Unicode: Keyboard Symbols โŒ˜ โ†ต โŒซ

By Xah Lee. Date: . Last updated: .

Keyboard Symbols

Here is a list of Unicode symbols to represent computer keyboard keys.

โŽ‹
 ` 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 - = โŒซ โŽ€ โค’ โ‡ž
 โ‡ฅ Q W E R T Y U I O P [ ] \ โŒฆ โค“ โ‡Ÿ
 A A S D F G H J K L ; ' โ†ต
 โ‡ง Z X C V B N M , . / โ‡ง โ†‘
 โŽˆ โ– โŽ‡ โฃ โŽ‡ โ– โ–ค โŽˆ โ† โ†“ โ†’
๐ŸŒ โŒƒ โŒฅ โŒ˜

โŒ˜ โ– โ—†ใ ใ„ใ‚„ใพใƒผใ , ๐ŸŒ
โœฒ โŽˆ ^ โŒƒ
โŽ‡ โŒฅ

โ‡ง โ‡ช โ‡ฎ
A โ‡ฌ
โ‡ญ
โ†ฉ โ†ต โŽ
โฃ
โ–ค โ˜ฐ โŽ„
โญพ โ†น โ‡„ โ†ฆ
โŽ‹
โŒซ โŸต
โŒฆ โŽ€ , โ‡ค โ‡ฅ โค’ โค“ , โ‡ž โ‡Ÿ โŽ— โŽ˜
โ† โ†’ โ†‘ โ†“, โ—€ โ–ถ โ–ฒใ•ใ‚“ใ‹ใ โ–ผ,
โŽ‰ โŽŠ โŽ™ , โ˜พ โ
๐Ÿ”… ๐Ÿ”†
๐Ÿ”‡ ๐Ÿ”ˆ ๐Ÿ”‰ ๐Ÿ”Š , ๐Ÿ•จ ๐Ÿ•ฉ ๐Ÿ•ช
โ—ผ โฏ โฎ โญ , โช โฉ

Mouse hover or click on a unicode character โŒ˜ to see its name and codepoint.

Control key

  • โœฒ โ†’ (OPEN CENTRE ASTERISK) is printed on Microsoft Keyboards.
  • โŽˆ โ†’ (HELM SYMBOL) is used on MacBook Pro keyboard, French Canadian Layout for the Control key, and sometimes used to indicate Control key in Linux documentation.
  • ^ โ†’ (CIRCUMFLEX ACCENT) (aka caret) is the character on normal keyboard, shifted 6. It is the classic notation to indicate ASCII control character in programing, and also used as a notation for pressing Control key for inputting control sequence. The symbol is mostly used in 1970s to 1990s, in documentation or from online posts by user.
  • โŒƒ โ†’ (UP ARROWHEAD) , the actual character used by Apple website as of 2017-07, in menu, in documentation.
[็”ปๅƒ:Microsoft Digital Media kbd 3000 vvjPY]
Microsoft Digital Media Keyboard 3000 (2008).
[็”ปๅƒ:MacBook Pro French Canadian vhfZN]
MacBook Pro keyboard, French Canadian Layout

The caret character ^ and UP ARROWHEAD โŒƒ are not good to represent the Control key, because it confuses with the printable caret character on the keyboard, the shifted digit 6 key.

Windows Logo Key

  • โ– โ†’ Sometimes used by small keyboard makers for the windows logo key.
[็”ปๅƒ:Truly Ergonomic Keyboard win key-2]
Truly Ergonomic Keyboard

The Windows Logo key and the Apple Command key both send the same USB scancode.

On Linux, by convention, the Windows logo key is called Super. (not to be confused with a real Super key on Lisp Machine keyboards. ใ€”see Symbolics keyboard PN 365407ใ€• )

Command key

  • โŒ˜ โ†’ Command key
[็”ปๅƒ:Apple keyboard A1242 cmd key]
Apple keyboard A1242. Year 2009

Alt key

Option key

  • โŒฅ โ†’ used on Apple computers.

Alt on PC keyboard and โŒฅ option on Apple Keyboards send the same USB scancode. ใ€”see Difference Between Apple and Microsoft keyboardsใ€•

Meta Key, Super Key

The Meta key is a key on Lisp Machine Keyboards โŒจ and heavily used by emacs. Emacs Keys: Meta Key

[็”ปๅƒ:Sun Microsystems Type 6 Keyboard left]
The Meta key with diamond โ—†ใ ใ„ใ‚„ใพใƒผใ symbol on Sun Microsystems Type 6 Keyboard

Hyper Key

  • โœฆ
  • โœง

Hyper is key on Lisp Machine Keyboards โŒจ.

[็”ปๅƒ:lisp machine keyboard 2 left]
Symbolics's Lisp Machine keyboard PN 365407 Rev C. (Photo by Joey Devilla ใ€”https://www.globalnerdy.com/2009/02/05/hacklabtos-lisp-machine-keyboard/ใ€•. Used with permission.)

Shift key

  • โ‡ง โ†’ fat white up arrow. Used by most keyboards.

most keyboards just label it shift.

Caps lock

Most popular: A ๐Ÿ…ฐ ใ€”see Logitech Non-Gaming Keyboardsใ€• ใ€”see Microsoft Keyboardsใ€• ใ€”see Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000ใ€•

Also common: โ‡ช, ใ€”see Apple Keyboard Key Symbols โŒ˜ โŒฅใ€•

French Canadian standard for capslock key: โ‡ฌ Used in Canadian Multilingual Layout

Number lock (Numlock)

Return/Enter key

Commonly used symbols for return key: โ†ฉ โ†ต โŽ

This is the return key above the right Shift key. ใ€”see Keyboard Enter/Return Key Symbolใ€•

  • Apple uses arrow with a round hook โ†ฉ on their international version keyboards. For US version, they use the word "return".
  • Microsoft uses a variant of โ†ต, with long horizontal line โฎ .
  • Some other keyboards use an outline 90ยฐ sharp turn RETURN SYMBOL โŽ.

Enter โŒค This is the enter key on number pad. This symbol is used by Apple. ใ€”see Apple Keyboard Key Symbols โŒ˜ โŒฅใ€•

Enter โŽ†. This is unicode symbol named ENTER SYMBOL.

Note: There are 2 return/enter keys on standard PC keyboard: one on main section above right shift key, one on number pad. The keyboard hardware sends different key signals.

  • On PC/Windows keyboards, they are both labeled "enter".
  • On Apple keyboards, the main one is labeled "return", and the one on number pad is "enter".
[็”ปๅƒ:Microsoft digital media keyboard 3000 enter key]
Microsoft Digital Media Keyboard 3000 (2008)

Menu key

Suggestions: โ–ค โ˜ฐ

This key is invented by Microsoft. It is meant to be a application specific key. ใ€”see Keyboard Menu Keyใ€•

Compose key

  • โŽ„ โ†’ Standard symbol for Compose key.

The Compose Key is rare. It's on Sun Microsystems Type 6 Keyboard, but it doesn't use any symbol. ใ€”see Alt Graph Key, Compose Key, Dead Keyใ€•

[็”ปๅƒ:Sun Microsystems Type 6 keyboard meta]
Compose key on Sun Microsystems Type 6 Keyboard

Tab key

Commonly used symbols for tab key: โญพ โ†น โ‡ฅ

Related symbols: โ‡„ โ‡ค โ†ค โ†ฆ

Apple Keyboards for USA use the word "tab". NON-US version use โ‡ฅ. ใ€”see Apple Keyboard Key Symbols โŒ˜ โŒฅใ€•

Space key

โฃ

Escape key

Escape key โŽ‹

Most PC keyboards use "Esc" as label.

Apple keyboard for USA use "esc". Some international Apple keyboard use โŽ‹. ใ€”see MacBook Pro keyboard, French Canadian Layoutใ€• Apple documentation use โŽ‹. Matias Mini Tactile Pro Keyboard use โŽ‹

ใ€”see Escape Keyใ€•

Backspace

โŒซ โŸต

The backspace key is the key on the top right of a PC keyboard. For example, look at IBM Model M keyboard. ใ€”see IBM Model M keyboard (1985)ใ€•

Microsoft keyboard lable this key as "Backspace" together with a long left arrow โŸต printed beneath it. ใ€”see Microsoft Keyboardsใ€•

Apple Keyboards for US labels it "delete". Their non-English version uses โŒซ or โŸต ใ€”see Apple Keyboard Key Symbols โŒ˜ โŒฅใ€• ใ€”see Apple Keyboard History โŒจใ€•

Don't confuse this key with the Delete โŒฆ key in the home/end key cluster.

Arrow Keys

Common:
โ†‘ โ†“ โ† โ†’ , โ—€ โ–ถ โ–ฒใ•ใ‚“ใ‹ใ โ–ผ , โ— โ–ท โ–ณใ—ใ‚ใ•ใ‚“ใ‹ใ โ–ฝ , โ‡ฆ โ‡จ โ‡ง โ‡ฉ , โฌ… โžก โฎ• โฌ† โฌ‡

More unicode arrows at Unicode: Arrows โ†’ โžต โž› โžฒ โžค

Home/End Keys

Apple keyboard use: โค’ โค“. Before 2018, it use: โ†– โ†˜

Other suggestions: โ‡ค โ‡ฅ

[็”ปๅƒ:Apple Magic Keyboard 2015 taiwan vqvZZ]
Apple Magic Keyboard 2015 taiwan Apple Magic Keyboard. Year 2015
[็”ปๅƒ:mac keyboard viewer changes 2018 05 01 fkjyd]
Mac keyboard viewer changes 2018ๅนด05ๆœˆ01ๆ—ฅ

ใ€”see Mac Keyboard Viewerใ€•

Page Up/Down

Common: โ‡ž โ‡Ÿ โ†‘ โ†“ โ–ฒใ•ใ‚“ใ‹ใ โ–ผ โ–ณใ—ใ‚ใ•ใ‚“ใ‹ใ โ–ฝ

Apple keyboard uses โ‡ž โ‡Ÿ before 2018, after uses โ†‘ โ†“ .

Logitech Non-Gaming Keyboards usually use โ–ฒใ•ใ‚“ใ‹ใ โ–ผ

Previous/Next Page

โŽ— โŽ˜

These are for browser previous/next page. The โŽ— โŽ˜ are used by Thinkpad keyboard around 2000 to 2011.

[็”ปๅƒ:Lenovo ThinkPad x220 K9C5W]
Lenovo ThinkPad x220 ใ€”see Thinkpad Keyboardใ€•

(forward) Delete

Delete key โŒฆ

The delete keys is in the cluster of {home, end, page up, page down, insert}

Insert

Insert symbol โŽ€

This is Unicode U+2380: INSERTION SYMBOL. This symbol is used by copy editors, to indicate insertion.

Most keyboards label it "Insert" or "Ins".

IBM Model M 3193 uses this symbol, but with the hat ^ at top.

[็”ปๅƒ:IBM Model M 3193 home end insert]
IBM Model M 3193 home end insert ใ€”see IBM Model M keyboard (1985)ใ€•

Clear Key

clear key symbol suggestions: โŽš โŒง

The clear key is the key on the number pad on Apple Keyboards .

It is labeled as "clear".

Print Screen Key

โŽ™ PRINT SCREEN SYMBOL

I haven't seen this symbol used on keyboard.

Scroll Lock (ScrLk)

Suggestions:

  • โค“
  • โ‡ณ ๐Ÿ”’

System Request (SysRq)

Suggestions:

  • ๐Ÿ—ฑ LIGHTNING MOOD BUBBLE
  • ๐Ÿ—ฒ LIGHTNING MOOD

ใ€”see Print Screen, SysRq, ScrLk, Pause, Break Keysใ€•

Pause/Break

pause key โŽ‰

break key โŽŠ

These are standard symbols for pause/break used in electronic circuits.

In the beginning, keyboard's pause/break key(s) have similar meaning to the electronic pause/break, but not today.

ใ€”see Print Screen, SysRq, ScrLk, Pause, Break Keysใ€•

I haven't see keyboard using these symbols.

Help Key

Help key symbol suggestions: โฐ i ๐Ÿ›ˆ

Help key is in Apple Keyboard Problems and Sun Microsystems Type 6 Keyboard

This key is typically labeled just "help".

Sleep Key

โ˜พ

ใ€”see Emoji: Astrology ๐ŸŒ›ใ€•

Eject

Eject โ

mail key

mail โœ‰

ใ€”see Office Emoji ๐Ÿ“Œใ€•

browser home page key

home ๐Ÿ  ๐Ÿก โŒ‚

Cut

Cut โœ‚ โœ„

Undo, Redo

Undo, redo โŽŒ โ†ถ โ†ท โคบ โคป

ใ€”see Unicode: Arrows โ†’ โžต โž› โžฒ โžคใ€•

Reload/Refresh Key

Reload/Refresh โŸฒ โŸณ โ†บ โ†ป

The symbol โŸณ is used by Chromebook for browser refresh.

[็”ปๅƒ:Chromebook keyboard 2016 cjG2D]
Chromebook Keyboard Featuring search key ๐Ÿ” and reload key โŸณ

Microsoft Edge browser has โ†ป symbol for the reload button.

Search Key, Magnify Key

๐Ÿ” ๐Ÿ”Ž. The manifying glass ๐Ÿ” is used on Chromebook Keyboard for web search function, as replacement for the CapsLock key.

Screen Brightness Key

brightness. ๐Ÿ”… ๐Ÿ”†

Multimedia Keys

mute ๐Ÿ”‡ no sound ๐Ÿ”ˆ sound down ๐Ÿ”‰ sound up ๐Ÿ”Š

๐Ÿ•จ ๐Ÿ•ฉ ๐Ÿ•ช

stop โ—ผ play/pause โฏ, prev song โฎ, next song โญ, fast backward โช, fast forward โฉ, fast upward โซ, fast downward โฌ

ใ€”see Unicode: User Interface Icons ๐Ÿ—‘ใ€•

Apple Fn key

๐ŸŒ

[็”ปๅƒ:Apple fn key 2021ๅนด12ๆœˆ26ๆ—ฅ]
Apple fn key 2021ๅนด12ๆœˆ26ๆ—ฅ ใ€”see MacBook Air M1 (2021)ใ€•

Number Pad Keys

ใ€”see Unicode: Circled Numbers 1 2 3ใ€•

Sample Use of Keyboard Symbols

[็”ปๅƒ:Apple keyboard shortcut symbols]
Key symbols used in Mac OS X menu, as of 2009.
[็”ปๅƒ:Apple Mac OS X safari menu 2009]
keyboard shortcut Notation used in Mac OS X, from Safari, .

Apple's Logographs to Represent Keys

[็”ปๅƒ:Apple keyboard shortcut symbols]
Key symbols used in Mac OS X menu, as of 2009.

Here is the Apple's key symbols in Unicode.

โŒ˜ Command key U+2318: PLACE OF INTEREST SIGN
โŒฅ Option/Alt U+2325: OPTION KEY
^ Control key U+5E: CIRCUMFLEX ACCENT
โ‡ง Shift key U+21E7: UPWARDS WHITE ARROW
โŒค Enter U+2324: UP ARROWHEAD BETWEEN TWO HORIZONTAL BARS
โ†ฉ Return U+21A9: LEFTWARDS ARROW WITH HOOK
โ†‘ Up Arrow U+2191: UPWARDS ARROW
โ†“ Down Arrow U+2193: DOWNWARDS ARROW
โ†’ Right Arrow U+2192: RIGHTWARDS ARROW
โ† Left Arrow U+2190: LEFTWARDS ARROW
โ‡ž Page Up U+21DE: UPWARDS ARROW WITH DOUBLE STROKE
โ‡Ÿ Page Down U+21DF: DOWNWARDS ARROW WITH DOUBLE STROKE
โ†– Home U+2196: NORTH WEST ARROW
โ†˜ End U+2198: SOUTH EAST ARROW
โŒซ Delete U+232B: ERASE TO THE LEFT
โŒฆ Forward Delete U+2326: ERASE TO THE RIGHT
โŽ‹ Escape U+238B: BROKEN CIRCLE WITH NORTHWEST ARROW

Mac keyboard key unicode symbol change

[็”ปๅƒ:mac keyboard viewer changes 2018ๅนด05ๆœˆ01ๆ—ฅ fkjyd]
Mac keyboard viewer changes 2018ๅนด05ๆœˆ01ๆ—ฅ

ใ€”see Mac Keyboard Viewerใ€•

Mac finally changed its home/end key symbols from the incomprehensible โ†– โ†˜ to the make sense โค’ โค“.

Though, arrows was โ‡  โ‡ข โ‡ก โ‡ฃ is now โ–ฒใ•ใ‚“ใ‹ใ โ–ผ โ—€ โ–ถ.

I guess that match the symbol printed on keycaps.

While page up/down โ‡ž โ‡Ÿ became generic โ†‘ โ†“. Also worse.

Note that logitech non-gaming keyboards also use โ–ฒใ•ใ‚“ใ‹ใ โ–ผ โ—€ โ–ถ. for arrow key's key label.

ใ€”see Logitech Non-Gaming Keyboardsใ€•

Note that the home/end keys on Mac moves to top/bottom of file. While on Microsoft Windows and linux, it moves to beginning/end of line.

See also: Keyboard Home/End Keys Arrangement

for laptop key labels, see Evolution of Laptop Keyboard

AltStyle ใซใ‚ˆใฃใฆๅค‰ๆ›ใ•ใ‚ŒใŸใƒšใƒผใ‚ธ (->ใ‚ชใƒชใ‚ธใƒŠใƒซ) /