How to Type Symbols Using the ALT Key

Last Updated: February 17, 2022 References Tested

In Windows, Alt key combined with numeric codes can access characters that aren't readily available on a normal keyboard. While Alt codes don't exist on Mac computers, there are a variety of Option key shortcuts that can let you type the most popular characters. On Linux, you can press Ctrl + Shift + U to type any Unicode character, as long as the font you're typing it in supports it.

Alt Key Symbol Cheat Sheets

Alt Key Symbols for PC

Option Key Symbols for Mac

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Using Windows

1
Type currency symbols. Hold Alt and type the number below using the numeric pad on your keyboard. When you release Alt, the symbol will appear. NumLock must be enabled.^{[1]
X
Research source}

Symbol Name Code

€
Euro

0128

£
Pound

156

¢
Cent

155

¥
Yen

157

ƒ
Florin

159

¤
Currency

0164

2

Type mathematics symbols. Hold Alt and type the number below using the numeric pad on your keyboard to insert mathematics symbols. When you release the Alt key, the symbol will appear. NumLock needs to be enabled.^{[2]
X
Research source}

Symbol	Name	Code
÷	Division (Obelus)	246
×	Multiplication	0215
±	Plus or minus	0177
≈	Approximate	247
√	Square root	251
ⁿ	Power n	252
²	Squared	253
¼	Quarter	0188
½	Half	0189
¾	Three quarters	0190
∞	Infinity	236
≥	Greater than or equal	242
≤	Less than or equal	243
π	Pi	227
°	Degree	248

3

Type special punctuation and editing symbols. Hold Alt and use the numeric pad to enter the number below to create special punctuation symbols. When you let go of the Alt, the symbol will be inserted. NumLock must be enabled.^{[3]
X
Research source}

Symbol	Name	Code
¡	Inverted exclamation	173
¿	Inverted question	168
§	Section	21
¶	Paragraph	20
©	Copyright	0169
®	Registered	0174
™	Trademark	0153
†	Dagger	0134
‡	Double dagger	0135
–	En dash	0150
—	Em dash	0151
•	Bullet	0149

4

Type musical notation. Hold the Alt key and enter the number below using the numeric pad on your keyboard. When you release Alt, the musical symbol will appear. NumLock must be enabled for these to work. Symbols with codes between 9000 and 9999 rely on certain fonts, and may not work everywhere.

Symbol	Name	Code
♪	Quarter note	13
♫	Eighth note	14
♬	Sixteenth note	9836
♭	Flat	9837
♮	Natural	9838
♯	Sharp	9839

5

Type other miscellaneous symbols. Hold Alt and type the number below with the numeric pad. When you release Alt, the symbol will appear. NumLock has to be on.^{[4]
X
Research source}

Symbol	Name	Code
☺	Smiley	1
☻	Black Smiley	2
♥	Heart	3
♦	Diamond	4
♣	Club	5
♠	Spade	6
♂	Male	11
♀	Female	12
↑	Up arrow	24
↓	Down arrow	25
→	Right arrow	26
←	Left arrow	27
☼	Sun	15
⌂	Home	127
Ω	Ohms	234

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Using Mac

1

Type currency symbols. When you hold ⌥ Opt or ⇧ Shift+⌥ Opt, your keyboard keys will make different symbols than normal. This includes some of the more popular currency symbols. Use the shortcuts below to type different currency symbols.

Symbol	Name	Shortcut
¢	Cent	`⌥ Opt`+`4`
€	Euro	`⇧ Shift`+`⌥ Opt`+`2`
£	Pound	`⌥ Opt`+`3`
¥	Yen	`⌥ Opt`+`Y`
ƒ	Florin	`⌥ Opt`+`F`

2

Type mathematics symbols. Use ⌥ Opt or ⇧ Shift+⌥ Opt to modify the functions of your keyboard keys. Use the modifiers below to type different mathematics symbols.

Symbol	Name	Shortcut
÷	Division (Obelus)	`⌥ Opt`+`/`
±	Plus or minus	`⇧ Shift`+`⌥ Opt`+`=`
°	Degree	`⇧ Shift`+`⌥ Opt`+`8`
≥	Greater than or equal	`⌥ Opt`+`>`
≤	Less than or equal	`⌥ Opt`+`<`
π	Pi	`⌥ Opt`+`P`
≈	Approximate	`⌥ Opt`+`X`
≠	Not equal	`⌥ Opt`+`=`
∞	Infinity	`⌥ Opt`+`5`
∫	Integral	`⌥ Opt`+`B`

3

Type special punctuation and editing symbols. The ⌥ Opt and ⇧ Shift+⌥ Opt modifiers will change the symbols your keyboard keys create. Some of these modified characters are punctuation and editing symbols. Use the key combinations below to type these symbols.

Symbol	Name	Shortcut
¿	Inverted question	`⇧ Shift`+`⌥ Opt`+`?`
¡	Inverted exclamation	`⌥ Opt`+`1`
©	Copyright	`⌥ Opt`+`G`
®	Registered	`⌥ Opt`+`R`
™	Trademark	`⌥ Opt`+`2`
¶	Paragraph	`⌥ Opt`+`7`
§	Section	`⌥ Opt`+`6`
•	Bullet	`⌥ Opt`+`8`
–	En dash	`⌥ Opt`+`-`
—	Em dash	`⇧ Shift`+`⌥ Opt`+`-`
†	Dagger	`⌥ Opt`+`T`
‡	Double dagger	`⇧ Shift`+`⌥ Opt`+`7`

4
Use the Symbol Viewer to find more symbols. The Mac doesn't have as many codes as a Windows computer, but you can find lots of different symbols in the Symbol Viewer:^{[5]
X
Research source}
- Click the Apple menu and select "System Preferences."
- Click the "Keyboard" option and then check "Show viewers for keyboard, emoji, and symbols in menu bar."
- Click the viewer icon that appears in the menu bar and select "Show Emoji & Symbols."
- Browse through the categories of symbols and double-click the one you want to insert.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Using Linux & Chromebook

1
Press Ctrl+⇧ Shift+U. An underlined u will appear. This works on both Linux and Chromebook, which is based on Linux.
2
Type the Unicode hex value of the character. You can look it up in a Unicode table and convert from decimal to hexadecimal if necessary. You don't have to type the zeroes at the beginning.
3
Press ↵ Enter. The character should appear in place of the underlined u and the numbers.
4
Type currency symbols. To type currency symbols on Linux and Chromebook, press Ctrl + Shift + U and then type one of the following Unicode hex values and press Enter to type currency symbols:

Symbol Name Code

€
Euro

20AC

£
Pound

00A3

₽
Ruble

20BD

$
Dollar

0024

₩
Won

20A9

¥
Yen

00A5

5

Type mathematical symbols. To type mathmatic symbols on Linux and Chromebook, press Ctrl + Shift + U and then type one of the following Unicode hex values and press Enter to type mathmatic symbols:

Symbol	Name	Code
÷	Division Sign	00F7
×	Multiplication Sign	00D7
±	Plus Minus	00B1
≈	Approximately Equal To	2248
≠	Not Equal To	2260
∈	Is Element Of	2208
∉	Not Element Of	2209
∞	Infinity	221E
≤	Less Or Equal	2264
≥	Greater Or Equal	2265
π	Pi	03C0
√	Square Root	221A
∛	Cube Root	221B

6

Type special punctuation:

Symbol	Name	Code
¡	Inverted Exclamation Mark	00A1
¿	Inverted Question Mark	00BF
«	Left Angle Quote	00AB
»	Right Angle Quote	00BB
《	Left Angle Bracket	300A
》	Right Angle Bracket	300B
„	Low Left Cursive Quote	201E
“	Left Cursive Quote	201C
‰	Per Mille Sign	2030
–	En Dash	2013
—	Em Dash	2014

7

Type common symbols. To type commonly used symbols on Linux and Chromebook, press Ctrl + Shift + U and then type one of the following Unicode hex values and press Enter to type the following symbols:

Symbol	Name	Code
§	Section	00A7
¶	Pilcrow / Paragraph Mark	00B6
©	Copyright	00A9
®	Registered	00AE
™	Trademark	2122
�	Replacement Character	FFFD
⌘	Command Key	2318

8

Type musical notation. To type musical notations on Linux and Chromebook, press Ctrl + Shift + U and then type one of the following Unicode hex values and press Enter to type music symbols:

Symbol	Name	Code
♩	Quarter Note	2669
♪	Eighth Note	266A
♫	Beamed Eighth Notes	266B
♬	Beamed Sixteenth Notes	266C
♭	Bemolle / Flat	266D
♮	Natural	266E
♯	Dièse / Sharp	266F

9

Type Chess symbols. To type Chess symbols that represent Chess pieces on Linux and Chromebook, press Ctrl + Shift + U and then type one of the following Unicode hex values and press Enter to type Chess symbols:

Symbol	Name	Code	Symbol	Name	Code
♔	White King	2654	♚	Black King	265A
♕	White Queen	2655	♛	Black Queen	265B
♖	White Rook	2656	♜	Black Rook	265C
♗	White Bishop	2657	♝	Black Bishop	265D
♘	White Knight	2658	♞	Black Knight	265E
♙	White Pawn	2659	♟	Black Pawn	265f

10

Type arrows. To type text arrows on Linux and Chromebook, press Ctrl + Shift + U and then type one of the following Unicode hex values and press Enter to add arrows to your text:

Symbol	Name	Code
←	Left Arrow	2190
↑	Up Arrow	2191
→	Right Arrow	2192
↓	Down Arrow	2193
↔	Left Right Arrow	2194
↕	Up Down Arrow	2195
↖	Diagonal Left Up Arrow	2196
↗	Diagonal Right Up Arrow	2197
↘	Diagonal Right Down Arrow	2198
↙	Diagonal Left Down Arrow	2199
↺	Counterclockwise Circle Arrow	21BA
↻	Clockwise Circle Arrow	21BB

11

Type other miscellaneous symbols. To type the following miscellaneous symbols on Linux and Chromebook, press Ctrl + Shift + U and then type one of the following Unicode hex values and press Enter to type miscellaneous symbols:

Symbol	Name	Code
☺	Smiley	263A
☻	Black Smiley	263B
♥	Heart	2665
♦	Diamond	2666
♣	Club	2663
♀	Female	2640
♂	Male	2642
⚥	Male and Female	26A5

Community Q&A

Question

Why doesn't Alt+9773 make a hammer and sickle symbol?

Community Answer

The 9000 series of codes only work in certain fonts. Entering the code in Word will usually work, provided the font supports it. It may not work in your browser or other programs,.
Question

How do I invert the "?" symbol?

Community Answer

If you are using a PC, you can type the inverted question mark by entering the ALT codes 0191, 6824, or 168 on your number pad. If you are on a Mac, you can enter the "¿" symbol by pressing "Shift" and "Option" simultaneously and then, without releasing, typing the "?" symbol.
Question

How do I type the "@" symbol on a Spanish keyboard?

Community Answer

Because Spanish keyboards usually have accents where the @ symbol would normally be, you need to use a slightly different code. You can try the ALT code 64 for a PC, or you can type "Control" + "Shift" and then the key with the @ symbol printed on it.