diff --git a/src/cmd/ksh93/Mamfile b/src/cmd/ksh93/Mamfile
index 1a8f688a9..516c9be90 100644
--- a/src/cmd/ksh93/Mamfile
+++ b/src/cmd/ksh93/Mamfile
@@ -27,6 +27,12 @@ make install
 			exec -	SHOPT()
 			exec -	{
 			exec -		case $1 in
+			exec -		'MULTIBYTE=')
+			exec -			echo
+			exec -			echo '#if !defined(SHOPT_MULTIBYTE) && !AST_NOMULTIBYTE'
+			exec -			echo '#define SHOPT_MULTIBYTE	1'
+			exec -			echo '#endif'
+			exec -			;;
 			exec -		*=?*)	echo
 			exec -			echo "#ifndef SHOPT_${1%%=*}"
 			exec -			echo "#define SHOPT_${1%%=*}	${1#*=}"
diff --git a/src/cmd/ksh93/README b/src/cmd/ksh93/README
index b41a23f84..567fbb86e 100644
--- a/src/cmd/ksh93/README
+++ b/src/cmd/ksh93/README
@@ -100,8 +100,9 @@ The options have the following defaults and meanings:
                      As of 2021-05-10, no tool that can parse this database is
                      known. If you know of any, please contact us.
 
-    MULTIBYTE    on  Multibyte character handling.  Requires mblen() and
-                     mbctowc().
+    MULTIBYTE        Multibyte character handling. This is on by default unless
+                     the flag -DAST_NOMULTIBYTE is passed to the compiler via
+                     CCFLAGS. The UTF-8 character set is fully supported.
 
     NAMESPACE    on  Adds a 'namespace' reserved word that allows defining name
                      spaces. Variables and functions defined within a block like
@@ -191,6 +192,11 @@ Note: Do not add compiler flags that cause the compiler to emit terminal
 escape codes, such as -fdiagnostics-color=always; this will cause the build
 to fail as the probing code greps compiler diagnostics.
 
+If you are certain that you don't need support for UTF-8 and other multibyte
+character locales and really want to save some memory and CPU cycles, add
+'-DAST_NOMULTIBYTE' to CCFLAGS to compile out all multibyte character
+handling in ksh and supporting libraries. Not recommended for most users.
+
 For more information, run:
 
 	bin/package help
diff --git a/src/cmd/ksh93/SHOPT.sh b/src/cmd/ksh93/SHOPT.sh
index fa7c60ca7..1380de49c 100644
--- a/src/cmd/ksh93/SHOPT.sh
+++ b/src/cmd/ksh93/SHOPT.sh
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ SHOPT GLOBCASEDET=			# -o globcasedetect: adapt globbing/completion to case-inse
 SHOPT HISTEXPAND=1			# csh-style history file expansions
 SHOPT KIA=				# ksh -R <outfile> <script> generates cross-ref database from script
 SHOPT MKSERVICE=0			# enable the mkservice and eloop builtins
-SHOPT MULTIBYTE=1			# multibyte character handling
+SHOPT MULTIBYTE=			# multibyte character handling
 SHOPT NAMESPACE=1			# allow namespaces
 SHOPT NOECHOE=0				# turn off 'echo -e' when SHOPT_ECHOPRINT is disabled
 SHOPT OLDTERMIO=			# support both TCGETA and TCGETS
diff --git a/src/cmd/ksh93/include/defs.h b/src/cmd/ksh93/include/defs.h
index 6767f1f69..1d9c44844 100644
--- a/src/cmd/ksh93/include/defs.h
+++ b/src/cmd/ksh93/include/defs.h
@@ -28,6 +28,12 @@
 #ifndef defs_h_defined
 #define defs_h_defined
 
+/* In case multibyte support was disabled for ksh only (SHOPT_MULTIBYTE==0) and not for libast */
+#if !SHOPT_MULTIBYTE && !AST_NOMULTIBYTE
+#    undef AST_NOMULTIBYTE
+#    define AST_NOMULTIBYTE	1
+#endif
+
 #include	<ast.h>
 #if !defined(AST_VERSION) || AST_VERSION < 20220208
 #error libast version 20220208 or later is required
@@ -35,20 +41,9 @@
 #if !_lib_fork
 #error In 2021, ksh joined the 21st century and started requiring fork(2).
 #endif
-#if !SHOPT_MULTIBYTE
-    /*
-     * Disable multibyte without need for excessive '#if SHOPT_MULTIBYTE' preprocessor conditionals.
-     * If we redefine the maximum character size mbmax() as 1 byte, the mbwide() macro will always
-     * evaluate to 0. All the other multibyte macros have multibtye code conditional upon mbwide(),
-     * so the compiler should optimize all of that code away. See src/lib/libast/include/ast.h
-     */
-#   undef mbmax
-#   define mbmax()	1
-#endif
 
 #include	<sfio.h>
 #include	<error.h>
-#include	"shopt.h"
 #include	"FEATURE/externs"
 #include	"FEATURE/options"
 #include	<cdt.h>
diff --git a/src/cmd/ksh93/include/fcin.h b/src/cmd/ksh93/include/fcin.h
index 1970bc64b..323332c46 100644
--- a/src/cmd/ksh93/include/fcin.h
+++ b/src/cmd/ksh93/include/fcin.h
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 *                                                                      *
 *               This software is part of the ast package               *
 *          Copyright (c) 1982-2011 AT&T Intellectual Property          *
-*          Copyright (c) 2020-2021 Contributors to ksh 93u+m           *
+*          Copyright (c) 2020-2022 Contributors to ksh 93u+m           *
 *                      and is licensed under the                       *
 *                 Eclipse Public License, Version 1.0                  *
 *                    by AT&T Intellectual Property                     *
@@ -45,6 +45,7 @@ typedef struct _fcin
 
 #if SHOPT_MULTIBYTE
 #   define fcmbget(x)	(mbwide()?_fcmbget(x):fcget())
+    extern int		_fcmbget(short*);
 #else
 #   define fcmbget(x)	(fcget())
 #endif
@@ -64,7 +65,6 @@ extern int		fcfill(void);
 extern int		fcfopen(Sfio_t*);
 extern int		fcclose(void);
 void			fcnotify(void(*)(Sfio_t*,const char*,int,void*),void*);
-extern int		_fcmbget(short*);
 
 extern Fcin_t		_Fcin;		/* used by macros */
 
diff --git a/src/cmd/ksh93/include/lexstates.h b/src/cmd/ksh93/include/lexstates.h
index 575347543..9bcb3ff0e 100644
--- a/src/cmd/ksh93/include/lexstates.h
+++ b/src/cmd/ksh93/include/lexstates.h
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 *                                                                      *
 *               This software is part of the ast package               *
 *          Copyright (c) 1982-2011 AT&T Intellectual Property          *
-*          Copyright (c) 2020-2021 Contributors to ksh 93u+m           *
+*          Copyright (c) 2020-2022 Contributors to ksh 93u+m           *
 *                      and is licensed under the                       *
 *                 Eclipse Public License, Version 1.0                  *
 *                    by AT&T Intellectual Property                     *
@@ -107,14 +107,17 @@
 #endif
 
 #undef LEN
+#undef SETLEN
 #if SHOPT_MULTIBYTE
 #   define LEN		_Fcin.fclen
+#   define SETLEN(x)	(_Fcin.fclen = x)
 #   define isaname(c)	((c)>0x7f?isalpha(c): sh_lexstates[ST_NAME][(c)]==0)
 #   define isaletter(c)	((c)>0x7f?isalpha(c): sh_lexstates[ST_DOL][(c)]==S_ALP && (c)!='.')
 #else
 #   undef mbwide
 #   define mbwide()	(0)
 #   define LEN		1
+#   define SETLEN(x)	(x)
 #   define isaname(c)	(sh_lexstates[ST_NAME][c]==0)
 #   define isaletter(c)	(sh_lexstates[ST_DOL][c]==S_ALP && (c)!='.')
 #endif
diff --git a/src/cmd/ksh93/include/national.h b/src/cmd/ksh93/include/national.h
index 06104edda..56b26b15a 100644
--- a/src/cmd/ksh93/include/national.h
+++ b/src/cmd/ksh93/include/national.h
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 *                                                                      *
 *               This software is part of the ast package               *
 *          Copyright (c) 1982-2011 AT&T Intellectual Property          *
-*          Copyright (c) 2020-2021 Contributors to ksh 93u+m           *
+*          Copyright (c) 2020-2022 Contributors to ksh 93u+m           *
 *                      and is licensed under the                       *
 *                 Eclipse Public License, Version 1.0                  *
 *                    by AT&T Intellectual Property                     *
@@ -27,13 +27,9 @@
  */
 
 #if SHOPT_MULTIBYTE
-
 #   ifndef MARKER
 #	define MARKER		0xdfff	/* Must be invalid character */
 #   endif
-
-    extern int sh_strchr(const char*,const char*);
-
-#else
-#   define sh_strchr(s,c)	strchr(s,*(c))
 #endif /* SHOPT_MULTIBYTE */
+
+extern int sh_strchr(const char*,const char*);
diff --git a/src/cmd/ksh93/sh/fcin.c b/src/cmd/ksh93/sh/fcin.c
index 01de8d6a5..457b17499 100644
--- a/src/cmd/ksh93/sh/fcin.c
+++ b/src/cmd/ksh93/sh/fcin.c
@@ -151,6 +151,7 @@ extern void fcrestore(Fcin_t *fp)
 	_Fcin = *fp;
 }
 
+#if SHOPT_MULTIBYTE
 int _fcmbget(short *len)
 {
 	register int		c;
@@ -168,3 +169,4 @@ int _fcmbget(short *len)
 	}
 	return(c);
 } 
+#endif /* SHOPT_MULTIBYTE */
diff --git a/src/cmd/ksh93/sh/lex.c b/src/cmd/ksh93/sh/lex.c
index 196e6d79b..ba468d7f6 100644
--- a/src/cmd/ksh93/sh/lex.c
+++ b/src/cmd/ksh93/sh/lex.c
@@ -260,9 +260,7 @@ int sh_lex(Lex_t* lp)
 	register int		n, c, mode=ST_BEGIN, wordflags=0;
 	int		inlevel=lp->lexd.level, assignment=0, ingrave=0;
 	int		epatchar=0;
-#if SHOPT_MULTIBYTE
-	LEN=1;
-#endif /* SHOPT_MULTIBYTE */
+	SETLEN(1);
 	if(lp->lexd.paren)
 	{
 		lp->lexd.paren = 0;
@@ -1819,18 +1817,15 @@ static int here_copy(Lex_t *lp,register struct ionod *iop)
 		if(n!=S_NL)
 		{
 			/* skip over regular characters */
-#if SHOPT_MULTIBYTE
 			do
 			{
-				if(fcleft()< MB_LEN_MAX && mbsize(fcseek(0))<0)
+				if(mbsize(fcseek(0)) < 0 && fcleft() < MB_LEN_MAX)
 				{
 					n = S_EOF;
-					LEN = -fcleft();
+					SETLEN(-fcleft());
 					break;
 				}
 			}
-#endif /* SHOPT_MULTIBYTE */
-
 			while((n=STATE(state,c))==0);
 		}
 		if(n==S_EOF || !(c=fcget()))
@@ -1846,17 +1841,15 @@ static int here_copy(Lex_t *lp,register struct ionod *iop)
 				if(!lp->lexd.dolparen && (c=sfwrite(sp,bufp,c))>0)
 					iop->iosize += c;
 			}
-#if SHOPT_MULTIBYTE
 			if(LEN==0)
-				LEN=1;
+				SETLEN(1);
 			if(LEN < 0)
 			{
 				n = LEN;
 				c = fcmbget(&LEN);
-				LEN += n;
+				SETLEN(LEN + n);
 			}
 			else
-#endif /* SHOPT_MULTIBYTE */
 				c = lexfill(lp);
 			if(c<0)
 				break;
@@ -1874,10 +1867,8 @@ static int here_copy(Lex_t *lp,register struct ionod *iop)
 					sfputc(sp,'\\');
 				}
 			}
-#if SHOPT_MULTIBYTE
 			if(LEN < 1)
-				LEN = 1;
-#endif
+				SETLEN(1);
 			bufp = fcseek(-LEN);
 		}
 		else
diff --git a/src/cmd/ksh93/sh/macro.c b/src/cmd/ksh93/sh/macro.c
index 0459bcaa8..69282f1ed 100644
--- a/src/cmd/ksh93/sh/macro.c
+++ b/src/cmd/ksh93/sh/macro.c
@@ -105,7 +105,8 @@ static void	endfield(Mac_t*,int);
 static char	*mac_getstring(char*);
 static int	charlen(const char*,int);
 #if SHOPT_MULTIBYTE
-    static char	*lastchar(const char*,const char*);
+#   define lastchar(string,endstring)  (mbwide() ? _lastchar(string,endstring) : (endstring))
+    static char	*_lastchar(const char*,const char*);
 #else
 #   define lastchar(string,endstring)  (endstring)
 #endif /* SHOPT_MULTIBYTE */
@@ -2570,7 +2571,7 @@ static int substring(register const char *string,size_t len,const char *pat,int
 }
 
 #if SHOPT_MULTIBYTE
-	static char	*lastchar(const char *string, const char *endstring)
+	static char	*_lastchar(const char *string, const char *endstring)
 	{
 		register char *str = (char*)string;
 		register int c;
diff --git a/src/cmd/ksh93/sh/name.c b/src/cmd/ksh93/sh/name.c
index f645f01b1..3921385f6 100644
--- a/src/cmd/ksh93/sh/name.c
+++ b/src/cmd/ksh93/sh/name.c
@@ -1549,12 +1549,10 @@ skip:
 	return(np);
 }
 
-#if SHOPT_MULTIBYTE
-    static int ja_size(char*, int, int);
-    static void ja_restore(void);
-    static char *savep;
-    static char savechars[8+1];
-#endif /* SHOPT_MULTIBYTE */
+static int ja_size(char*, int, int);
+static void ja_restore(void);
+static char *savep;
+static char savechars[8+1];
 
 /*
  * put value <string> into name-value node <np>.
@@ -1863,22 +1861,8 @@ void nv_putval(register Namval_t *np, const char *string, int flags)
 				for( ; *sp == '0'; sp++)
 					;
 			size = nv_size(np);
-#if SHOPT_MULTIBYTE
 			if(size)
 				size = ja_size((char*)sp,size,nv_isattr(np,NV_RJUST|NV_ZFILL));
-#else
-			/* fallback: consider control characters to have zero width */
-			if(size)
-			{
-				char	*c = (char*)sp;
-				int	s = size;
-				for( ; *c && s; c++)
-					if(iscntrl(*c))
-						size++;
-					else
-						s--;
-			}
-#endif /* SHOPT_MULTIBYTE */
 		}
 		if(!up->cp || *up->cp==0)
 			flags &= ~NV_APPEND;
@@ -2005,11 +1989,9 @@ void nv_putval(register Namval_t *np, const char *string, int flags)
 				cp = cp+size;
 				for (; dp < cp; *dp++ = ' ');
 			 }
-#if SHOPT_MULTIBYTE
 			/* restore original string */
 			if(savep)
 				ja_restore();
-#endif /* SHOPT_MULTIBYTE */
 		}
 		if(flags&NV_APPEND)
 			stakseek(offset);
@@ -2066,17 +2048,15 @@ static void rightjust(char *str, int size, int fill)
 	return;
 }
 
-#if SHOPT_MULTIBYTE
-    /*
-     * handle left and right justified fields for multi-byte chars
-     * given physical size, return a logical size which reflects the
-     * screen width of multi-byte characters
-     * Multi-width characters replaced by spaces if they cross the boundary
-     * <type> is non-zero for right justified fields
-     */
+/*
+ * Handle left and right justified fields for multibyte characters.
+ * Given physical size, return a logical size that reflects the screen width.
+ * Multi-width characters are replaced by spaces if they cross the boundary.
+ * <type> is non-zero for right-justified fields.
+ */
 
-    static int ja_size(char *str,int size,int type)
-    {
+static int ja_size(char *str,int size,int type)
+{
 	register char *cp = str;
 	register int c, n=size;
 	register int outsize;
@@ -2118,16 +2098,15 @@ static void rightjust(char *str, int size, int fill)
 			n -= (ja_size(str,size,0)-size);
 	}
 	return(n);
-    }
+}
 
-    static void ja_restore(void)
-    {
+static void ja_restore(void)
+{
 	register char *cp = savechars;
 	while(*cp)
 		*savep++ = *cp++;
 	savep = 0;
-    }
-#endif /* SHOPT_MULTIBYTE */
+}
 
 static char *staknam(register Namval_t *np, char *value)
 {
diff --git a/src/cmd/ksh93/sh/string.c b/src/cmd/ksh93/sh/string.c
index 59cdce689..91809de27 100644
--- a/src/cmd/ksh93/sh/string.c
+++ b/src/cmd/ksh93/sh/string.c
@@ -659,11 +659,17 @@ char	*sh_fmtqf(const char *string, int single, int fold)
 	return(stakptr(offset));
 }
 
-#if SHOPT_MULTIBYTE
-	int sh_strchr(const char *string, register const char *dp)
+/*
+ * Find a multi-byte character in a string.
+ * NOTE: Unlike strchr(3), the return value is an integer offset or -1 if not found.
+ */
+int sh_strchr(const char *string, register const char *dp)
+{
+	const char *cp;
+	if(mbwide())
 	{
 		wchar_t c, d;
-		register const char *cp=string;
+		cp = string;
 		mbinit();
 		d = mbchar(dp); 
 		mbinit();
@@ -676,7 +682,9 @@ char	*sh_fmtqf(const char *string, int single, int fold)
 			return(cp-string);
 		return(-1);
 	}
-#endif /* SHOPT_MULTIBYTE */
+	cp = strchr(string,*dp);
+	return(cp ? cp-string : -1);
+}
 
 const char *_sh_translate(const char *message)
 {
diff --git a/src/cmd/ksh93/tests/attributes.sh b/src/cmd/ksh93/tests/attributes.sh
index 222ded73d..f48a166d3 100755
--- a/src/cmd/ksh93/tests/attributes.sh
+++ b/src/cmd/ksh93/tests/attributes.sh
@@ -476,7 +476,17 @@ typeset -l x=
 
 unset x
 typeset -L4 x=$'\001abcdef'
-[[ ${#x} == 5 ]] || err_exit "width of character '\001' is not zero"
+exp=$'\001abcd'
+[[ e=${#x} -eq 5 && $x == "$exp" ]] || err_exit "typeset -L: width of control character '\001' is not zero" \
+	"(expected length 5 and $(printf %q "$exp"), got length $e and $(printf %q "$x"))"
+typeset -R10 x=$'a\tb'
+exp=$'        a\tb'
+[[ e=${#x} -eq 11 && $x == "$exp" ]] || err_exit "typeset -R: width of control character '\t' is not zero" \
+	"(expected length 11 and $(printf %q "$exp"), got length $e and $(printf %q "$x"))"
+typeset -Z10 x=$'1\t2'
+exp=$'000000001\t2'
+[[ e=${#x} -eq 11 && $x == "$exp" ]] || err_exit "typeset -Z: width of control character '\t' is not zero" \
+	"(expected length 11 and $(printf %q "$exp"), got length $e and $(printf %q "$x"))"
 
 unset x
 typeset -L x=-1
diff --git a/src/cmd/ksh93/tests/shtests b/src/cmd/ksh93/tests/shtests
index 63bd78a67..3b424dba7 100755
--- a/src/cmd/ksh93/tests/shtests
+++ b/src/cmd/ksh93/tests/shtests
@@ -312,8 +312,9 @@ SHOPT()
 }
 . "${SHOPTFILE:-../SHOPT.sh}"
 unset -f SHOPT
+[[ -n $SHOPT_MULTIBYTE ]] || SHOPT_MULTIBYTE=$( LC_ALL=C.UTF-8; x=$'\xc3\xa9'; print $(( ${#x}==1 )) )
 if	(( !SHOPT_MULTIBYTE && utf8 && !posix && !compile ))
-then	echo "The -u/--utf8 option is unavailable as SHOPT_MULTIBYTE is turned off in ${SHOPTFILE:-SHOPT.sh}." >&2
+then	echo "-u/--utf8 is unavailable because multibyte support was not compiled in." >&2
 	exit 1
 fi
 
diff --git a/src/lib/libast/comp/setlocale.c b/src/lib/libast/comp/setlocale.c
index ced676596..ff5843a00 100644
--- a/src/lib/libast/comp/setlocale.c
+++ b/src/lib/libast/comp/setlocale.c
@@ -232,6 +232,8 @@ native_setlocale(int category, const char* locale)
 #define DZ	(DB-DX*DC+1)	/* wchar_t embedded size bits	*/
 #define DD	3		/* # mb delimiter chars <n...>	*/
 
+#if !AST_NOMULTIBYTE
+
 static unsigned char debug_order[] =
 {
 	  0,   1,   2,   3,   4,   5,   6,   7,
@@ -490,6 +492,18 @@ debug_strcoll(const char* a, const char* b)
 	return strcmp(ab, bb);
 }
 
+#else
+
+#define debug_mbtowc	0
+#define debug_wctomb	0
+#define debug_mblen	0
+#define	debug_wcwidth	0
+#define debug_alpha	0
+#define debug_strxfrm	0
+#define debug_strcoll	0
+
+#endif	/* !AST_NOMULTIBYTE */
+
 /*
  * default locale
  */
@@ -529,7 +543,7 @@ set_collate(Lc_category_t* cp)
  * workaround the interesting SJIS that translates unshifted 7 bit ASCII!
  */
 
-#if _hdr_wchar && _typ_mbstate_t && _lib_mbrtowc
+#if _hdr_wchar && _typ_mbstate_t && _lib_mbrtowc && !AST_NOMULTIBYTE
 
 #define mb_state_zero	((mbstate_t*)&ast.pad[sizeof(ast.pad)-2*sizeof(mbstate_t)])
 #define mb_state	((mbstate_t*)&ast.pad[sizeof(ast.pad)-sizeof(mbstate_t)])
@@ -547,6 +561,8 @@ sjis_mbtowc(register wchar_t* p, register const char* s, size_t n)
 
 #endif
 
+#if !AST_NOMULTIBYTE
+
 static int
 utf8_wctomb(char* u, wchar_t w) 
 {
@@ -593,8 +609,6 @@ utf8_mbtowc(wchar_t* wp, const char* str, size_t n)
 	register int		c;
 	register wchar_t	w = 0;
 
-	if (!wp && !sp)
-		ast.mb_sync = 0;  /* assume call from mbinit() macro: reset global multibyte sync state */
 	if (!sp || !n)
 		return 0;
 	if ((m = utf8tab[*sp]) > 0)
@@ -2196,6 +2210,16 @@ utf8_alpha(wchar_t c)
 	return !!(utf8_wam[(c >> 3) & 0x1fff] & (1 << (c & 0x7)));
 }
 
+#else
+
+#define utf8_wctomb	0
+#define utf8_mbtowc	0
+#define utf8_mblen	0
+#define utf8_wcwidth	0
+#define utf8_alpha	0
+
+#endif /* !AST_NOMULTIBYTE */
+
 #if !_hdr_wchar || !_lib_wctype || !_lib_iswctype
 #undef	iswalpha
 #define iswalpha	default_iswalpha
diff --git a/src/lib/libast/include/ast.h b/src/lib/libast/include/ast.h
index c435c3730..77d2b8f09 100644
--- a/src/lib/libast/include/ast.h
+++ b/src/lib/libast/include/ast.h
@@ -208,22 +208,46 @@ typedef struct
  * multibyte macros
  */
 
-#define mbmax()		(ast.mb_cur_max)
-#define mberr()		(ast.tmp_int<0)
+#if !AST_NOMULTIBYTE
 
-#define mbcoll()	(ast.mb_xfrm!=0)
-#define mbwide()	(mbmax()>1)
+#define mbmax()		( ast.mb_cur_max )
+#define mberr()		( ast.tmp_int < 0 )
 
-#define mb2wc(w,p,n)	(*ast.mb_towc)(&w,(char*)p,n)
-#define mbchar(p)	(mbwide()?((ast.tmp_int=(*ast.mb_towc)(&ast.tmp_wchar,(char*)(p),mbmax()))>0?((p+=ast.tmp_int),ast.tmp_wchar):(p+=ast.mb_sync+1,ast.tmp_int)):(*(unsigned char*)(p++)))
-#define mbnchar(p,n)	(mbwide()?((ast.tmp_int=(*ast.mb_towc)(&ast.tmp_wchar,(char*)(p),n))>0?((p+=ast.tmp_int),ast.tmp_wchar):(p+=ast.mb_sync+1,ast.tmp_int)):(*(unsigned char*)(p++)))
-#define mbinit()	(mbwide()?(*ast.mb_towc)((wchar_t*)0,(char*)0,mbmax()):0)
-#define mbsize(p)	(mbwide()?(*ast.mb_len)((char*)(p),mbmax()):((p),1))
-#define mbnsize(p,n)	(mbwide()?(*ast.mb_len)((char*)(p),n):((p),1))
-#define mbconv(s,w)	(ast.mb_conv?(*ast.mb_conv)(s,w):((*(s)=(w)),1))
-#define mbwidth(w)	(ast.mb_width?(*ast.mb_width)(w):1)
-#define mbxfrm(t,f,n)	(mbcoll()?(*ast.mb_xfrm)((char*)(t),(char*)(f),n):0)
-#define mbalpha(w)	(ast.mb_alpha?(*ast.mb_alpha)(w):isalpha((w)&0xff))
+#define mbcoll()	( ast.mb_xfrm != 0 )
+#define mbwide()	( mbmax() > 1 )
+
+#define mb2wc(w,p,n)	( *ast.mb_towc)(&w, (char*)p, n )
+#define	mbchar(p)	mbnchar(p, mbmax())
+#define mbnchar(p,n)	( mbwide() ? ( (ast.tmp_int = (*ast.mb_towc)(&ast.tmp_wchar, (char*)(p), n)) > 0 ? \
+				( (p+=ast.tmp_int),ast.tmp_wchar) : (p+=ast.mb_sync+1,ast.tmp_int) ) : (*(unsigned char*)(p++)) )
+#define mbinit()	( ast.mb_sync = 0 )
+#define mbsize(p)	mbnsize(p, mbmax())
+#define mbnsize(p,n)	( mbwide() ? (*ast.mb_len)((char*)(p), n) : ((p), 1) )
+#define mbconv(s,w)	( ast.mb_conv ? (*ast.mb_conv)(s,w) : ((*(s)=(w)), 1) )
+#define mbwidth(w)	( ast.mb_width ? (*ast.mb_width)(w) : (w >= 0 && w <= 255 && !iscntrl(w) ? 1 : -1) )
+#define mbxfrm(t,f,n)	( mbcoll() ? (*ast.mb_xfrm)((char*)(t), (char*)(f), n) : 0 )
+#define mbalpha(w)	( ast.mb_alpha ? (*ast.mb_alpha)(w) : isalpha((w) & 0xff) )
+
+#else
+
+#define mbmax()		1
+#define mberr()		0
+
+#define mbcoll()	0
+#define mbwide()	0
+
+#define mb2wc(w,p,n)	( (w) = *(unsigned char*)(p), 1 )
+#define mbchar(p)	( *(unsigned char*)(p++) )
+#define mbnchar(p,n)	mbchar(p)
+#define mbinit()	0
+#define mbsize(p)	1
+#define mbnsize(p,n)	1
+#define mbconv(s,w)	( (*(s)=(w)), 1 )
+#define mbwidth(w)	( w >= 0 && w <= 255 && !iscntrl(w) ? 1 : -1 )
+#define mbxfrm(t,f,n)	0
+#define mbalpha(w)	( isalpha((w) & 0xff) )
+
+#endif /* !AST_NOMULTIBYTE */
 
 /*
  * common macros