HTML Entities

Complete reference for special characters in HTML

About HTML Entities

HTML entities are used to display reserved characters and symbols that either aren't available on keyboards or have special meaning in HTML. They begin with an ampersand (&) and end with a semicolon (;).

Reserved Characters

Special Symbols

Diacritical Marks

HTML Entity Syntax

Entity Formats

HTML entities can be represented in several ways:

Named entities: &name;
Example: © becomes ©
Decimal numeric entities: &#number;
Example: © becomes ©
Hexadecimal numeric entities: &#xHex;
Example: © becomes ©

<!-- Named entity -->
<p>Copyright &copy; 2023</p>

<!-- Decimal entity -->
<p>Copyright &#169; 2023</p>

<!-- Hexadecimal entity -->
<p>Copyright &#xA9; 2023</p>

<!-- All display as: Copyright © 2023 -->

When to Use Entities

HTML entities are essential for:

Displaying reserved HTML characters (<, >, &, etc.)
Showing characters not on your keyboard (©, €, etc.)
Ensuring proper rendering across different encodings
Adding invisible characters (non-breaking spaces)
Displaying mathematical and scientific notation
Showing accented and special characters

Important: Always declare <meta charset="UTF-8"> in your HTML to ensure proper character rendering.

Reserved Characters

Name	Entity Name	Entity Number	Symbol	Description
Ampersand	&	&	&	Must be escaped in HTML
Less Than	<	<	<	Starts HTML tags
Greater Than	>	>	>	Ends HTML tags
Double Quote	"	"	"	For attribute values
Single Quote	'	'	'	Alternative for attributes

Common Symbols

Name	Entity Name	Entity Number	Symbol	Description
Non-breaking Space				Prevents line breaks
Copyright	©	©	©	Copyright symbol
Registered Trademark	®	®	®	Registered mark
Trademark	™	™	™	Trademark symbol
Euro	€	€	€	Euro currency
Pound	£	£	£	British pound

Mathematical Symbols

Name	Entity Name	Entity Number	Symbol	Description
Plus	+	+	+	Addition
Minus	−	−	-	Subtraction
Multiplication	×	×	×	Multiply
Division	÷	÷	÷	Divide
Equals	=	=	=	Equality
Not Equal	≠	≠	≠	Inequality

Accented Characters

Name	Entity Name	Entity Number	Symbol	Description
A acute	á	á	á	Latin small a with acute
E grave	è	è	è	Latin small e with grave
I circumflex	î	î	î	Latin small i with circumflex
O tilde	õ	õ	õ	Latin small o with tilde
U umlaut	ü	ü	ü	Latin small u with diaeresis
C cedilla	ç	ç	ç	Latin small c with cedilla

Greek Letters

Name	Entity Name	Entity Number	Symbol	Description
Alpha	α	α	α	Greek small alpha
Beta	β	β	β	Greek small beta
Gamma	γ	γ	γ	Greek small gamma
Delta	δ	δ	δ	Greek small delta
Pi	π	π	π	Greek small pi
Omega	ω	ω	ω	Greek small omega

Entity Usage Best Practices

Do's:

Always escape reserved HTML characters (<, >, &, ", ')
Use named entities when available for better readability
Use numeric entities for obscure or less common characters
Declare UTF-8 character encoding in your HTML
Test entities in different browsers and devices
Consider accessibility when using symbolic entities

Don'ts:

Don't copy-paste special characters directly (use entities)
Avoid using entities for styling (use CSS instead)
Don't overuse non-breaking spaces for layout
Avoid mixing entity formats unnecessarily
Don't forget to close entities with semicolons
Avoid using obscure entities that may not render consistently

Try Our HTML Entities Editor

Experiment with HTML entities in our interactive editor:

Test different entity formats
See how entities render in real-time
Practice escaping reserved characters
Experiment with mathematical notation

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
  <meta charset="UTF-8">
</head>
<body>
  <!-- Reserved characters -->
  <p>&lt;div&gt; &amp; &quot;</p>
  
  <!-- Common symbols -->
  <p>&copy; &reg; &trade;</p>
  
  <!-- Currency -->
  <p>&euro; &pound; &yen;</p>
  
  <!-- Math -->
  <p>&pi; &radic; &infin;</p>
  
  <!-- Accents -->
  <p>&eacute; &ntilde; &uuml;</p>
</body>
</html>

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