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How to Copy and Paste Symbols: A Complete Guide to Unicode Symbols

From arrows to hearts, from math symbols to currency signs, here is everything you need to know about finding and copying Unicode symbols online.

Saurabh

Written by Saurabh

Builder & maintainer of TextToolbox

Why Copy and Paste Symbols?

Sometimes you need a checkmark (✓) for a list, a degree symbol (°) for temperature, or a copyright mark (©) for a footer. Your keyboard doesn't have keys for these.

Instead of searching Google every time and trying to highlight the tiny symbol in a search result without grabbing extra spaces, you can use dedicated symbol libraries. Since these symbols are standard Unicode characters, they work everywhere — emails, code, social media, and word processors.

The Most Useful Symbol Categories

1. Arrow Symbols (→ ← ↑ ↓)

Arrows are perfect for breadcrumbs in UI design, guiding attention in social media captions, or creating simple flowcharts in plain text.

2. Math & Currency Symbols (∑ ∞ π € ¥)

Essential for writing equations, financial reports, or technical documentation when you don't have access to an equation editor.

3. Star Symbols (★ ☆ ✦ ✧)

Great for ratings, bullet points, or decorating usernames and channel names.

4. Checkmarks and Crosses (✓ ✗ ☑ ☒)

The fastest way to create a checklist in an email or note-taking app that doesn't support interactive checkboxes.

5. Card and Chess Symbols (♠ ♥ ♚ ♞)

Used often in gaming forums, puzzle design, or just as aesthetic bullet points.

How to Actually Type Symbols (Without Copying)

If there's a symbol you use daily, copying and pasting gets annoying. Here are the shortcuts for power users:

On Windows (Alt Codes)

Hold the Alt key and type a number pad code (NumLock must be on).

  • Alt + 0169 = ©
  • Alt + 0176 = °
  • Alt + 24 = ↑

On Mac (Option Key)

Hold the Option (or Alt) key combined with standard keys.

  • Option + G = ©
  • Option + Shift + 8 = °
  • Option + V = √

On Mobile (iOS / Android)

Hold down regular keys to reveal hidden symbols.

  • Hold 0 for ° (degree)
  • Hold $ for €, £, ¥
  • Hold - for — (em dash)

When a Symbol Shows up as a Square ()

If you paste a symbol and see a blank box, a question mark box, or weird garbage text, here is what happened:

  1. Missing Font: The app or website you pasted into doesn't have a font that includes that specific Unicode character.
  2. Encoding Issue: The system isn't using UTF-8 encoding, causing it to misread the character data.

This is rare today, but happens most often with very obscure symbols or brand-new emoji that your older operating system hasn't updated to recognize yet.

The Fastest Way to Find Any Symbol

Don't memorize codes unless you use them daily. Bookmark a good symbol library.

The TextToolbox Text Symbols & Decorations category has dedicated, one-click copy boards for every major symbol type. Just click what you need and paste it where you want it. No highlighting required.

Free Symbol Tools on TextToolbox

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