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U+017E · Latin Extended-A

Latin Small Letter Z with Caron ž

The letter ž is z with a caron (háček), pronounced like the s in measure or pleasure. It is a core letter in Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Croatian, Bosnian, Latvian, and Lithuanian, where it appears in common words like žena (woman) and život (life). It is also a standard way to transliterate the Cyrillic ж.

WindowsAlt 0158
UnicodeU+017E
HTMLž
žU+017E

Character codes

Unicode code pointU+017E
Decimal382
HTML named entityž
HTML (hex)ž
HTML (decimal)ž
CSS\017E
JavaScript\u017E
Python\u017E
UTF-8 bytesC5 BE
UTF-16017E
URL-encoded%C5%BE

Character details

Official nameLATIN SMALL LETTER Z WITH CARON
Unicode blockLatin Extended-A
General categoryLowercase Letter (Ll)
SymbolHero categoryAccented Letters
DecompositionU+007A U+030C
UppercaseŽ Latin Capital Letter Z with Caron
EmojiNo

How to type ž

Windows

  • Hold Alt and type 0158 on the numeric keypad (Num Lock on), then release Alt. Alt 0158 uses the Windows-1252 code page.
  • In Microsoft Word or Outlook: type 017E then press Alt + X.
  • Open Character Map (search “Character Map” in Start), tick “Advanced view”, search for “latin small letter z with caron”, then Select and Copy.

Mac

  • Press Control + Command + Space to open the Character Viewer, search “latin small letter z with caron”, and double-click the result.
  • With the Unicode Hex Input keyboard enabled (System Settings → Keyboard → Input Sources), hold Option and type 017E.

iPhone & Android

  • On iPhone and most Android keyboards, press and hold the z key and slide to ž. On a Mac, holding the key down works the same way.
  • Tap Copy at the top of this page, then long-press where you want it and choose Paste.

Docs & web

  • Google Docs: Insert → Special characters, then search “latin small letter z with caron” or enter U+017E.
  • HTML: ž or ž
  • Excel / Google Sheets: =UNICHAR(382)

Examples

  • Czech: žena (woman)
  • Croatian: život (life)
  • Slovene: življenje
  • Lithuanian: žalias (green)

Good to know

Don’t mix it up: It resembles ẑ (U+1E91), z with a circumflex, which is rare and should not be substituted.

Tip: On Windows with a numeric keypad, Alt + 0158 produces ž; on iPhone and Android, press and hold Z.

Display: the character itself is always the same code point, but its shape comes from the font on the device showing it. If you see an empty box, the font lacks this glyph—the text is still correct.

Questions

What is the Unicode for ž?

It is U+017E (LATIN SMALL LETTER Z WITH CARON), decimal 382.

Is there a Windows Alt code for it?

Yes: Alt 0158 on the numeric keypad.

How do I type it on a Mac?

There is no built-in Option shortcut. Use the Character Viewer (Control + Command + Space) and search “latin small letter z with caron”, or copy it from this page.

What is the HTML code?

Use the named entity ž or the numeric reference ž.