U+2018 · General Punctuation
Left Single Quotation Mark ‘
The left single quotation mark ‘ is the opening curly single quote. American style uses it for quotations nested inside double quotes, while British publishers often use single quotes as the main quotation marks. Its curl faces right, like a small 6, and it should appear only at the start of a quotation, never as an apostrophe.
Character codes
| Unicode code point | U+2018 | |
|---|---|---|
| Decimal | 8216 | |
| HTML named entity | ‘ | |
| HTML (hex) | ‘ | |
| HTML (decimal) | ‘ | |
| CSS | \2018 | |
| JavaScript | \u2018 | |
| Python | \u2018 | |
| UTF-8 bytes | E2 80 98 | |
| UTF-16 | 2018 | |
| URL-encoded | %E2%80%98 |
Character details
| Official name | LEFT SINGLE QUOTATION MARK |
|---|---|
| Unicode block | General Punctuation |
| General category | Initial Quote (Pi) |
| SymbolHero category | Punctuation |
| Emoji | No |
How to type ‘
Windows
- Hold Alt and type 0145 on the numeric keypad (Num Lock on), then release Alt. Alt 0145 uses the Windows-1252 code page.
- In Microsoft Word or Outlook: type
2018then press Alt + X. - Open Character Map (search “Character Map” in Start), tick “Advanced view”, search for “left single quotation mark”, then Select and Copy.
Mac
- Press Option + ] (US English keyboard layout).
- Press Control + Command + Space to open the Character Viewer, search “left single quotation mark”, and double-click the result.
- With the Unicode Hex Input keyboard enabled (System Settings → Keyboard → Input Sources), hold Option and type
2018.
iPhone & Android
- 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 “left single quotation mark” or enter
U+2018. - HTML:
‘or‘ - Excel / Google Sheets:
=UNICHAR(8216)
Examples
- He said, “She told me ‘not yet’ twice.”
- UK style: ‘Mind the gap,’ said the announcer.
- The so-called ‘smart’ quotes
Good to know
Don’t mix it up: It is often confused with the straight apostrophe ' (U+0027), which does not curl and is the typewriter-style mark.
Tip: Word processors sometimes turn a leading apostrophe into ‘, as in ‘90s; the correct character there is the right single quote ’ (U+2019).
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.
Similar punctuation
Questions
What is the Unicode for ‘?
It is U+2018 (LEFT SINGLE QUOTATION MARK), decimal 8216.
Is there a Windows Alt code for it?
Yes: Alt 0145 on the numeric keypad.
How do I type it on a Mac?
Option + ] on a US English keyboard, or use the Character Viewer (Control + Command + Space).
What is the HTML code?
Use the named entity ‘ or the numeric reference ‘.