To display symbols and characters beyond the collection of common ASCII alphanumeric values (0-127), browsers recognize a special coding that lets you insert such characters into HTML document content. These entity characters start with an ampersand symbol (&) and end with a semicolon (;). Between those symbols goes a representation of the desired character in your choice of letters or numbers. For example, the numeric entity value for a copyright symbol is 169. An HTML statement using that symbol looks as follows:
<p style="text-align: center">©2002 MegaCorp, Inc. All Rights Reserved.</p>
Because the numbering system is not easy to remember, entities also have case-sensitive word or abbreviation equivalents for their values. For the copyright symbol, for example, the entity is ©. This makes the code more readable, as in the following:
<p style="text-align: center">©2002 MegaCorp, Inc. All Rights Reserved.</p>
This table lists every entity defined in the HTML 4 specification in alphabetical order. Recent browsers support the vast majority of these characters, but the user's operating system version and its internal character set also factors influence support.
| 
 Alpha entity  | 
 Numeric entity  | 
 Description  | 
|---|---|---|
| Á | Á | 
 Capital letter A with acute  | 
| á | á | 
 Small letter a with acute  | 
| Â | Â | 
 Capital letter A with circumflex  | 
| â | â | 
 Small letter a with circumflex  | 
| ´ | ´ | 
 Acute accent  | 
| Æ | Æ | 
 Capital ligature AE  | 
| æ | æ | 
 Small ligature ae  | 
| À | À | 
 Capital letter A with grave  | 
| à | à | 
 Small letter a with grave  | 
| ℵ | ℵ | 
 Alef symbol  | 
| Α | Α | 
 Capital letter alpha  | 
| α | α | 
 Small letter alpha  | 
| & | & | 
 Ampersand  | 
| ∧ | ∧ | 
 Logical and  | 
| ∠ | ∠ | 
 Angle  | 
| Å | Å | 
 Capital letter A with ring above  | 
| å | å | 
 Small letter a with ring above  | 
| ≈ | ≈ | 
 Almost equal to  | 
| Ã | Ã | 
 Capital letter A with tilde  | 
| ã | ã | 
 Small letter a with tilde  | 
| Ä | Ä | 
 Capital letter A with diaeresis  | 
| ä | ä | 
 Small letter a with diaeresis  | 
| „ | „ | 
 Double low-9 quotation mark  | 
| Β | Β | 
 Capital letter beta  | 
| β | β | 
 Small letter beta  | 
| ¦ | ¦ | 
 Broken vertical bar  | 
| • | • | 
 Bullet  | 
| ∩ | ∩ | 
 Intersection  | 
| Ç | Ç | 
 Capital letter C with cedilla  | 
| ç | ç | 
 Small letter c with cedilla  | 
| ¸ | ¸ | 
 Cedilla  | 
| ¢ | ¢ | 
 Cent sign  | 
| Χ | Χ | 
 Capital letter chi  | 
| χ | χ | 
 Small letter chi  | 
| ˆ | ˆ | 
 Modifier letter circumflex accent  | 
| ♣ | ♣ | 
 Black club suit (shamrock)  | 
| ≅ | ≅ | 
 Approximately equal to  | 
| © | © | 
 Copyright sign  | 
| ↵ | ↵ | 
 Downwards arrow with corner leftwards (carriage return)  | 
| ∪ | ∪ | 
 Union  | 
| ¤ | ¤ | 
 Currency sign  | 
| † | † | 
 Dagger  | 
| ‡ | ‡ | 
 Double dagger  | 
| ↓ | ↓ | 
 Downwards arrow  | 
| ⇓ | ⇓ | 
 Downwards double arrow  | 
| ° | ° | 
 Degree sign  | 
| Δ | Δ | 
 Capital letter delta  | 
| δ | δ | 
 Small letter delta  | 
| ♦ | ♦ | 
 Black diamond suit  | 
| ÷ | ÷ | 
 Division sign  | 
| É | É | 
 Capital letter E with acute  | 
| é | é | 
 Small letter e with acute  | 
| Ê | Ê | 
 Capital letter E with circumflex  | 
| ê | ê | 
 Small letter e with circumflex  | 
| È | È | 
 Capital letter E with grave  | 
| è | è | 
 Small letter e with grave  | 
| ∅ | ∅ | 
 Empty set/null set/diameter  | 
|   |   | 
 Em space  | 
|   |   | 
 En space  | 
| Ε | Ε | 
 Capital letter epsilon  | 
| ε | ε | 
 Small letter epsilon  | 
| ≡ | ≡ | 
 Identical to  | 
| Η | Η | 
 Capital letter eta  | 
| η | η | 
 Small letter eta  | 
| Ð | Ð | 
 Capital letter ETH  | 
| ð | ð | 
 Small letter eth  | 
| Ë | Ë | 
 Capital letter E with diaeresis  | 
| ë | ë | 
 Small letter e with diaeresis  | 
| € | €[24] | 
 Euro sign  | 
| ∃ | ∃ | 
 There exists  | 
| ƒ | ƒ | 
 Small f with hook  | 
| ∀ | ∀ | 
 For all  | 
| ½ | ½ | 
 Fraction one-half  | 
| ¼ | ¼ | 
 Fraction one-quarter  | 
| ¾ | ¾ | 
 Fraction three-quarters  | 
| ⁄ | ⁄ | 
 Fraction slash  | 
| Γ | Γ | 
 Capital letter gamma  | 
| γ | γ | 
 Small letter gamma  | 
| ≥ | ≥ | 
 Greater-than or equal to  | 
| > | > | 
 Greater-than sign  | 
| ↔ | ↔ | 
 Left right arrow  | 
| ⇔ | ⇔ | 
 Left right double arrow  | 
| ♥ | ♥ | 
 Black heart suit  | 
| … | … | 
 Horizontal ellipsis  | 
| Í | Í | 
 Capital letter I with acute  | 
| í | í | 
 Small letter i with acute  | 
| Î | Î | 
 Capital letter I with circumflex  | 
| î | î | 
 Small letter i with circumflex  | 
| ¡ | ¡ | 
 Inverted exclamation mark  | 
| Ì | Ì | 
 Capital letter I with grave  | 
| ì | ì | 
 Small letter i with grave  | 
| ℑ | ℑ | 
 Blackletter capital I  | 
| ∞ | ∞ | 
 Infinity  | 
| ∫ | ∫ | 
 Integral  | 
| Ι | Ι | 
 Capital letter iota  | 
| ι | ι | 
 Small letter iota  | 
| ¿ | ¿ | 
 Inverted question mark  | 
| ∈ | ∈ | 
 Element of  | 
| Ï | Ï | 
 Capital letter I with diaeresis  | 
| ï | ï | 
 Small letter i with diaeresis  | 
| Κ | Κ | 
 Capital letter kappa  | 
| κ | κ | 
 Small letter kappa  | 
| Λ | Λ | 
 Capital letter lambda  | 
| λ | λ | 
 Small letter lambda  | 
| ⟨ | 〈 | 
 Left-pointing angle bracket (bra)  | 
| « | « | 
 Left-pointing double angle quotation mark (guillemet)  | 
| ← | ← | 
 Leftwards arrow  | 
| ⇐ | ⇐ | 
 Leftwards double arrow  | 
| ⌈ | ⌈ | 
 Left ceiling  | 
| “ | “ | 
 Left double quotation mark  | 
| ≤ | ≤ | 
 Less-than or equal to  | 
| ⌊ | ⌊ | 
 Left floor  | 
| ∗ | ∗ | 
 Asterisk operator  | 
| ◊ | ◊ | 
 Lozenge  | 
| ‎ | ‎ | 
 Left-to-right mark  | 
| ‹ | ‹ | 
 Single left-pointing angle quotation mark  | 
| ‘ | ‘ | 
 Left single quotation mark  | 
| < | < | 
 Less-than sign  | 
| ¯ | ¯ | 
 Macron (overline)  | 
| — | — | 
 Em dash  | 
| µ | µ | 
 Micro sign  | 
| · | · | 
 Georgian comma  | 
| − | − | 
 Minus sign  | 
| Μ | Μ | 
 Capital letter mu  | 
| μ | μ | 
 Small letter mu  | 
| ∇ | ∇ | 
 Nabla  | 
|   |   | 
 Nonbreaking space  | 
| – | – | 
 En dash  | 
| ≠ | ≠ | 
 Not equal to  | 
| ∋ | ∋ | 
 Contains as member  | 
| ¬ | ¬ | 
 Not sign (discretionary hyphen)  | 
| ∉ | ∉ | 
 Not an element of  | 
| ⊄ | ⊄ | 
 Not a subset of  | 
| Ñ | Ñ | 
 Capital letter N with tilde  | 
| ñ | ñ | 
 Small letter n with tilde  | 
| Ν | Ν | 
 Capital letter nu  | 
| ν | ν | 
 Small letter nu  | 
| Ó | Ó | 
 Capital letter O with acute  | 
| ó | ó | 
 Small letter o with acute  | 
| Ô | Ô | 
 Capital letter O with circumflex  | 
| ô | ô | 
 Small letter o with circumflex  | 
| Œ | Œ | 
 Capital ligature OE  | 
| œ | œ | 
 Small ligature oe  | 
| Ò | Ò | 
 Capital letter O with grave  | 
| ò | ò | 
 Small letter o with grave  | 
| ‾ | ‾ | 
 Overline  | 
| Ω | Ω | 
 Capital letter omega  | 
| ω | ω | 
 Small letter omega  | 
| Ο | Ο | 
 Capital letter omicron  | 
| ο | ο | 
 Small letter omicron  | 
| ⊕ | ⊕ | 
 Circled plus  | 
| ∨ | ∨ | 
 Logical or  | 
| ª | ª | 
 Feminine ordinal indicator  | 
| º | º | 
 Masculine ordinal indicator  | 
| Ø | Ø | 
 Capital letter O with stroke  | 
| ø | ø | 
 Small letter o with stroke  | 
| Õ | Õ | 
 Capital letter O with tilde  | 
| õ | õ | 
 Small letter o with tilde  | 
| ⊗ | ⊗ | 
 Circled times  | 
| Ö | Ö | 
 Capital letter O with diaeresis  | 
| ö | ö | 
 Small letter o with diaeresis  | 
| ¶ | ¶ | 
 Paragraph (pilcrow) sign  | 
| ∂ | ∂ | 
 Partial differential  | 
| ‰ | ‰ | 
 Per mille sign  | 
| ⊥ | ⊥ | 
 Up tack/orthagonal to/perpendicular  | 
| Φ | Φ | 
 Capital letter phi  | 
| φ | φ | 
 Small letter phi  | 
| Π | Π | 
 Capital letter pi  | 
| π | π | 
 Small letter pi  | 
| ϖ | ϖ | 
 symbol  | 
| ± | ± | 
 Plus-or-minus sign  | 
| £ | £ | 
 Pound sign  | 
| ′ | ′ | 
 Prime/minutes/feet  | 
| ″ | ″ | 
 Double prime/seconds/inches  | 
| ∏ | ∏ | 
 N-ary product (product sign)  | 
| ∝ | ∝ | 
 Proportional to  | 
| Ψ | Ψ | 
 Capital letter psi  | 
| ψ | ψ | 
 Small letter psi  | 
| " | " | 
 Quotation mark  | 
| √ | √ | 
 Square root  | 
| ⟩ | 〉 | 
 Right-pointing angle bracket (ket)  | 
| » | » | 
 Right-pointing double angle quotation mark (guillemet)  | 
| → | → | 
 Rightwards arrow  | 
| ⇒ | ⇒ | 
 Rightwards double arrow  | 
| ⌉ | ⌉ | 
 Right ceiling  | 
| ” | ” | 
 Right double quotation mark  | 
| ℜ | ℜ | 
 Blackletter capital R  | 
| ® | ® | 
 Registered trademark sign  | 
| ⌋ | ⌋ | 
 Right floor  | 
| Ρ | Ρ | 
 Capital letter rho  | 
| ρ | ρ | 
 Small letter rho  | 
| ‏ | ‏ | 
 Right-to-left mark  | 
| › | › | 
 Single right-pointing angle quotation mark  | 
| ’ | ’ | 
 Right single quotation mark  | 
| ‚ | ‚ | 
 Single low-9 quotation mark  | 
| Š | Š | 
 Capital letter S with caron  | 
| š | š | 
 Small letter s with caron  | 
| ⋅ | ⋅ | 
 Dot operator  | 
| § | § | 
 Section sign  | 
| ­ | ­ | 
 Soft hyphen (discretionary hyphen)  | 
| Σ | Σ | 
 Capital letter sigma  | 
| σ | σ | 
 Small letter sigma  | 
| ς | ς | 
 Small letter final sigma  | 
| ∼ | ∼ | 
 Tilde operator  | 
| ♠ | ♠ | 
 Black spade suit  | 
| ⊂ | ⊂ | 
 Subset of  | 
| ⊆ | ⊆ | 
 Subset of or equal to  | 
| ∑ | ∑ | 
 N-ary sumation  | 
| ⊃ | ⊃ | 
 Superset of  | 
| ¹ | ¹ | 
 Superscript digit one  | 
| ² | ² | 
 Superscript digit two (squared)  | 
| ³ | ³ | 
 Superscript digit three (cubed)  | 
| ⊇ | ⊇ | 
 Superset of or equal to  | 
| ß | ß | 
 Small letter sharp s (ess-zed)  | 
| Τ | Τ | 
 Capital letter tau  | 
| τ | τ | 
 Small letter tau  | 
| ∴ | ∴ | 
 Therefore  | 
| Θ | Θ | 
 Capital letter theta  | 
| θ | θ | 
 Small letter theta  | 
| ϑ | ϑ | 
 Small letter theta symbol  | 
|   |   | 
 Thin space  | 
| Þ | Þ | 
 Capital letter thorn  | 
| þ | þ | 
 Small letter thorn  | 
| ˜ | ˜ | 
 Small tilde  | 
| × | × | 
 Multiplication sign  | 
| ™ | ™ | 
 Trademark sign  | 
| Ú | Ú | 
 Capital letter U with acute  | 
| ú | ú | 
 Small letter u with acute  | 
| ↑ | ↑ | 
 Upwards arrow  | 
| ⇑ | ⇑ | 
 Upwards double arrow  | 
| Û | Û | 
 Capital letter U with circumflex  | 
| û | û | 
 Small letter u with circumflex  | 
| Ù | Ù | 
 Capital letter U with grave  | 
| ù | ù | 
 Small letter u with grave  | 
| ¨ | ¨ | 
 Diaeresis  | 
| ϒ | ϒ | 
 Upsilon with hook symbol  | 
| Υ | Υ | 
 Capital letter upsilon  | 
| υ | υ | 
 Small letter upsilon  | 
| Ü | Ü | 
 Capital letter U with diaeresis  | 
| ü | ü | 
 Small letter u with diaeresis  | 
| ℘ | ℘ | 
 Script capital P  | 
| Ξ | Ξ | 
 Capital letter xi  | 
| ξ | ξ | 
 Small letter xi  | 
| Ý | Ý | 
 Capital letter Y with acute  | 
| ý | ý | 
 Small letter y with acute  | 
| ¥ | ¥ | 
 Yen/yuan sign  | 
| Ÿ | Ÿ | 
 Capital letter Y with diaeresis  | 
| ÿ | ÿ | 
 Small letter y with diaeresis  | 
| Ζ | Ζ | 
 Capital letter zeta  | 
| ζ | ζ | 
 Small letter zeta  | 
| ‍ | ‍ | 
 Zero width joiner  | 
| ‌ | ‌ | 
 Zero width nonjoiner  | 
[24]This character's numeric entity does not render in IE 5 for Macintosh.
Copyright © 2003 O'Reilly & Associates. All rights reserved.