Special Character Reference
Seventy characters, and when to use each.
Find a character
Selecting a character copies it. The entity and keystroke are listed underneath each set.
Characters
Dashes & hyphens
Four different marks that look similar and mean different things. Getting these right is the fastest way to make typesetting look professional.
Entities, keystrokes and when to use each
- HyphenU+002D
Joins compound words and breaks lines. Never used as a dash.
- En dashU+2013Option + -
Ranges: 1998–2004, pages 12–19. Also as a parenthetical dash in British style.
- Em dashU+2014Shift + Option + -
Parenthetical breaks in American style — like this. Set closed up or spaced, but be consistent.
- Minus signU+2212
The true minus. Aligns with digits, unlike a hyphen.
- Non-breaking hyphenU+2011
Stops a hyphenated name breaking across a line.
Quotes & primes
Straight quotes are typewriter artefacts. Typeset text uses curly quotes; feet and inches use primes, which are a different character again.
Entities, keystrokes and when to use each
- Left single quoteU+2018Option + ]
- Right single quote / apostropheU+2019Shift + Option + ]
Also the correct apostrophe: don’t, it’s.
- Left double quoteU+201COption + [
- Right double quoteU+201DShift + Option + [
- PrimeU+2032
Feet and minutes: 6′ 2″. Not an apostrophe.
- Double primeU+2033
Inches and seconds. Not a quote mark.
- Left guillemetU+00AB
- Right guillemetU+00BB
Legal & commercial
Marks with legal meaning. ® may only be used for a registered mark; ™ can be used for an unregistered claim.
Entities, keystrokes and when to use each
- CopyrightU+00A9Option + G
- Registered trademarkU+00AEOption + R
Only for marks actually registered in that jurisdiction.
- TrademarkU+2122Option + 2
An unregistered claim to a mark.
- Service markU+2120
- SectionU+00A7Option + 6
- PilcrowU+00B6Option + 7
- DaggerU+2020Option + T
First footnote after the asterisk, in traditional order.
- Double daggerU+2021Shift + Option + 7
Punctuation & spacing
Marks that carry meaning about spacing and structure, several of which are invisible.
Entities, keystrokes and when to use each
- EllipsisU+2026Option + ;
One character, not three full stops. Spaces differently and never breaks across lines.
- Non-breaking spaceU+00A0Option + Space
Keeps a number with its unit, or a name with its initial.
- Thin spaceU+2009
Traditional spacing around an em dash or inside quotes.
- Zero-width spaceU+200B
Marks a break opportunity in a long URL without adding a visible space.
- BulletU+2022Option + 8
- Middle dotU+00B7Shift + Option + 9
- InterrobangU+203D
- NumeroU+2116
Currency
Set currency symbols closed up to the figure in most styles, and use the correct symbol rather than a letter.
Entities, keystrokes and when to use each
- PoundU+00A3Option + 3
- EuroU+20ACShift + Option + 2
- CentU+00A2Option + 4
- YenU+00A5Option + Y
- RupeeU+20B9
- RoubleU+20BD
- WonU+20A9
- Generic currencyU+00A4
Maths & units
Proper mathematical characters, which align with figures and carry the right spacing.
Entities, keystrokes and when to use each
- MultiplicationU+00D7
Dimensions: 210 × 297 mm. Not a lowercase x.
- DivisionU+00F7Option + /
- Plus-minusU+00B1Shift + Option + =
- ApproximatelyU+2248Option + X
- Not equalU+2260Option + =
- Less than or equalU+2264Option + ,
- Greater than or equalU+2265Option + .
- DegreeU+00B0Shift + Option + 8
- Prime (minutes)U+2032
- InfinityU+221EOption + 5
- Square rootU+221AOption + V
- PiU+03C0Option + P
Fractions
Precomposed fractions sit on the baseline correctly. Typing 1/2 does not.
Entities, keystrokes and when to use each
- One halfU+00BD
- One thirdU+2153
- Two thirdsU+2154
- One quarterU+00BC
- Three quartersU+00BE
- One eighthU+215B
- Three eighthsU+215C
- Five eighthsU+215D
- Seven eighthsU+215E
Arrows & marks
Directional and editorial marks used in interfaces and annotation.
Entities, keystrokes and when to use each
- Left arrowU+2190
- Right arrowU+2192
- Up arrowU+2191
- Down arrowU+2193
- Left-right arrowU+2194
- CommandU+2318
- OptionU+2325
- ShiftU+21E7
- ReturnU+23CE
- Star, filledU+2605
- Star, outlineU+2606
- CheckU+2713
A reference for the characters that are easy to find and easy to get wrong. A hyphen is not an en dash, an apostrophe is not a prime, and three full stops are not an ellipsis. Every entry carries its codepoint, HTML entity and Mac keystroke, plus a note on when it is the right mark rather than the one that looks similar.
Why use this tool?
Grouped by job
Dashes, quotes, legal, punctuation, currency, maths, fractions and arrows.
One click to copy
The character itself, or the HTML entity.
Says when to use each
The useful part. An en dash is for ranges, an em dash for parenthetical breaks, a prime for feet and inches.
Codepoints computed
Derived from the character rather than typed by hand, so none of them is wrong.
How this special character reference works
Every codepoint on this page is derived from the character itself rather than typed in alongside it. That sounds pedantic until you notice how many reference tables carry a wrong codepoint next to a right character, which is worse than having no codepoint at all.
The usage notes are the point of the page. Finding an em dash is easy; knowing that an en dash marks a range, an em dash marks a parenthetical break, a hyphen joins words and a minus sign aligns with figures is the part that separates typeset text from typed text. Four marks that look similar and are not interchangeable.
Several entries are invisible. A non-breaking space, a thin space and a zero-width space have no glyph, which is exactly why people forget they exist — and why a number ends up separated from its unit across a line break. They are shown with a placeholder so the box keeps its shape.
How to use it
Step 1: Search or browse
By name, entity or codepoint — or scroll the groups.
Step 2: Select to copy
One tap copies the character.
Step 3: Open the details
Each group expands to show entities, keystrokes and usage notes.
Example usage
- Setting a date range
- An en dash rather than a hyphen for 1998–2004, which is the single most common typesetting correction there is.
- Quoting properly
- Curly quotes for speech and primes for feet and inches, which are different characters despite looking related.
- Writing dimensions
- A multiplication sign for 210 × 297 mm rather than a lowercase x, which sits at the wrong height and weight.
Smart substitution, and when it works against you
Most writing software silently replaces characters as you type: straight quotes become curly, three periods become an ellipsis, two hyphens become a dash. For prose this is genuinely helpful and it is why typed text now looks typeset by default. The trouble is that the substitution is contextual guessing, and it guesses from grammar rather than from meaning.
The failure it produces most often is the apostrophe standing in for a prime. Type 6'2" and autocorrect will give you a right single quote and a right double quote, because it assumes you are quoting. The correct marks are the prime and double prime, which are upright and slightly sloped rather than curled. The same substitution ruins minutes and seconds of arc, and any measurement in feet and inches.
The other place it does damage is anywhere text is also code. A curly quote in a stylesheet, a config file or a command breaks it, usually with an error that points somewhere unhelpful. If you have ever pasted a snippet from a document and had it fail for no visible reason, this was probably why. Write code in an editor rather than a word processor, and when a character has to be exact, copy it from a reference rather than typing it and trusting the correction.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a hyphen, an en dash and an em dash?
A hyphen joins compound words and breaks lines. An en dash marks ranges — 1998–2004 — and is used as a spaced parenthetical dash in British style. An em dash is the unspaced parenthetical dash in American style. They are three different characters and using a hyphen for all three is the commonest typesetting error there is.
Why do my quotes look wrong?
You are almost certainly using straight quotes, which are a typewriter artefact. Typeset text uses curly quotes. Feet and inches use primes, which are different characters again — 6′ 2″ rather than 6' 2".
Why is a non-breaking space in a character list?
Because it is a character with a job: it stops a number separating from its unit, or a name from its initial, when a line breaks. It is invisible, which is exactly why people forget it exists.
Why does my code break after I paste it from a document?
Almost certainly smart quotes. Word processors replace straight quotes with curly ones, and a curly quote is a different character that no programming language recognises as a string delimiter. The error usually points somewhere unhelpful. Write code in a code editor, where the substitution never happens.
Should I use HTML entities or paste the character directly?
Paste the character. Any modern page is UTF-8 and handles them natively, and the source stays readable. Entities remain necessary for the four characters with structural meaning in HTML — the angle brackets, the ampersand and, inside attributes, the quote mark — and are useful for invisible characters where a literal would be impossible to spot.
How do I type these on Windows?
The keystrokes listed here are the Mac ones. On Windows the general method is Alt plus the numeric keypad, and the more practical route for anything you use often is the Windows emoji and symbol panel, opened with Windows and full stop. For occasional use, copying from a reference like this one is faster than remembering either.
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