Paragraph Symbol (¶)

Q: Why is the paragraph symbol called a pilcrow?

The name pilcrow evolved from Middle English pylcrafte, which derived through Old French pelagraphe from the Greek paragraphos, influenced by the Latin capitulum meaning “chapter heading”.

Q: How do I type the pilcrow on keyboard?

On Windows, hold Alt and type 0182 on the numeric keypad (or Alt + 20). On Mac, press Option + 7. In HTML, write the named entity ¶ or numeric reference ¶.

Q: Why does Word show paragraph symbols everywhere?

Microsoft Word uses ¶ to show non-printing formatting marks. Clicking the ¶ button on the Home ribbon toggles the display of spaces, tabs, and paragraph returns on and off.

Q: What is the alt code for the paragraph symbol?

On Windows, hold Alt and type 0182 on the numeric keypad to get ¶. The shorter code Alt + 20 also works in most desktop apps. On a laptop without a keypad, copy it from this page or use 00B6 then Alt + X in Word.

Q: How do I type the paragraph symbol on a Mac?

Press Option + 7. 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.

Q: What is the HTML code for the paragraph symbol?

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

Q: What is the Unicode for the paragraph symbol?

¶ is U+00B6, officially named PILCROW SIGN, in the Latin-1 Supplement block. It has been part of Unicode since version 1.1 (1993).

The paragraph symbol ¶ is Unicode U+00B6, the typographical pilcrow mark used to denote paragraph breaks and legal citations. Press Copy to put it on your clipboard, or type it with Alt + 0182 on Windows or Option + 7 on a Mac.

Unicode: U+00B6
HTML: ¶
Windows: Alt + 0182
Mac: Option + 7

How to type the paragraph symbol (¶)

The quickest way is to press Copy above and paste. To type ¶ yourself, use the method for your device below. On Windows the alt code is Alt + 0182. On a Mac it is Option + 7.

Windows

Hold Alt and type 0182 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 20 on the numeric keypad. This older code (from code page 437) works in Notepad, Word and most desktop apps.
In Word or Outlook, type 00B6 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 Pilcrow Sign, then Select and Copy. Character Map is built into every version of Windows.

Mac

Press Option+7. On the standard US and US-International layouts.
Press Control + Command + Space to open the Character Viewer, search for pilcrow and double-click it.

Linux & ChromeOS

Press Ctrl + Shift + U, type b6, then press Enter or Space. Works in GTK and IBus apps (GNOME, Firefox, Chrome, LibreOffice) and on ChromeOS.
Press your Compose key, then P !. 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 ;para. The shortcut then turns into the symbol as you type, in every app.

Android

In Gboard, tap ?123, then =\<. ¶ is on that page.
Copy ¶ here, then open Gboard settings → Dictionary → Personal dictionary and add it with a shortcut.

Microsoft Word

Type 00B6, then press Alt + X.
Insert → Symbol → More Symbols. Set “from” to Unicode (hex), type 00B6 in “Character code” and click Insert.
On a Mac, Option+7 works in Word too.

Google Docs

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

Excel & Google Sheets

Enter =UNICHAR(182) in a cell. It works in Excel 2013 and later and in Google Sheets.

HTML

Write ¶ or ¶ in your HTML.

What does ¶ mean?

The paragraph symbol (¶), universally known to typographers and book historians as the pilcrow, is one of the most venerable characters in the history of written language. Resembling a backwards capital P with a double vertical stem and filled bowl, the pilcrow originated in ancient scribal script as a stylized capital C for capitulum (“little heading”). Before early printers adopted indented lines and blank line breaks, medieval rubrics used brightly colored pilcrows directly inside continuous blocks of text to announce new thoughts.

Today the pilcrow remains indispensable in modern word processing, legal drafting, and proofreading. In applications like Microsoft Word and LibreOffice Writer, the pilcrow serves as the iconic toggle button for non-printing formatting characters. Enabling formatting marks renders a visible ¶ at every carriage return, helping authors pinpoint rogue spaces, accidental page breaks, and tab misalignments. When citing court complaints and witness affidavits that lack section headings, lawyers cite specific numbered paragraphs with ¶ (e.g. “Complaint ¶ 22”). Explore related marks in legal symbols and compare it with the statutory section sign.

In traditional academic printing, the pilcrow was also the sixth reference mark in the canonical footnote sequence, following the dagger symbol and double dagger. Fine press printers occasionally employ the pilcrow alongside the asterism as an ornamental section divider, enriching the visual rhythm of punctuation symbols.

Common uses

Legal citations referencing specific numbered paragraphs: “Affidavit ¶ 16”
Word processing toggle button and marker for paragraph breaks and carriage returns
Proofreading mark indicating that a new paragraph should begin at a specific word
Sixth-tier reference marker in traditional academic footnote sequencing