SymbolHub

Phi Symbol (φ)

The phi symbol φ is Unicode U+03C6, the Greek letter for the golden ratio and for angles. Press Copy to put it on your clipboard, or type it with Alt + 237 on Windows.

Unicode
U+03C6
HTML
φ
Windows
Alt + 237

How to type the phi symbol (φ)

The quickest way is to press Copy above and paste. To type φ yourself, use the method for your device below.

Windows

  1. Hold Alt and type 237 on the numeric keypad. This older code (from code page 437) works in Notepad, Word and most desktop apps.
  2. In Word or Outlook, type 03C6 and press Alt + X. Alt + X converts the hex code before the cursor into the character, and back again.
  3. Press Win + R, type charmap and press Enter. Tick “Advanced view”, search for Greek Small Letter Phi, 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 phi and double-click it.
  2. With the Unicode Hex Input keyboard enabled (System Settings → Keyboard → Input Sources), hold Option and type 03C6.

Linux & ChromeOS

  1. Press Ctrl + Shift + U, type 3c6, then press Enter or Space. Works in GTK and IBus apps (GNOME, Firefox, Chrome, LibreOffice) and on ChromeOS.

iPhone & iPad

  1. Copy φ from this page, then go to Settings → General → Keyboard → Text Replacement and add it with a shortcut such as ;phi. The shortcut then turns into the symbol as you type, in every app.

Android

  1. Copy φ here, then open Gboard settings → Dictionary → Personal dictionary and add it with a shortcut.

Microsoft Word

  1. Type 03C6, then press Alt + X.
  2. Insert → Symbol → More Symbols. Set “from” to Unicode (hex), type 03C6 in “Character code” and click Insert.

Google Docs

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

Excel & Google Sheets

  1. Enter =UNICHAR(966) in a cell. It works in Excel 2013 and later and in Google Sheets.

HTML

  1. Write φ or φ in your HTML.

What does φ mean?

Phi (φ, capital Φ) is the twenty-first letter of the Greek alphabet, pronounced “fye” in English and “fee” in Greek. It represents the “ph” sound in words such as philosophy and photograph.

Its most famous use is the golden ratio, φ = (1 + √5)/2 ≈ 1.618, which turns up in the Fibonacci sequence and in architecture and design. φ also names angles in spherical coordinates, the phase of a wave, and Euler’s totient function φ(n) in number theory. The capital Φ is the symbol for magnetic and electric flux. The US honour society Phi Beta Kappa (ΦΒΚ) is the oldest Greek-letter society, founded in 1776.

There are two lowercase forms. φ (U+03C6) is the Greek letter with a loop, and ϕ (U+03D5) is the straight-stroked phi symbol many maths fonts prefer. Fonts do not agree on which glyph each code point gets, so check the result if the shape matters. Alt + 237 types φ on Windows, and Alt + 232 types the capital Φ.

Common uses

  • Maths: the golden ratio φ ≈ 1.618
  • Physics: phase angle φ, magnetic flux Φ in webers
  • Number theory: φ(10) = 4
  • Philosophy abbreviations: “Φ” for philosophy on university timetables

Phi Symbol codes for HTML, CSS and programming

Every code below produces φ. Use the HTML entity in web pages, the CSS escape in content, and the escape sequence in source code.

Unicode code pointU+03C6
HTML entity (named)φ
HTML decimalφ
HTML hexφ
CSS contentcontent: "\3C6";
JavaScript"\u03C6"
Python"\u03C6"
Python (by name)"\N{GREEK SMALL LETTER PHI}"
Java / C#"\u03C6"
LaTeX\phi
UTF-8 bytesCF 86
UTF-1603C6
URL encoded%CF%86
Alt code (CP437)Alt + 237

φ vs look-alike characters

These characters look similar to φ but have a different meaning and code. Pasting the wrong one can break search, sorting and screen readers.

CharNameWhen to use it
Greek Phi Symbol
U+03D5		Greek phi symbol (U+03D5), the straight-stroked form common in maths.
Empty Set
U+2205		Empty set (U+2205), a circle with a diagonal slash, not a vertical one.
Phi
U+0278		Latin small letter phi (U+0278), the IPA symbol for a voiceless bilabial fricative.
Capital O with Stroke
U+00D8		Latin capital O with stroke, a Scandinavian letter.

Symbols similar to φ

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

φ character properties

Official Unicode name
GREEK SMALL LETTER PHI
Also known as
phi, greek letter phi, golden ratio symbol
Code point
U+03C6
Unicode block
Greek and Coptic (U+0370–U+03FF)
General category
Lowercase letter (Ll)
Added in
Unicode 1.1 (1993)
Plane
Basic Multilingual Plane (0)
Emoji
No, it is a text symbol

Frequently asked questions

What is the phi symbol used for?

Most famously for the golden ratio, about 1.618. It also stands for angles, phase, magnetic flux (capital Φ) and Euler’s totient function.

What is the difference between φ and ϕ?

Both are phi. φ (U+03C6) is the regular Greek letter; ϕ (U+03D5) is a separate “phi symbol” code point for maths. Fonts vary in which one is drawn with a loop.

What is the alt code for the phi symbol?

On Windows, hold Alt and type 237 on the numeric keypad to get φ. On a laptop without a keypad, copy it from this page or use 03C6 then Alt + X in Word.

How do I type the phi symbol on a Mac?

There is no single Option shortcut for φ on the US layout. Press Control + Command + Space to open the Character Viewer, search for “phi” and double-click it, or copy it from this page.

What is the HTML code for the phi symbol?

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

What is the Unicode for the phi symbol?

φ is U+03C6, officially named GREEK SMALL LETTER PHI, in the Greek and Coptic block. It has been part of Unicode since version 1.1 (1993).