SymbolHub

Curly Quotes (“)

The curly quotes “ is Unicode U+201C, the typographical opening double quote mark with a curved hook shaped like the number 66. Press Copy to put it on your clipboard, or type it with Option + [ on a Mac.

Unicode
U+201C
HTML
“
Word
201C Alt+X
Mac
Option + [

How to type the curly quotes (“)

The quickest way is to press Copy above and paste. To type “ yourself, use the method for your device below. On a Mac it is Option + [.

Windows

  1. In Word or Outlook, type 201C and press Alt + X. Alt + X converts the hex code before the cursor into the character, and back again.
  2. Press Win + R, type charmap and press Enter. Tick “Advanced view”, search for Left Double Quotation Mark, then Select and Copy. Character Map is built into every version of Windows.

Mac

  1. Press Option+[. On the standard US and US-International layouts.
  2. Press Control + Command + Space to open the Character Viewer, search for curly quotes and double-click it.

Linux & ChromeOS

  1. Press Ctrl + Shift + U, type 201c, then press Enter or Space. Works in GTK and IBus apps (GNOME, Firefox, Chrome, LibreOffice) and on ChromeOS.

iPhone & iPad

  1. Tap 123, then touch and hold " and slide to “.
  2. 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

  1. In Gboard, long-press " on the ?123 page.
  2. Copy “ here, then open Gboard settings → Dictionary → Personal dictionary and add it with a shortcut.

Microsoft Word

  1. Type 201C, then press Alt + X.
  2. Insert → Symbol → More Symbols. Set “from” to Unicode (hex), type 201C in “Character code” and click Insert.
  3. On a Mac, Option+[ works in Word too.

Google Docs

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

Excel & Google Sheets

  1. Enter =UNICHAR(8220) in a cell. It works in Excel 2013 and later and in Google Sheets.

HTML

  1. Write “ or “ in your HTML.

What does “ mean?

Curly quotes, specifically the opening left double quotation mark (“), represent the gold standard of professional book printing and refined typography. Designed with a curved bulb and stroke resembling the number 66, curly quotes hug the opening words of spoken dialogue and cited passages. Unlike rigid mechanical typewriter quotes, true typographic quotes possess weight, directional balance, and stroke contrast that integrate harmoniously with surrounding serif or sans-serif typefaces.

The straight double quote (") found on physical computer keyboards is a historic nineteenth-century compromise engineered for manual typewriters to save keyboard keys. In fine literature and journalism, opening double quotes are paired with closing double quotes (”), and single quotes are handled with the apostrophe (’). Using straight quotes in editorial copy signals amateur desktop publishing, which is why modern word processors provide “smart quotes” features to substitute curly marks automatically. For in-depth rules on quotation marks, read our curly quotes guide and explore world styles in quotation marks.

Different languages observe distinct quotation conventions. While English literature favors curly double quotes, French and Spanish typography historically relies on angle guillemets, and Russian and German literature uses low-9 opening quotes („) or the horizontal bar for dialogue. However, developers must beware: pasting curly quotes into source code breaks programming scripts, because compilers require strict ASCII straight quotes.

Common uses

  • Opening direct quotations in English literature: “In the beginning was the Word…”
  • Formatting spoken dialogue in novels, screenplays, and narrative journalism
  • Enclosing titles of poems, songs, articles, and short stories: “The Road Not Taken”
  • Signaling ironic distance or so-called scare quotes around debated terminology

Curly Quotes 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+201C
HTML entity (named)“
HTML decimal“
HTML hex“
CSS contentcontent: "\201C";
JavaScript"\u201C"
Python"\u201C"
Python (by name)"\N{LEFT DOUBLE QUOTATION MARK}"
Java / C#"\u201C"
UTF-8 bytesE2 80 9C
UTF-16201C
URL encoded%E2%80%9C
Mac shortcutOption + [

“ 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
Quotation Mark
U+0022		Straight double quote (U+0022). Typewriter ASCII symbol required for programming code strings.
Right Double Quotation Mark
U+201D		Right double quotation mark (U+201D). Curved like 99; serves as the closing counterpart to “.
Double Low-9 Quotation Mark
U+201E		Double low-9 quotation mark (U+201E). Rests on the baseline to open quotations in German and Polish.
Left-Pointing Double Angle Quotation Mark
U+00AB		Left-pointing guillemet (U+00AB). Angle quotation mark standard in French, Spanish, and Italian.

Symbols similar to “

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

  • Details
  • Details

“ character properties

Official Unicode name
LEFT DOUBLE QUOTATION MARK
Also known as
smart quotes, open curly quote, opening double quote, typographic quotes
Code point
U+201C
Unicode block
General Punctuation (U+2000–U+206F)
General category
Initial quote punctuation (Pi)
Added in
Unicode 1.1 (1993)
Plane
Basic Multilingual Plane (0)
Emoji
No, it is a text symbol

Frequently asked questions

Why are curly quotes called smart quotes?

They are called “smart quotes” because word processing software intelligently analyzes typing context to convert straight keyboard quotes into directional opening (“) or closing (”) curly quotes.

How do I type curly quotes on keyboard?

On Mac, press Option + [ for open quote “ and Option + Shift + [ for close quote ”. On Windows, hold Alt and type 0147 for “ and Alt + 0148 for ” on the numeric keypad.

Why do curly quotes cause errors in code and web programming?

Programming languages like JavaScript, Python, and SQL interpret only straight ASCII quotes (" and ') as string delimiters. Curly quotes are multibyte Unicode characters that trigger syntax errors in code.

Is there an alt code for the curly quotes?

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 201C then Alt + X in Word, or find it in Character Map.

How do I type the curly quotes on a Mac?

Press Option + [. It works in every app on the US keyboard layout. You can also open the Character Viewer with Control + Command + Space and search for it.

What is the HTML code for the curly quotes?

Use the named entity “ or the numeric reference “ (hex “). All three display “ in every browser.

What is the Unicode for the curly quotes?

“ is U+201C, officially named LEFT DOUBLE QUOTATION MARK, in the General Punctuation block. It has been part of Unicode since version 1.1 (1993).