VAR = val1 \ val2 VAR2 = val1space\ val2 VAR3 = val3 \\\ cont3 all: otarget test.target test "$(VAR)" = "val1 val2 " test "$(VAR2)" = "val1space val2" test '$(VAR3)' = 'val3 \ cont3' test "hello \ world" = "hello world" test "hello" = \ "hello" @echo TEST-PASS otarget: ; test "hello\ world" = "helloworld" test.target: %.target: ; test "hello\ world" = "helloworld"