SymbolHub

Natural Sign (♮)

The natural sign ♮ is Unicode U+266E, the accidental that cancels a sharp or flat. Press Copy to put it on your clipboard.

Unicode
U+266E
HTML
♮
Word
266E Alt+X

How to type the natural sign (♮)

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 266E 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 Music Natural Sign, then Select and Copy. Character Map is built into every version of Windows.

Mac

  1. Press Control + Command + Space to open the Character Viewer, search for natural and double-click it.
  2. With the Unicode Hex Input keyboard enabled (System Settings → Keyboard → Input Sources), hold Option and type 266E.

Linux & ChromeOS

  1. Press Ctrl + Shift + U, type 266e, 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 ;natu. 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 266E, then press Alt + X.
  2. Insert → Symbol → More Symbols. Set “from” to Unicode (hex), type 266E in “Character code” and click Insert.

Google Docs

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

Excel & Google Sheets

  1. Enter =UNICHAR(9838) 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 natural sign. It cancels a sharp or flat that would otherwise apply, either from the key signature or from an earlier accidental in the same bar. In a piece in F major, where B is normally flat, writing B♮ tells the player to use the plain white-key B for the rest of that bar.

Because it only makes sense in relation to other accidentals, ♮ is rarer in everyday writing than ♯ or ♭. It is useful in harmony exercises, analysis posts and chord symbols such as C7(♮9). Its HTML entity is ♮. Most music fonts draw it as a small box with a stem above on the left and a stem below on the right.

Natural Sign 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+266E
HTML entity (named)♮
HTML decimal♮
HTML hex♮
CSS contentcontent: "\266E";
JavaScript"\u266E"
Python"\u266E"
Python (by name)"\N{MUSIC NATURAL SIGN}"
Java / C#"\u266E"
LaTeX\natural
UTF-8 bytesE2 99 AE
UTF-16266E
URL encoded%E2%99%AE

♮ 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
Music Sharp
U+266F		Sharp, which raises the note a semitone.
Music Flat
U+266D		Flat, which lowers the note a semitone.

Symbols similar to ♮

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

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♮ character properties

Official Unicode name
MUSIC NATURAL SIGN
Also known as
music natural, natural symbol
Code point
U+266E
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
No, it is a text symbol

Frequently asked questions

How long does a natural sign last?

Like other accidentals, a natural applies until the end of the bar. The key signature returns in the next bar unless another accidental is written.

Where is the natural sign used outside music?

Rarely. It appears mainly in music theory, analysis and teaching material.

Is there an alt code for the natural sign?

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 266E then Alt + X in Word, or find it in Character Map.

How do I type the natural sign 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 “natural” and double-click it, or copy it from this page.

What is the HTML code for the natural sign?

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

What is the Unicode for the natural sign?

♮ is U+266E, officially named MUSIC NATURAL SIGN, in the Miscellaneous Symbols block. It has been part of Unicode since version 1.1 (1993).