Copy-and-paste symbol guides: arrows, currency, math, and more.
The empty checkbox ☐ is the little box you tick off. Its proper name is the ballot box, and it comes as a matched set: ☐ empty, ☑ checked, and ☒ crossed out. People reach for it to build to-do lists and forms — but there is a catch worth knowing up front: a copied…
The star symbol comes in more shapes than almost anything else you might want to type. The filled ★ and the outline ☆ build rating displays; the gold ⭐ is the emoji; and the plain asterisk * is the “star” your keyboard actually has. There are pointed stars, sparkles, and stars that carry real cultural…
The left arrow ← means “back,” “previous,” or “return to,” and it does quiet work far beyond pointing. The plain one is ←, the emoji is ⬅️, and its relatives — ⇐, ↩, ⌫ — each carry a specific meaning, from a browser’s Back button to an assignment in code. Here is how to type…
The right arrow → means “to,” “next,” or “leads to,” and it does more quiet work than any other arrow. The plain one is →, the emoji is ➡️, and its cousins — ⇒, ▶, ↦ — each carry a specific meaning in math, chemistry, code, and media. Here is how to type →, where…
The down arrow ↓ means down, but it carries more than one job. The plain arrow is ↓, the emoji is ⬇️, and its cousins — ▼, ⇓, ⇩ — each mean something specific, from a dropdown menu to a download. It shows up as a direction, a decrease, a UI control, and a science…
The up arrow ↑ points one way, but there is more than one of it. The plain arrow is ↑, the emoji is ⬆️, and a handful of cousins (⇧, ⌃, ▲, ⇑) each mean something specific. It turns up as a direction, an increase, a keyboard key, and even a math operation. Here is…
The mu symbol has two everyday forms and a twist most guides skip. The lowercase is written μ and the capital is Μ, and there is a near-twin, the micro sign µ, that looks the same on screen but is a different character underneath. Mu is the twelfth letter of the Greek alphabet, though you…
The lambda symbol comes in two forms: the lowercase λ, the one you meet in code, physics, and math, and the capital Λ, which has its own life in cosmology. Lambda is the eleventh letter of the Greek alphabet, but most people run into it as the sign for an anonymous function or a wavelength…
The beta symbol comes in two shapes: the lowercase β, the one you meet in finance, physics, and stats, and the capital Β, which is drawn just like a Latin B. Beta is the second letter of the Greek alphabet, so it usually stands for the second of something — the version after alpha, the…
The alpha symbol comes in two shapes: the lowercase α, the one you see in physics and stats, and the capital Α, which looks exactly like a plain Latin A. Alpha is the first letter of the Greek alphabet, which is why it turns up whenever someone means the first or the beginning of something….