SymbolHub

Cancer Symbol (♋)

The cancer symbol ♋ is Unicode U+264B, the zodiac sign of the crab. Press Copy to put it on your clipboard.

Unicode
U+264B
HTML
♋
Word
264B Alt+X

How to type the cancer symbol (♋)

The quickest way is to press Copy above and paste. To type ♋ yourself, use the method for your device below.

Windows

  1. In Word or Outlook, type 264B and press Alt + X. Alt + X converts the hex code before the cursor into the character, and back again.
  2. Press Win + . to open the emoji panel, then search for “cancer”.

Mac

  1. Press Control + Command + Space to open the Character Viewer, search for cancer and double-click it.

Linux & ChromeOS

  1. Press Ctrl + Shift + U, type 264b, then press Enter or Space. Works in GTK and IBus apps (GNOME, Firefox, Chrome, LibreOffice) and on ChromeOS.

iPhone & iPad

  1. Copy ♋ from this page, then go to Settings → General → Keyboard → Text Replacement and add it with a shortcut such as ;canc. The shortcut then turns into the symbol as you type, in every app.

Android

  1. Copy ♋ here, then open Gboard settings → Dictionary → Personal dictionary and add it with a shortcut.

Microsoft Word

  1. Type 264B, then press Alt + X.
  2. Insert → Symbol → More Symbols. Set “from” to Unicode (hex), type 264B in “Character code” and click Insert.

Google Docs

  1. Insert → Special characters, then search for “cancer” or draw it in the box.

Excel & Google Sheets

  1. Enter =UNICHAR(9803) in a cell. It works in Excel 2013 and later and in Google Sheets.

HTML

  1. Write ♋ or ♋ in your HTML.

What does ♋ mean?

♋ is the zodiac sign Cancer, the crab. The glyph looks like a sideways 69, and it is usually explained as the crab’s two claws, or as two curled shells facing each other. Cancer covers about 21 June to 22 July, starting at the June solstice.

The sign also gave its name to a line of latitude. The Tropic of Cancer, at about 23.4° north, is where the Sun is overhead at the June solstice; two thousand years ago the Sun was in the constellation Cancer at that moment. Note that ♋ is only an astrological symbol. It is not used for the disease, and health organisations use ribbons or words instead.

Cancer Symbol codes for HTML, CSS and programming

Every code below produces ♋. Use the HTML entity in web pages, the CSS escape in content, and the escape sequence in source code.

Unicode code pointU+264B
HTML decimal♋
HTML hex♋
CSS contentcontent: "\264B";
JavaScript"\u264B"
Python"\u264B"
Python (by name)"\N{CANCER}"
Java / C#"\u264B"
UTF-8 bytesE2 99 8B
UTF-16264B
URL encoded%E2%99%8B

♋ vs look-alike characters

These characters look similar to ♋ but have a different meaning and code. Pasting the wrong one can break search, sorting and screen readers.

CharNameWhen to use it
Digit Six + Digit Nine
U+0036 U+0039		The digits six and nine. They resemble the glyph but are plain numbers.
Leo
U+264C		Leo, the next sign.

Symbols similar to ♋

Click to copy, or open a symbol for its codes. See the full zodiac symbols collection.

♋ character properties

Official Unicode name
CANCER
Also known as
cancer zodiac sign, crab symbol, cancer glyph
Code point
U+264B
Unicode block
Miscellaneous Symbols (U+2600–U+26FF)
General category
Other symbol (So)
Added in
Unicode 1.1 (1993)
Plane
Basic Multilingual Plane (0)
Emoji
Has an emoji form: ♋ (add U+FE0F)

Frequently asked questions

What are the Cancer zodiac dates?

About 21 June to 22 July.

Why does the Cancer symbol look like 69?

The two curls are traditionally read as a crab’s claws. The resemblance to 69 is coincidental.

Is there an alt code for the cancer symbol?

No. ♋ is outside the Windows-1252 and code page 437 character sets, so no Alt + number code produces it. Copy it from this page, type 264B then Alt + X in Word, or find it in Character Map.

How do I type the cancer symbol on a Mac?

There is no single Option shortcut for ♋ on the US layout. Press Control + Command + Space to open the Character Viewer, search for “cancer” and double-click it, or copy it from this page.

What is the HTML code for the cancer symbol?

♋ has no named HTML entity. Use the numeric reference ♋ or ♋, or paste the character directly into a UTF-8 page.

What is the Unicode for the cancer symbol?

♋ is U+264B, officially named CANCER, in the Miscellaneous Symbols block. It has been part of Unicode since version 1.1 (1993).