Beta Symbol (β)
The beta symbol β is Unicode U+03B2, the second letter of the Greek alphabet. Press Copy to put it on your clipboard.
- Unicode
U+03B2- HTML
β- Word
03B2 Alt+X
How to type the beta symbol (β)
The quickest way is to press Copy above and paste. To type β yourself, use the method for your device below.
Windows
- In Word or Outlook, type 03B2 and press Alt + X. Alt + X converts the hex code before the cursor into the character, and back again.
- Press Win + R, type charmap and press Enter. Tick “Advanced view”, search for Greek Small Letter Beta, then Select and Copy. Character Map is built into every version of Windows.
Mac
- Press Control + Command + Space to open the Character Viewer, search for beta and double-click it.
- With the Unicode Hex Input keyboard enabled (System Settings → Keyboard → Input Sources), hold Option and type 03B2.
Linux & ChromeOS
- Press Ctrl + Shift + U, type 3b2, then press Enter or Space. Works in GTK and IBus apps (GNOME, Firefox, Chrome, LibreOffice) and on ChromeOS.
iPhone & iPad
- Copy β from this page, then go to Settings → General → Keyboard → Text Replacement and add it with a shortcut such as ;beta. The shortcut then turns into the symbol as you type, in every app.
Android
- Copy β here, then open Gboard settings → Dictionary → Personal dictionary and add it with a shortcut.
Microsoft Word
- Type 03B2, then press Alt + X.
- Insert → Symbol → More Symbols. Set “from” to Unicode (hex), type 03B2 in “Character code” and click Insert.
Google Docs
- Insert → Special characters, then search for “beta” or draw it in the box.
Excel & Google Sheets
- Enter
=UNICHAR(946)in a cell. It works in Excel 2013 and later and in Google Sheets.
HTML
- Write
βorβin your HTML.
What does β mean?
Beta (β, capital Β) is the second letter of the Greek alphabet. English speakers say “BAY-tuh” (US) or “BEE-tuh” (UK); in modern Greek it is pronounced “VEE-tah” and sounds like a v. Together with alpha it gave us the word “alphabet”.
The lowercase β is everywhere in technical writing. A beta version of software is feature-complete but still being tested by real users. In finance, beta (β) measures how much a stock moves compared with the market, so β = 1.5 means it tends to swing 50% more. Physicists write β for beta decay and beta particles (electrons or positrons), and statisticians use β for regression coefficients and for the probability of a Type II error.
β has no Windows alt code. The code Alt + 225 that many sites list actually types ß, the German sharp s, which only looks similar in some fonts.
Common uses
- Software: “Now in β”, beta testers, open beta
- Investing: a portfolio β of 0.8
- Regression models: y = β₀ + β₁x
- Nuclear physics: β⁻ and β⁺ decay
Beta Symbol codes for HTML, CSS and programming
Every code below produces β. Use the HTML entity in web pages, the CSS escape in content, and the escape sequence in source code.
| Unicode code point | U+03B2 | |
|---|---|---|
| HTML entity (named) | β | |
| HTML decimal | β | |
| HTML hex | β | |
| CSS content | content: "\3B2"; | |
| JavaScript | "\u03B2" | |
| Python | "\u03B2" | |
| Python (by name) | "\N{GREEK SMALL LETTER BETA}" | |
| Java / C# | "\u03B2" | |
| LaTeX | \beta | |
| UTF-8 bytes | CE B2 | |
| UTF-16 | 03B2 | |
| URL encoded | %CE%B2 |
β vs look-alike characters
These characters look similar to β but have a different meaning and code. Pasting the wrong one can break search, sorting and screen readers.
| Char | Name | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
Sharp SU+00DF | German sharp s, or eszett (U+00DF). It is a letter meaning “ss”, typed with Alt + 225 or Option + S. Do not use it for beta. | |
Greek Beta SymbolU+03D0 | Greek beta symbol (U+03D0), a curled variant used in some French typography and older maths texts. | |
Greek capital BetaU+0392 | Greek capital Beta (U+0392). It is identical to the Latin B. |
Symbols similar to β
Click to copy, or open a symbol for its codes. See the full greek letters collection.
- Greek Alpha Details
- Greek Gamma Details
- Greek Epsilon Details
- Greek Zeta Details
- Greek Eta Details
- Greek Theta Details
- Greek Iota Details
- Greek Kappa Details
- Greek Lamda Details
- Greek Mu Details
- Greek Nu Details
- Greek Xi Details
- Greek Omicron Details
- Greek Pi Details
- Greek Rho Details
- Greek Tau Details
- Greek Upsilon Details
- Greek Phi Details
- Greek Chi Details
β character properties
- Official Unicode name
- GREEK SMALL LETTER BETA
- Also known as
- beta, greek letter beta, lowercase beta
- Code point
- U+03B2
- Unicode block
- Greek and Coptic (U+0370–U+03FF)
- General category
- Lowercase letter (Ll)
- Added in
- Unicode 1.1 (1993)
- Plane
- Basic Multilingual Plane (0)
- Emoji
- No, it is a text symbol
Frequently asked questions
Is ß the same as β?
No. ß is the German letter eszett and β is the Greek letter beta. They look alike in some fonts but mean different things, and search engines treat them as different characters.
What does β mean in finance?
Beta is a measure of volatility relative to the market. A stock with β above 1 moves more than the market, below 1 moves less.
Is there an alt code for the beta symbol?
No. β is outside the Windows-1252 and code page 437 character sets, so no Alt + number code produces it. Copy it from this page, type 03B2 then Alt + X in Word, or find it in Character Map.
How do I type the beta symbol on a Mac?
There is no single Option shortcut for β on the US layout. Press Control + Command + Space to open the Character Viewer, search for “beta” and double-click it, or copy it from this page.
What is the HTML code for the beta symbol?
Use the named entity β or the numeric reference β (hex β). All three display β in every browser.
What is the Unicode for the beta symbol?
β is U+03B2, officially named GREEK SMALL LETTER BETA, in the Greek and Coptic block. It has been part of Unicode since version 1.1 (1993).