY_REC *entry, int pos)
 		else if (term_type == TERM_TYPE_BIG5)
 			new_xpos += big5_width(c);
 		else if (entry->utf8)
-			new_xpos += unichar_isprint(c) ? mk_wcwidth(c) : 1;
+			new_xpos += unichar_isprint(c) ? i_wcwidth(c) : 1;
 		else
 			new_xpos++;
 
@@ -647,7 +647,7 @@ void gui_entry_insert_char(GUI_ENTRY_REC *entry, unichar chr)
 	if (chr == 0 || chr == 13 || chr == 10)
 		return; /* never insert NUL, CR or LF characters */
 
-	if (entry->utf8 && entry->pos == 0 && mk_wcwidth(chr) == 0)
+	if (entry->utf8 && entry->pos == 0 && i_wcwidth(chr) == 0)
 		return;
 
 	gui_entry_redraw_from(entry, entry->pos);
@@ -829,7 +829,7 @@ void gui_entry_erase(GUI_ENTRY_REC *entry, int size, CUTBUFFER_UPDATE_OP update_
 
 	if (entry->utf8)
 		while (entry->pos-size-w > 0 &&
-		       mk_wcwidth(entry->text[entry->pos-size-w]) == 0) w++;
+		       i_wcwidth(entry->text[entry->pos-size-w]) == 0) w++;
 
 	g_memmove(entry->text + entry->pos - size, entry->text + entry->pos,
 		  (entry->text_len-entry->pos+1) * sizeof(unichar));
@@ -867,7 +867,7 @@ void gui_entry_erase_cell(GUI_ENTRY_REC *entry)
 
 	if (entry->utf8)
 		while (entry->pos+size < entry->text_len &&
-		       mk_wcwidth(entry->text[entry->pos+size]) == 0) size++;
+		       i_wcwidth(entry->text[entry->pos+size]) == 0) size++;
 
 	g_memmove(entry->text + entry->pos, entry->text + entry->pos + size,
 	          (entry->text_len-entry->pos-size+1) * sizeof(unichar));
@@ -1188,7 +1188,7 @@ void gui_entry_move_pos(GUI_ENTRY_REC *entry, int pos)
 
 	if (entry->utf8) {
 		int step = pos < 0 ? -1 : 1;
-		while(mk_wcwidth(entry->text[entry->pos]) == 0 &&
+		while(i_wcwidth(entry->text[entry->pos]) == 0 &&
 		      entry->pos + step >= 0 && entry->pos + step <= entry->text_len)
 			entry->pos += step;
 	}
diff --git a/src/fe-text/term-terminfo.c b/src/fe-text/term-terminfo.c
index 68947f0c..6e031ebf 100644
--- a/src/fe-text/term-terminfo.c
+++ b/src/fe-text/term-terminfo.c
@@ -515,7 +515,7 @@ void term_add_unichar(TERM_WINDOW *window, unichar chr)
 
 	switch (term_type) {
 	case TERM_TYPE_UTF8:
-	  	term_printed_text(unichar_isprint(chr) ? mk_wcwidth(chr) : 1);
+		term_printed_text(unichar_isprint(chr) ? i_wcwidth(chr) : 1);
                 term_addch_utf8(window, chr);
 		break;
 	case TERM_TYPE_BIG5:
@@ -558,7 +558,7 @@ int term_addstr(TERM_WINDOW *window, const char *str)
 				len++;
 				ptr++;
 			} else {
-				len += unichar_isprint(tmp) ? mk_wcwidth(tmp) : 1;
+				len += unichar_isprint(tmp) ? i_wcwidth(tmp) : 1;
 				ptr = g_utf8_next_char(ptr);
 			}
 		}
diff --git a/src/fe-text/textbuffer-view.c b/src/fe-text/textbuffer-view.c
index 3ccd95f5..dda2ed97 100644
--- a/src/fe-text/textbuffer-view.c
+++ b/src/fe-text/textbuffer-view.c
@@ -197,7 +197,7 @@ static inline unichar read_unichar(const unsigned char *data, const unsigned cha
 		*width = 1;
 	} else {
 		*next = (unsigned char *)g_utf8_next_char(data);
-		*width = unichar_isprint(chr) ? mk_wcwidth(chr) : 1;
+		*width = unichar_isprint(chr) ? i_wcwidth(chr) : 1;
 	}
 	return chr;
 }