Epsilon Symbol (ε)
The epsilon symbol ε is Unicode U+03B5, the fifth letter of the Greek alphabet. Press Copy to put it on your clipboard, or type it with Alt + 238 on Windows.
- Unicode
U+03B5- HTML
ε- Windows
Alt + 238
How to type the epsilon symbol (ε)
The quickest way is to press Copy above and paste. To type ε yourself, use the method for your device below.
Windows
- Hold Alt and type 238 on the numeric keypad. This older code (from code page 437) works in Notepad, Word and most desktop apps.
- In Word or Outlook, type 03B5 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 Epsilon, 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 epsilon and double-click it.
- With the Unicode Hex Input keyboard enabled (System Settings → Keyboard → Input Sources), hold Option and type 03B5.
Linux & ChromeOS
- Press Ctrl + Shift + U, type 3b5, then press Enter or Space. Works in GTK and IBus apps (GNOME, Firefox, Chrome, LibreOffice) and on ChromeOS.
iPhone & iPad
- Copy ε from this page, then go to Settings → General → Keyboard → Text Replacement and add it with a shortcut such as ;epsi. The shortcut then turns into the symbol as you type, in every app.
Android
- Copy ε here, then open Gboard settings → Dictionary → Personal dictionary and add it with a shortcut.
Microsoft Word
- Type 03B5, then press Alt + X.
- Insert → Symbol → More Symbols. Set “from” to Unicode (hex), type 03B5 in “Character code” and click Insert.
Google Docs
- Insert → Special characters, then search for “epsilon” or draw it in the box.
Excel & Google Sheets
- Enter
=UNICHAR(949)in a cell. It works in Excel 2013 and later and in Google Sheets.
HTML
- Write
εorεin your HTML.
What does ε mean?
Epsilon (ε, capital Ε) is the fifth Greek letter, said “EP-si-lon”. In mathematics ε stands for an arbitrarily small positive number, as in the epsilon-delta definition of a limit, which is why programmers call the smallest meaningful floating-point difference “machine epsilon”. Physicists use it for permittivity (ε₀) and strain. On Windows, Alt + 235 is δ and Alt + 238 is ε.
Common uses
- Calculus: for every ε > 0 there is a δ > 0
- Electromagnetism: ε₀, the permittivity of free space
- Computing: Number.EPSILON in JavaScript
Epsilon Symbol codes for HTML, CSS and programming
Every code below produces ε. Use the HTML entity in web pages, the CSS escape in content, and the escape sequence in source code.
| Unicode code point | U+03B5 | |
|---|---|---|
| HTML entity (named) | ε | |
| HTML decimal | ε | |
| HTML hex | ε | |
| CSS content | content: "\3B5"; | |
| JavaScript | "\u03B5" | |
| Python | "\u03B5" | |
| Python (by name) | "\N{GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON}" | |
| Java / C# | "\u03B5" | |
| LaTeX | \epsilon | |
| UTF-8 bytes | CE B5 | |
| UTF-16 | 03B5 | |
| URL encoded | %CE%B5 | |
| Alt code (CP437) | Alt + 238 |
ε vs look-alike characters
These characters look similar to ε but have a different meaning and code. Pasting the wrong one can break search, sorting and screen readers.
| Char | Name | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
Element ofU+2208 | Element of (U+2208), a set-theory operator: x ∈ A. It is taller and has a middle bar. | |
Greek Lunate Epsilon SymbolU+03F5 | Greek lunate epsilon symbol (U+03F5), the straight-backed form some maths fonts prefer. | |
EuroU+20AC | The euro sign, which was designed with epsilon as an inspiration but is a currency symbol. |
Symbols similar to ε
Click to copy, or open a symbol for its codes. See the full greek letters collection.
- Element of Details
- Euro Details
- Greek Alpha Details
- Greek Beta Details
- Greek Gamma 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
ε character properties
- Official Unicode name
- GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON
- Also known as
- epsilon, greek letter epsilon
- Code point
- U+03B5
- 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
What is the difference between ε and ∈?
ε is the Greek letter epsilon. ∈ is the “is an element of” symbol from set theory. They are separate characters with different codes (U+03B5 and U+2208).
What is the alt code for the epsilon symbol?
On Windows, hold Alt and type 238 on the numeric keypad to get ε. On a laptop without a keypad, copy it from this page or use 03B5 then Alt + X in Word.
How do I type the epsilon symbol on a Mac?
There is no single Option shortcut for ε on the US layout. Press Control + Command + Space to open the Character Viewer, search for “epsilon” and double-click it, or copy it from this page.
What is the HTML code for the epsilon symbol?
Use the named entity ε or the numeric reference ε (hex ε). All three display ε in every browser.
What is the Unicode for the epsilon symbol?
ε is U+03B5, officially named GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON, in the Greek and Coptic block. It has been part of Unicode since version 1.1 (1993).