Left Arrow (←)
The left arrow ← is Unicode U+2190, the leftwards arrow for “back”, “previous” and assignment. Press Copy to put it on your clipboard, or type it with Alt + 27 on Windows.
- Unicode
U+2190- HTML
←- Windows
Alt + 27
How to type the left arrow (←)
The quickest way is to press Copy above and paste. To type ← yourself, use the method for your device below.
Windows
- Hold Alt and type 27 on the numeric keypad. This older code (from code page 437) works in Notepad, Word and most desktop apps.
- In Word or Outlook, type 2190 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 Leftwards Arrow, 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 leftwards arrow and double-click it.
- With the Unicode Hex Input keyboard enabled (System Settings → Keyboard → Input Sources), hold Option and type 2190.
Linux & ChromeOS
- Press Ctrl + Shift + U, type 2190, then press Enter or Space. Works in GTK and IBus apps (GNOME, Firefox, Chrome, LibreOffice) and on ChromeOS.
- Press your Compose key, then < -. Needs a Compose key set in your keyboard settings.
iPhone & iPad
- Copy ← from this page, then go to Settings → General → Keyboard → Text Replacement and add it with a shortcut such as ;left. The shortcut then turns into the symbol as you type, in every app.
Android
- Copy ← here, then open Gboard settings → Dictionary → Personal dictionary and add it with a shortcut.
Microsoft Word
- Type <-- and Word's AutoCorrect replaces it with ←.
- Type 2190, then press Alt + X.
- Insert → Symbol → More Symbols. Set “from” to Unicode (hex), type 2190 in “Character code” and click Insert.
Google Docs
- Type <- followed by a space; Google Docs substitutes ← automatically.
- Insert → Special characters, then search for “leftwards arrow” or draw it in the box.
Excel & Google Sheets
- Enter
=UNICHAR(8592)in a cell. It works in Excel 2013 and later and in Google Sheets.
HTML
- Write
←or←in your HTML.
What does ← mean?
The left arrow ← points back. On websites and apps it labels Back and Previous links (“← All posts”), and in instructions it points at the thing being described: “the setting ← change this one”.
It has a quieter life in computing and maths. In pseudocode and textbooks on algorithms, ← is the assignment operator: x ← x + 1 means “set x to x + 1”, avoiding the confusion of an equals sign. The APL and R languages use a similar arrow for assignment (R types it as <-). In logic, ← can mean “is implied by”.
On Windows, Alt + 27 types ←. Word converts <-- into ← as you type, and Google Docs converts <-.
Common uses
- Navigation: “← Back to results”
- Algorithms: i ← i + 1
- Annotated screenshots and diagrams
- Right-to-left reading hints in bilingual text
Left Arrow 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 point | U+2190 | |
|---|---|---|
| HTML entity (named) | ← | |
| HTML decimal | ← | |
| HTML hex | ← | |
| CSS content | content: "\2190"; | |
| JavaScript | "\u2190" | |
| Python | "\u2190" | |
| Python (by name) | "\N{LEFTWARDS ARROW}" | |
| Java / C# | "\u2190" | |
| LaTeX | \leftarrow | |
| UTF-8 bytes | E2 86 90 | |
| UTF-16 | 2190 | |
| URL encoded | %E2%86%90 | |
| Alt code (CP437) | Alt + 27 |
← 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.
| Char | Name | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
Leftwards Double ArrowU+21D0 | Leftwards double arrow, “is implied by” in logic. | |
Leftwards Black ArrowU+2B05 | Leftwards black arrow (U+2B05), which becomes the emoji ⬅️ with U+FE0F. | |
Leftwards Arrow with HookU+21A9 | Leftwards arrow with hook, used for “reply” and “return”. | |
Left-Pointing TriangleU+25C0 | Black left-pointing triangle, a media “rewind” or “previous” control. |
Symbols similar to ←
Click to copy, or open a symbol for its codes. See the full arrow symbols collection.
← character properties
- Official Unicode name
- LEFTWARDS ARROW
- Also known as
- leftwards arrow, back arrow, left arrow symbol
- Code point
- U+2190
- Unicode block
- Arrows (U+2190–U+21FF)
- General category
- Math symbol (Sm)
- Added in
- Unicode 1.1 (1993)
- Plane
- Basic Multilingual Plane (0)
- Emoji
- No, it is a text symbol
Frequently asked questions
What is the alt code for the left arrow?
Alt + 27 on the numeric keypad. Alt + 26 gives the right arrow, 24 the up arrow and 25 the down arrow.
What does ← mean in pseudocode?
It is the assignment operator. “a ← 5” stores the value 5 in the variable a.
What is the alt code for the left arrow?
On Windows, hold Alt and type 27 on the numeric keypad to get ←. On a laptop without a keypad, copy it from this page or use 2190 then Alt + X in Word.
How do I type the left arrow 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 “leftwards arrow” and double-click it, or copy it from this page.
What is the HTML code for the left arrow?
Use the named entity ← or the numeric reference ← (hex ←). All three display ← in every browser.
What is the Unicode for the left arrow?
← is U+2190, officially named LEFTWARDS ARROW, in the Arrows block. It has been part of Unicode since version 1.1 (1993).