Degree Fahrenheit Symbol (°F): How to Type and Copy It
The degree Fahrenheit symbol, °F, is how you write a temperature on the Fahrenheit scale — 72°F, 98.6°F, 212°F. Like Celsius, it’s two parts: the degree sign ° followed by a capital F. There’s a single-character version, ℉, but it’s the one to avoid. This page covers how to type °F on every device, the right way to write it, and why Fahrenheit’s numbers look so strange.
If you just need the symbol, copy °F (or the single ℉, or °C) from the grid below. If you want the shortcuts and the background, read on.
In a hurry?
- Copy it: click °F in the grid below.
- On Windows: hold Alt, type 0176 for °, then type F.
- On a Mac: press Shift + Option + 8 for °, then type F.
- Best practice: write ° + F, not the single ℉ character.
- In HTML: write °F (the degree entity followed by F).
Table of Contents
Copy and paste the degree Fahrenheit symbol
The Fahrenheit symbol in its forms, with the codes you’re likely to need. Use the grid above to copy with one click; this table is the reference.
| Symbol | What it is | Unicode | Windows | HTML |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| °F | degree sign + F | U+00B0 + F | Alt + 0176, then F | °F |
| ℉ | single character | U+2109 | Alt + 8457 | ℉ |
| °C | degrees Celsius | U+00B0 + C | Alt + 0176, then C | °C |
The degree sign isn’t on an English keyboard, so °F takes a shortcut, a code, or a copy. The sections below cover each device, then the right way to write it.
How to type the degree Fahrenheit symbol on any device
Type °F on Windows
Make the degree sign with the Alt code — turn on Num Lock, hold Alt, and type 0176 — then type a capital F. On a laptop with no keypad, press Windows + . for the symbol panel, search “degree,” insert °, then type F.
Type °F on Mac
Press Shift + Option + 8 for the degree sign °, then type F. That’s the standard degree shortcut on a Mac, and adding the F gives you °F. (Avoid Option + 0, which makes the masculine ordinal º, not a true degree sign.)
Type °F on iPhone and Android
Switch to the number keyboard (123) and press and hold the 0 to get the degree sign °, then type F. On iPhone, the Weather app and many keyboards also offer ° directly. Either way, ° then F gives you °F.
Type °F in Microsoft Word
Type the degree sign (00B0 then Alt + X, or Alt + 0176) and follow it with F. If you specifically need the single ℉ character, type 2109 then Alt + X — but the ° + F form is the better choice, for reasons in the next section.
Type °F on Linux
Press Ctrl + Shift + U, type 00b0, then Enter for the degree sign, and add F. The single ℉ character is Ctrl + Shift + U, 2109, Enter.
Add °F in HTML and CSS
In HTML, write °F — the degree entity followed by a plain F. The single character is ℉, but °F is preferred. In CSS, the degree sign in a content value is \00B0.
Write °F the right way: degree + F, not the ℉ character
Just like Celsius, Fahrenheit has a tempting single-character form — ℉ (U+2109) — and just like Celsius, you should usually skip it. That character exists mainly for compatibility with old East Asian text systems, and Unicode’s own advice is to build the symbol from a degree sign followed by an F.
The reasons are the same practical ones: the single ℉ may not match a search for “°F,” it can break at the end of a line, screen readers may not read it as “degrees Fahrenheit,” and it can render in a mismatched style. The two-character ° + F is universally understood, searchable, and consistent. Reserve ℉ for the rare system that demands that exact code point; for documents, web pages, and data, write ° then F.
| Form | Use it for | Downside |
|---|---|---|
| ° + F | almost everything | none |
| ℉ (single char) | legacy CJK systems only | search, line breaks, screen readers |
Should there be a space: 70°F or 70 °F?
The same split as Celsius. Strict SI style would put a space between the number and the unit (70 °F), keeping the ° and F together. But since Fahrenheit is used almost entirely in the United States, where it’s written closed-up, 70°F is overwhelmingly the common form, and US style guides accept it.
Both are defensible; just be consistent within a document. Whatever you pick, keep the ° and the F together, never split them across a line, and don’t put a space between the degree sign and the F.
Why Fahrenheit’s numbers look so strange (0, 32, 98.6, 212)
If Celsius is tidy (0 freezes, 100 boils), Fahrenheit looks baffling: water freezes at 32, boils at 212, and body temperature is 98.6. The reason is that Daniel Fahrenheit, around 1724, anchored his scale to different points than water’s freezing and boiling.
For 0°F, he used the coldest temperature he could reliably reproduce: a freezing mixture of ice, water, and salt (a brine). For the upper anchor he used roughly human body temperature, which he set near 96. With those two points fixed, water’s freezing point simply landed at 32 and its boiling point at 212 — conveniently exactly 180 degrees apart, a number that divides nicely. Body temperature was later measured more precisely as 98.6°F (which is just 37°C converted). So the “weird” numbers aren’t random; they’re what you get when you build a scale around brine and body heat instead of water.
| Fahrenheit | Celsius | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| 0°F | −17.8°C | ice, water and salt |
| 32°F | 0°C | water freezes |
| 98.6°F | 37°C | body temperature |
| 212°F | 100°C | water boils |
Who still uses Fahrenheit?
Fahrenheit is now the odd one out. The United States is the only large country that uses it for everyday temperatures — weather, cooking, thermostats — along with a handful of smaller places tied to it historically, such as the Bahamas, Belize, the Cayman Islands, Palau, and Liberia. Almost everywhere else, and all of science, uses Celsius.
Why did the US keep it? Largely inertia: Fahrenheit was well established before the metric wave of the 1970s, everyday tools and habits were built around it, and a voluntary switch to metric never fully took. The result is the situation travellers know well — a US weather forecast in the 70s or 80s means pleasant, while the rest of the world reads those same numbers as scalding. The two scales meet at exactly one point, covered next.
°F vs °C: quick conversion and the −40 point
Converting between the scales is quick once you know the formula. °F to °C: subtract 32, then multiply by 5/9. °C to °F: multiply by 9/5 and add 32. A rough mental trick for °F to °C is “subtract 30 and halve it,” which is close enough for weather.
And the neat coincidence: the two scales read the same at exactly −40 — −40°F equals −40°C. It’s the single point where converting gives you back the same number. The full conversion table and the Celsius side of things are in the [degree Celsius symbol](/degree-celsius-symbol/) guide.
℉ in code, spreadsheets, and search
The single ℉ character causes the same practical trouble as ℃. In a spreadsheet, mixing “°F” and “℉” breaks sorting and lookups. In Excel, print the degree sign with =UNICHAR(176) and append “F” (=A1&UNICHAR(176)&"F") to keep the clean ° + F form. For search and databases, store temperatures as ° + F and normalise any ℉ characters from user input.
In a URL, the single ℉ is percent-encoded as %E2%84%89, while a plain degree sign is %C2%B0. In code, the escape for the degree sign is \u00B0. As before: prefer ° + F, and convert away from the single ℉.
Copy-paste HTML codes
Every code for the Fahrenheit symbol in one place. Click a cell and copy.
| Symbol | Named / numeric | URL (percent) code | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| °F | °F | %C2%B0F | recommended |
| ℉ | ℉ | %E2%84%89 | avoid if possible |
| ° | ° | %C2%B0 | degree sign only |
In CSS, use \00B0 for the degree sign and follow it with F. For the degree sign on its own and the spacing rules, see the [degree symbol](/degree-symbol/) guide, and for typing symbols across devices the [keyboard shortcuts for symbols](/keyboard-shortcuts-for-symbols/) hub.
Troubleshooting
My °F shows as a box or garbled text
That’s an encoding mismatch: the UTF-8 bytes for the degree sign are being read as an older encoding. Set the file, database, and page charset to UTF-8 and °F displays correctly.
A search for °F won’t find ℉
They’re different characters. Store and type temperatures as ° + F, and normalise any single ℉ characters to ° + F so searches match.
My degree looks small or wrong
You’ve probably got the masculine ordinal º (Option + 0 on a Mac) instead of the degree sign ° (Shift + Option + 8). Copy the correct °F from the grid above.
FAQ
How do I type the degree Fahrenheit symbol?
Make the degree sign, then add F. On Windows, Alt + 0176 then F. On a Mac, Shift + Option + 8 then F. On a phone, long-press 0 for °, then F. In HTML, write °F. Or click °F in the grid above.
Should I use ℉ or °F?
Use ° + F. The single ℉ character (U+2109) exists mainly for legacy East Asian systems and can cause search, line-break, and screen-reader problems. The two-character ° + F is preferred everywhere else.
Why does water freeze at 32°F?
Because Fahrenheit anchored 0°F to a freezing brine of ice, water, and salt, and his upper point to body heat. With those fixed, water’s freezing point simply landed at 32 and boiling at 212, exactly 180 degrees apart.
When is Fahrenheit the same as Celsius?
At −40. −40°F equals −40°C, the one point where the two scales read the same number.
How do I write °F in HTML?
Write °F (the degree entity plus F). The single character is ℉, but ° + F is preferred. In a URL, ° is %C2%B0.
