diff --git a/extension.json b/extension.json
index e05108d47..077ae91a5 100644
--- a/extension.json
+++ b/extension.json
@@ -66,7 +66,10 @@
 		"remoteExtPath": "Wikven/resources"
 	},
 	"Hooks": {
-		"ParserOutputPostCacheTransform": "hider",
+		"ParserOutputPostCacheTransform": [
+			"hider",
+			"respacer"
+		],
 		"SkinTemplateNavigation::Universal": [
 			"hider",
 			"main"
@@ -146,6 +149,9 @@
 		},
 		"versioner": {
 			"class": "MediaWiki\\Extension\\Wikven\\Hooks\\Versioner"
+		},
+		"respacer": {
+			"class": "MediaWiki\\Extension\\Wikven\\Hooks\\Respacer"
 		}
 	},
 	"config": {
diff --git a/includes/Hooks/Respacer.php b/includes/Hooks/Respacer.php
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..4c06d2502
--- /dev/null
+++ b/includes/Hooks/Respacer.php
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+<?php
+
+namespace MediaWiki\Extension\Wikven\Hooks;
+
+use MediaWiki\Extension\Wikven\Output\CodeSpaces;
+
+/**
+ * Code reads as its source wrote it, a skin preview included: the spaces are content, not chrome.
+ */
+class Respacer implements \MediaWiki\Hook\ParserOutputPostCacheTransformHook {
+	/** @inheritDoc */
+	public function onParserOutputPostCacheTransform($parserOutput, &$text, &$options): void {
+		$text = CodeSpaces::restore($text);
+	}
+}
diff --git a/includes/Output/CodeSpaces.php b/includes/Output/CodeSpaces.php
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..1ad482608
--- /dev/null
+++ b/includes/Output/CodeSpaces.php
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+<?php
+
+namespace MediaWiki\Extension\Wikven\Output;
+
+/**
+ * Puts back the spaces Sanitizer::armorFrenchSpaces took out of code, where Tidy runs it too: the
+ * space in `a != b` becomes a no-break space that copied code then carries (#833). Only the shapes
+ * that rule writes are undone, and only inside `<pre>` and `<code>`.
+ */
+class CodeSpaces {
+	private const NBSP = '(?:\x{00A0}|&#160;|&nbsp;)';
+
+	public static function restore(string $html): string {
+		$undo = static function (array $code): string {
+			return preg_replace(
+				[
+					// The inverse of the rule's two patterns, in its order
+					'/' . self::NBSP . '(?=[?:;!%»›](?!\w))/u',
+					'/(?<!\w)([«‹])' . self::NBSP . '/u'
+				],
+				[' ', '$1 '],
+				$code[0]
+			) ?? $code[0];
+		};
+		return preg_replace_callback('/<(pre|code)\b[^>]*>.*?<\/\1>/isu', $undo, $html) ?? $html;
+	}
+}
diff --git a/tests/phpunit/integration/Hooks/RespacerTest.php b/tests/phpunit/integration/Hooks/RespacerTest.php
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..87e622dc1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/phpunit/integration/Hooks/RespacerTest.php
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+<?php
+
+namespace MediaWiki\Extension\Wikven\Tests\Integration\Hooks;
+
+use MediaWiki\Parser\ParserOptions;
+use MediaWiki\Title\Title;
+use MediaWikiIntegrationTestCase;
+
+/**
+ * A parse needs a database whatever it is parsing; see VersionerTest.
+ *
+ * @covers \MediaWiki\Extension\Wikven\Hooks\Respacer
+ * @group Database
+ */
+class RespacerTest extends MediaWikiIntegrationTestCase {
+	/** Through core's own parse and output pipeline, so it also fails if extension.json drops the handler. */
+	public function testCodeReadsAsWrittenWhileProseKeepsItsArmor() {
+		$popts = ParserOptions::newFromAnon();
+		$html = $this->getServiceContainer()
+			->getParserFactory()
+			->getInstance()
+			->parse(
+				"<pre>a != b</pre>\n\n<code>a != b</code> a !",
+				Title::newFromText('Respacer test'),
+				$popts
+			)
+			->runOutputPipeline($popts)
+			->getContentHolderText();
+
+		$this->assertStringContainsString('<pre>a != b</pre>', $html);
+		$this->assertStringContainsString('<code>a != b</code>', $html);
+		$this->assertMatchesRegularExpression('/a(\x{00A0}|&#160;)!/u', $html, 'prose keeps its armor');
+	}
+}
diff --git a/tests/phpunit/unit/CodeSpacesTest.php b/tests/phpunit/unit/CodeSpacesTest.php
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..b232d0a9a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/phpunit/unit/CodeSpacesTest.php
@@ -0,0 +1,49 @@
+<?php
+
+namespace MediaWiki\Extension\Wikven\Tests\Unit;
+
+use MediaWiki\Extension\Wikven\Output\CodeSpaces;
+use MediaWikiUnitTestCase;
+
+/**
+ * @covers \MediaWiki\Extension\Wikven\Output\CodeSpaces
+ */
+class CodeSpacesTest extends MediaWikiUnitTestCase {
+	/**
+	 * Each way core hands code over, with the no-break space armorFrenchSpaces put before `!=`.
+	 *
+	 * @dataProvider provideArmoredCode
+	 */
+	public function testTheSpaceBeforeAnOperatorIsASpaceAgain(string $armored, string $restored) {
+		$this->assertSame($restored, CodeSpaces::restore($armored));
+	}
+
+	public static function provideArmoredCode(): iterable {
+		yield '<pre>' => ["<pre>a\u{00A0}!= b</pre>", '<pre>a != b</pre>'];
+		yield '<code>' => ["<p><code>a\u{00A0}!= b</code></p>", '<p><code>a != b</code></p>'];
+		// What SyntaxHighlight renders for `if: a != b` in YAML
+		yield 'syntaxhighlight' => [
+			'<div class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-yaml mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><pre><span></span>'
+				. '<span class="nt">if</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span>'
+				. "<span class=\"l l-Scalar l-Scalar-Plain\">a\u{00A0}!= b</span>\n</pre></div>",
+			'<div class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-yaml mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><pre><span></span>'
+				. '<span class="nt">if</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"> </span>'
+				. "<span class=\"l l-Scalar l-Scalar-Plain\">a != b</span>\n</pre></div>"
+		];
+		yield 'as an entity' => ['<code>a&#160;!= b</code>', '<code>a != b</code>'];
+		yield 'after a guillemet' => ["<code>«\u{00A0}a »</code>", '<code>« a »</code>'];
+	}
+
+	/** Prose keeps the armor: there the no-break space is what the rule is for. */
+	public function testANoBreakSpaceOutsideCodeIsLeftAlone() {
+		$html = "<p>a\u{00A0}!</p><pre>a\u{00A0}!= b</pre><p>b\u{00A0}?</p>";
+		$this->assertSame("<p>a\u{00A0}!</p><pre>a != b</pre><p>b\u{00A0}?</p>", CodeSpaces::restore($html));
+	}
+
+	/** One the rule could not have written, so an author meant it. */
+	public function testANoBreakSpaceTheRuleDidNotWriteStays() {
+		foreach (["<code>a\u{00A0}b</code>", "<code>a\u{00A0}!b</code>"] as $html) {
+			$this->assertSame($html, CodeSpaces::restore($html));
+		}
+	}
+}