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U+2039 · General Punctuation

Single Left-Pointing Angle Quotation Mark ‹

The single left-pointing angle quotation mark ‹ is a single guillemet. French and Swiss typography use it for quotations nested inside « » guillemets, and in Switzerland it opens quotes with ‹ … ›. On the web it has become a common interface marker for back links, previous-page buttons, and collapsed breadcrumbs.

WindowsAlt 0139
MacOption + Shift + 3
UnicodeU+2039
HTML‹
‹U+2039

Character codes

Unicode code pointU+2039
Decimal8249
HTML named entity‹
HTML (hex)‹
HTML (decimal)‹
CSS\2039
JavaScript\u2039
Python\u2039
UTF-8 bytesE2 80 B9
UTF-162039
URL-encoded%E2%80%B9

Character details

Official nameSINGLE LEFT-POINTING ANGLE QUOTATION MARK
Unicode blockGeneral Punctuation
General categoryInitial Quote (Pi)
SymbolHero categoryPunctuation
EmojiNo

How to type ‹

Windows

  • Hold Alt and type 0139 on the numeric keypad (Num Lock on), then release Alt. Alt 0139 uses the Windows-1252 code page.
  • In Microsoft Word or Outlook: type 2039 then press Alt + X.
  • Open Character Map (search “Character Map” in Start), tick “Advanced view”, search for “single left-pointing angle quotation mark”, then Select and Copy.

Mac

  • Press Option + Shift + 3 (US English keyboard layout).
  • Press Control + Command + Space to open the Character Viewer, search “single left-pointing angle quotation mark”, and double-click the result.
  • With the Unicode Hex Input keyboard enabled (System Settings → Keyboard → Input Sources), hold Option and type 2039.

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 “single left-pointing angle quotation mark” or enter U+2039.
  • HTML: ‹ or ‹
  • Excel / Google Sheets: =UNICHAR(8249)

Examples

  • ‹ Previous
  • Swiss: ‹Grüezi›
  • French: « Il m’a dit ‹ non › hier. »
  • ‹ Back to results

Good to know

Don’t mix it up: It looks like the less-than sign < (U+003C), which is a math and code symbol with sharper, larger strokes.

Tip: Unlike <, the ‹ character needs no escaping in HTML, which makes it convenient for navigation text.

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

En Dash
Em Dash
Left Single Quotation Mark
Right Single Quotation Mark (Apostrophe)
Single Low-9 Quotation Mark
Left Double Quotation Mark
Right Double Quotation Mark
Double Low-9 Quotation Mark
Dagger
Double Dagger
Bullet Point
Ellipsis
Single Right-Pointing Angle Quotation Mark
Interrobang
Exclamation Mark
Quotation Mark
Number Sign
Ampersand
Apostrophe
Left Parenthesis
Right Parenthesis
Comma
Hyphen-Minus
Full Stop

See all 195 punctuation →

Questions

What is the Unicode for ‹?

It is U+2039 (SINGLE LEFT-POINTING ANGLE QUOTATION MARK), decimal 8249.

Is there a Windows Alt code for it?

Yes: Alt 0139 on the numeric keypad.

How do I type it on a Mac?

Option + Shift + 3 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 ‹.