AltKeyCodes

How to type symbols in HTML

HTML has three ways to write a symbol: a named entity such as ©, a decimal

numeric escape such as ©, and a hex numeric escape such as ©. Named

entities are readable but only around 2,100 of them exist and they cover a fraction of

Unicode. Decimal and hex escapes work for every code point, so they are the reliable

fallback whenever a named entity is missing. All three are parsed as text and render

as the character.

Named entities

A named entity starts with &, uses a word or abbreviation from the HTML standard,

and ends with ;.


<p>&copy; 2026 AltKeyCodes</p>
<p>Temperature: 20&deg;C</p>
<p>&frac12; cup of flour</p>

Renders as:

© 2026 AltKeyCodes Temperature: 20°C ½ cup of flour

The HTML5 named entity list also includes a set of five characters that must be

escaped because they have a structural meaning: &lt; for <, &gt; for >,

&amp; for &, &quot; for ", and &apos; for '. Those five are the ones you

will use most often, and getting them wrong is the usual cause of a broken page.

Decimal escapes

A decimal escape writes the code point as a base-10 number between &# and ;.


<p>&#8593; &#8595; &#8592; &#8594;</p>

Renders as ↑ ↓ ← →

Decimal escapes work for every code point in Unicode with no exceptions and no

dependence on which named entities a browser knows.

Hex escapes

A hex escape is the same idea in base 16, with an x after the #.


<p>&#x2713; &#x2717; &#x2611;</p>

Renders as ✓ ✗ ☑

The hex form matches how Unicode code points are written everywhere else, so it is the

form to use when you are copying a code point out of a reference table. It is also

what you paste when you are not sure whether a named entity is safe.

Which one to use

Situation Use Why
A common symbol with a well-known entity Named entity More readable in source, &copy; is obvious at a glance
A symbol you looked up in a table Hex escape Copy the code point directly, no name lookup
A symbol with no named entity Decimal or hex The only options
Inside an HTML attribute Any of the three All work; escape " if the attribute uses double quotes

Where entities do not work

Entities are an HTML and XML feature. They are not processed in:

  • Plain text files, which show the literal characters &copy;
  • Markdown, unless the renderer passes raw HTML through
  • JSON, which has its own \uXXXX escape and no entity syntax
  • CSS content values, which use backslash escapes instead

For JSON, write the character directly as UTF-8 or use the \uXXXX form. For CSS, see

the escape rules in the symbol pages on this site, where a trailing space is required

after a hex escape when the next character is a hex digit.

FAQ

Does the semicolon matter?

Yes. Writing &copy without the semicolon is not valid, and browsers only recover

from it in text content, not inside attributes or inside other entities. Always close

the entity.

Can I use named entities that are not in the HTML5 list?

No. A name the standard does not define renders as the literal text you typed. If

this site's symbol table shows a dash for "Named entity", no name exists and you

should use the decimal or hex form.