I have a JSON string that I would like to include as a value in a larger JSON object that I am creating from an array. How can I create the larger JSON object without php escaping the string, and without having to decode the previously encoded string? For example, if my JSON string is: $encoded_already = '{"encoded_key": "encoded_value"}'; And I would like to include it in my array and json_encode() it: $new_array = array( "some_other_key" => $some_value, "premade_data" => $encoded_already ); $output = json_encode($new_array); but I want to have the $encoded_already string be included as actual JSON, not just an escaped string.