Special Characters — Copy Any Symbol in One Click
Hearts, arrows, text faces and more — press a symbol to copy it. Symbols you use often are collected at the top.
Recently used
Symbols you copy will collect here.
Press a symbol to copy it. Your recent list is saved only in this browser.
Copying is blocked here. Long-press the symbol below to copy it
How to use
Each symbol you copy is added to “Recently used” at the top.
How to use this special characters page
Special characters are the symbols that are not on a standard keyboard: hearts, stars, arrows, currency signs, math operators, copyright marks and the text faces people paste into chats. This page puts them behind one click. Choose a category, press any symbol, and it is copied to your clipboard; then paste it with Ctrl+V (Cmd+V on a Mac) or by long-pressing in a text box on your phone. Every symbol you copy is added to a “recently used” row at the top, so the ones you reach for most are always one tap away. That list is saved only in your browser, and the Clear button empties it.
What is in each category
- Hearts & Stars – hearts, stars of many shapes, flowers and a few weather symbols for bios, captions and decorative dividers.
- Arrows – single and double arrows, filled arrows, diagonals, play and pause triangles, and a return-hook arrow for notes and instructions.
- Text Faces – also called kaomoji or emoticons: the shrug
¯\_(ツ)_/¯, the table flip, the bear and many more. They are built from ordinary characters, so they look the same on any device. - Math & Units – operators, fractions, superscripts, Greek letters, degree and prime marks, and the numero sign. The prime and double-prime marks are the correct characters for feet and inches, as in 5′10″.
- Marks & Currency – dollar, euro, pound and other currency signs, copyright, registered and trademark symbols, typographic quotes and dashes, check marks and bullets.
Why symbols sometimes turn into empty boxes
Every symbol here is a standard Unicode character, which means it has a fixed code number that any modern system understands. What can differ is the font. If the font on the recipient’s device does not contain a glyph for that code, it shows a small empty rectangle (nicknamed “tofu”) or a question mark. Common symbols such as arrows, currency signs and basic hearts are almost universally supported. Rarer decorative shapes are less reliable, so test them on the platform where they will be seen, especially in game names, usernames and email subject lines.
Keyboard shortcuts for the symbols you use most
If you type the same symbols all day, it is faster to learn the shortcut than to visit a page. On a Mac with a US keyboard: Option+G gives ©, Option+R gives ®, Option+2 gives ™, Option+Shift+8 gives °, Option+Shift+2 gives €, Option+3 gives £ and Option+8 gives a bullet. Press Control+Command+Space to open the full Emoji & Symbols viewer. On Windows, hold Alt and type the number on the numeric keypad: Alt+0169 for ©, Alt+0174 for ®, Alt+0153 for ™ and Alt+0176 for °. Windows 10 and 11 also open a symbol panel with Win + period. In Microsoft Word, type a hex code such as 2665 and press Alt+X to convert it to a heart.
Using symbols on the web
If you write HTML, many of these characters have named entities, so the page works even when the file encoding is wrong: © for ©, ®, ™, €, → for the right arrow and ♥ for the heart suit. Add <meta charset="UTF-8"> to the head of your page so that characters pasted directly into the source are read correctly.
Accessibility and good taste
Screen readers read symbols aloud by their official names, so a line of decorative stars becomes “black star, black star, black star”. A few symbols in a caption are fine. Replacing letters with look-alike symbols, or stuffing a username with ornaments, makes your text hard to search and hard to listen to. Use symbols to add meaning, such as an arrow that shows a direction or a check mark that shows completion, and keep the rest of the text in plain letters.
Tips for text faces in chat apps
Many chat tools, including Slack, Discord and Reddit, treat the backslash and underscore as Markdown formatting, so the shrug can lose its arm and show up as ¯_(ツ)_/¯. If that happens, add one more backslash before the first underscore, or paste the face inside a code span. Text faces that use unusual characters, such as the Japanese katakana in the shrug, rely on fonts with broad coverage, which every current phone and computer has.
Frequently asked questions
How do I copy and paste a special character?
Press the symbol on this page and it is copied automatically; a short message confirms it. Then click where you want it and paste with Ctrl+V on Windows or Cmd+V on a Mac. On a phone, long-press in the text field and choose Paste.
Why does a symbol look different on my phone than on my computer?
Each operating system uses its own font for symbols, so the same character can have a different style, weight or color. A few characters, such as the heart and the check mark, may even be shown as a colored emoji on one device and a plain black glyph on another. The meaning stays the same.
Are these symbols safe to use in a username or social media bio?
Most platforms accept them, but some limit usernames to letters, numbers and a few punctuation marks. Bios are usually more flexible. If a platform rejects a character, try a simpler one. Avoid using symbols as the only way to tell people apart, because they are hard to search for.
Can I use these characters in a document or a spreadsheet?
Yes. They are standard Unicode, which Word, Google Docs, Excel, Google Sheets and PowerPoint all support. If one appears as a box, change the font of that cell or selection to a font with broad symbol coverage, such as Arial Unicode MS, Segoe UI Symbol or Noto Sans Symbols.
Where does the recently used list come from, and who can see it?
It is stored in your browser’s local storage on this device, up to 12 symbols, and is never uploaded. Only you can see it. Clearing it with the button, or clearing your browser data, removes it.
What is the difference between an emoji and a special character?
An emoji is a symbol that most systems draw as a small colored picture. A special character in this sense is a monochrome text symbol that takes on the color of the surrounding text. Some code points can appear either way depending on the app.
Is it legal to use the copyright and trademark symbols?
Typing ©, ® or ™ is a typographic act and does not create any rights by itself. The registered symbol should only be used with marks that are actually registered. This is general information, not legal advice; ask a lawyer if you need to rely on it.