U+03C6 · Greek and Coptic
Phi (φ)
The lowercase phi φ is the twenty-first letter of the Greek alphabet. It commonly stands for the golden ratio, about 1.618, and for angles in polar and spherical coordinates. Electrical engineers use it for phase angle, number theorists for Euler’s totient function φ(n), and statisticians for the standard normal density.
Character codes
| Unicode code point | U+03C6 | |
|---|---|---|
| Decimal | 966 | |
| HTML named entity | φ | |
| HTML (hex) | φ | |
| HTML (decimal) | φ | |
| CSS | \03C6 | |
| JavaScript | \u03C6 | |
| Python | \u03C6 | |
| UTF-8 bytes | CF 86 | |
| UTF-16 | 03C6 | |
| URL-encoded | %CF%86 |
Character details
| Official name | GREEK SMALL LETTER PHI |
|---|---|
| Unicode block | Greek and Coptic |
| General category | Lowercase Letter (Ll) |
| SymbolHero category | Greek Letters |
| Uppercase | Φ Greek Capital Letter Phi |
| Emoji | No |
How to type φ
Windows
- Hold Alt and type 237 on the numeric keypad (Num Lock on), then release Alt. Alt 237 uses the code page 437.
- In Microsoft Word or Outlook: type
03C6then press Alt + X. - Open Character Map (search “Character Map” in Start), tick “Advanced view”, search for “greek small letter phi”, then Select and Copy.
Mac
- Press Control + Command + Space to open the Character Viewer, search “greek small letter phi”, and double-click the result.
- With the Unicode Hex Input keyboard enabled (System Settings → Keyboard → Input Sources), hold Option and type
03C6.
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 “greek small letter phi” or enter
U+03C6. - HTML:
φorφ - Excel / Google Sheets:
=UNICHAR(966)
Examples
- φ = (1 + √5) / 2 ≈ 1.618
- φ(12) = 4
- Phase shift φ = 90°
- (r, θ, φ) spherical coordinates
Good to know
Don’t mix it up: It has an alternate form, the phi symbol ϕ (U+03D5), with a straight vertical stroke, and fonts differ on which shape they draw for each.
Tip: Pick either φ or ϕ for a given document and use it consistently, since some readers treat them as different variables.
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 greek letters
Questions
What is the Unicode for φ?
It is U+03C6 (GREEK SMALL LETTER PHI), decimal 966.
Is there a Windows Alt code for it?
Yes: Alt 237 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 “greek small letter phi”, or copy it from this page.
What is the HTML code?
Use the named entity φ or the numeric reference φ.