Right-Pointing Triangle (▶)

The right-pointing triangle ▶ is Unicode U+25B6, the solid triangle used as a play button. Press Copy to put it on your clipboard.

Unicode: U+25B6
HTML: ▶
Word: 25B6 Alt+X

How to type the right-pointing triangle (▶)

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

Windows

In Word or Outlook, type 25B6 and press Alt + X. Alt + X converts the hex code before the cursor into the character, and back again.
Press Win + . to open the emoji panel, then search for “black right-pointing triangle”.

Mac

Press Control + Command + Space to open the Character Viewer, search for black right-pointing triangle and double-click it.
With the Unicode Hex Input keyboard enabled (System Settings → Keyboard → Input Sources), hold Option and type 25B6.

Linux & ChromeOS

Press Ctrl + Shift + U, type 25b6, then press Enter or Space. Works in GTK and IBus apps (GNOME, Firefox, Chrome, LibreOffice) and on ChromeOS.

iPhone & iPad

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

Android

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

Microsoft Word

Type 25B6, then press Alt + X.
Insert → Symbol → More Symbols. Set “from” to Unicode (hex), type 25B6 in “Character code” and click Insert.

Google Docs

Insert → Special characters, then search for “black right-pointing triangle” or draw it in the box.

Excel & Google Sheets

Enter =UNICHAR(9654) in a cell. It works in Excel 2013 and later and in Google Sheets.

HTML

Write ▶ or ▶ in your HTML.

What does ▶ mean?

▶ (BLACK RIGHT-POINTING TRIANGLE) is the universal play symbol on media players, and a compact pointer for menus and expandable sections. On many phones it displays as the emoji ▶️ unless followed by the text selector U+FE0E. The slightly narrower ► (U+25BA) is the “pointer” version that Alt + 16 types on Windows.

Common uses

Media controls: ▶ Play
Collapsible lists: ▶ Details
Menu breadcrumbs: Settings ▶ Privacy

Right-Pointing Triangle 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.

Codes for ▶
Unicode code point	`U+25B6`
HTML decimal	`▶`
HTML hex	`▶`
CSS content	`content: "\25B6";`
JavaScript	`"\u25B6"`
Python	`"\u25B6"`
Python (by name)	`"\N{BLACK RIGHT-POINTING TRIANGLE}"`
Java / C#	`"\u25B6"`
UTF-8 bytes	`E2 96 B6`
UTF-16	`25B6`
URL encoded	`%E2%96%B6`

▶ 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.

Char	Name	When to use it
	Right-Pointing Pointer `U+25BA`	Black right-pointing pointer (U+25BA), typed with Alt + 16.
	Medium Right-Pointing Triangle `U+23F5`	Black medium right-pointing triangle (U+23F5), a media-control glyph that stays text.
	White Right-Pointing Triangle `U+25B7`	White right-pointing triangle, the outline version.

Symbols similar to ▶

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

▶ character properties

Official Unicode name: BLACK RIGHT-POINTING TRIANGLE
Also known as: play symbol, play button, black right-pointing triangle
Code point: U+25B6
Unicode block: Geometric Shapes (U+25A0–U+25FF)
General category: Other symbol (So)
Added in: Unicode 1.1 (1993)
Plane: Basic Multilingual Plane (0)
Emoji: Has an emoji form: ▶️ (add U+FE0F)

Frequently asked questions

How do I type a play symbol?

Copy ▶ from this page. On Windows, Alt + 16 types the similar pointer ►.

Is there an alt code for the right-pointing triangle?

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 25B6 then Alt + X in Word, or find it in Character Map.

How do I type the right-pointing triangle 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 “black right-pointing triangle” and double-click it, or copy it from this page.

What is the HTML code for the right-pointing triangle?

▶ has no named HTML entity. Use the numeric reference ▶ or ▶, or paste the character directly into a UTF-8 page.

What is the Unicode for the right-pointing triangle?

▶ is U+25B6, officially named BLACK RIGHT-POINTING TRIANGLE, in the Geometric Shapes block. It has been part of Unicode since version 1.1 (1993).