One Quarter Fraction (¼)
The one quarter fraction ¼ is Unicode U+00BC, the single-character fraction one quarter. Press Copy to put it on your clipboard, or type it with Alt + 0188 on Windows.
- Unicode
U+00BC- HTML
¼- Windows
Alt + 0188
How to type the one quarter fraction (¼)
The quickest way is to press Copy above and paste. To type ¼ yourself, use the method for your device below. On Windows the alt code is Alt + 0188.
Windows
- Hold Alt and type 0188 on the numeric keypad, then release Alt. Num Lock must be on. This uses the Windows-1252 code page, so it works in almost every Windows app.
- Hold Alt and type 172 on the numeric keypad. This older code (from code page 437) works in Notepad, Word and most desktop apps.
- In Word or Outlook, type 00BC 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 Vulgar Fraction One Quarter, 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 fraction one quarter and double-click it.
- With the Unicode Hex Input keyboard enabled (System Settings → Keyboard → Input Sources), hold Option and type 00BC.
Linux & ChromeOS
- Press Ctrl + Shift + U, type bc, then press Enter or Space. Works in GTK and IBus apps (GNOME, Firefox, Chrome, LibreOffice) and on ChromeOS.
- Press your Compose key, then 1 4. Needs a Compose key set in your keyboard settings.
iPhone & iPad
- Copy ¼ from this page, then go to Settings → General → Keyboard → Text Replacement and add it with a shortcut such as ;one. The shortcut then turns into the symbol as you type, in every app.
Android
- In Gboard, long-press 1 on the ?123 page.
- Copy ¼ here, then open Gboard settings → Dictionary → Personal dictionary and add it with a shortcut.
Microsoft Word
- Type 00BC, then press Alt + X.
- Insert → Symbol → More Symbols. Set “from” to Unicode (hex), type 00BC in “Character code” and click Insert.
Google Docs
- Type 1/4 followed by a space; Google Docs substitutes ¼ automatically.
- Insert → Special characters, then search for “fraction one quarter” or draw it in the box.
Excel & Google Sheets
- Enter
=UNICHAR(188)in a cell. It works in Excel 2013 and later and in Google Sheets.
HTML
- Write
¼or¼in your HTML.
What does ¼ mean?
¼ is one quarter as a single character, standard in recipes (¼ teaspoon), imperial measurements (¼-inch plywood) and timekeeping in some languages. It is one of the three fractions in the original Latin-1 set, alongside ½ and ¾, which is why all three have Windows Alt codes while ⅓ and ⅛ do not. American English says “one fourth” as often as “one quarter”; both name the same character.
Common uses
- Recipes: ¼ tsp salt
- Imperial sizes: a ¼″ drill bit
One Quarter Fraction codes for HTML, CSS and programming
Every code below produces ¼. Use the HTML entity in web pages, the CSS escape in content, and the escape sequence in source code.
| Unicode code point | U+00BC | |
|---|---|---|
| HTML entity (named) | ¼ | |
| HTML decimal | ¼ | |
| HTML hex | ¼ | |
| CSS content | content: "\BC"; | |
| JavaScript | "\u00BC" | |
| Python | "\u00BC" | |
| Python (by name) | "\N{VULGAR FRACTION ONE QUARTER}" | |
| Java / C# | "\u00BC" | |
| LaTeX | \frac{1}{4} | |
| UTF-8 bytes | C2 BC | |
| UTF-16 | 00BC | |
| URL encoded | %C2%BC | |
| Windows Alt code | Alt + 0188 | |
| Alt code (CP437) | Alt + 172 |
¼ vs look-alike characters
These characters look similar to ¼ but have a different meaning and code. Pasting the wrong one can break search, sorting and screen readers.
| Char | Name | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
Digit One + Solidus + Digit FourU+0031 U+002F U+0034 | Typed fraction, which calculators and spreadsheets understand. | |
Vulgar Fraction Three QuartersU+00BE | Three quarters. |
Symbols similar to ¼
Click to copy, or open a symbol for its codes. See the full fraction symbols collection.
¼ character properties
- Official Unicode name
- VULGAR FRACTION ONE QUARTER
- Also known as
- quarter symbol, one fourth, 1/4 symbol
- Code point
- U+00BC
- Unicode block
- Latin-1 Supplement (U+0080–U+00FF)
- General category
- Other number (No)
- 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 ¼?
Alt + 0188 on the numeric keypad types ¼ on Windows. Alt + 172 also works in most desktop apps.
What is the alt code for the one quarter fraction?
On Windows, hold Alt and type 0188 on the numeric keypad to get ¼. The shorter code Alt + 172 also works in most desktop apps. On a laptop without a keypad, copy it from this page or use 00BC then Alt + X in Word.
How do I type the one quarter fraction on a Mac?
There is no single Option shortcut for ¼ on the US layout. Press Control + Command + Space to open the Character Viewer, search for “fraction one quarter” and double-click it, or copy it from this page.
What is the HTML code for the one quarter fraction?
Use the named entity ¼ or the numeric reference ¼ (hex ¼). All three display ¼ in every browser.
What is the Unicode for the one quarter fraction?
¼ is U+00BC, officially named VULGAR FRACTION ONE QUARTER, in the Latin-1 Supplement block. It has been part of Unicode since version 1.1 (1993).