SymbolHub

Schwa (ə) (ə)

The schwa (ə) ə is Unicode U+0259, the phonetic turned e symbol representing the unstressed neutral vowel sound. Press Copy to put it on your clipboard.

Unicode
U+0259
HTML
ə
Word
0259 Alt+X

How to type the schwa (ə) (ə)

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

Windows

  1. In Word or Outlook, type 0259 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 Latin Small Letter Schwa, 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 schwa and double-click it.
  2. With the Unicode Hex Input keyboard enabled (System Settings → Keyboard → Input Sources), hold Option and type 0259.

Linux & ChromeOS

  1. Press Ctrl + Shift + U, type 259, then press Enter or Space. Works in GTK and IBus apps (GNOME, Firefox, Chrome, LibreOffice) and on ChromeOS.

iPhone & iPad

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

Android

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

Microsoft Word

  1. Type 0259, then press Alt + X.
  2. Insert → Symbol → More Symbols. Set “from” to Unicode (hex), type 0259 in “Character code” and click Insert.

Google Docs

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

Excel & Google Sheets

  1. Enter =UNICHAR(601) in a cell. It works in Excel 2013 and later and in Google Sheets.

HTML

  1. Write ə or ə in your HTML.

What does ə mean?

The schwa symbol ə (capital Ə, Unicode name LATIN SMALL LETTER SCHWA) is shaped like an upside-down or turned lowercase letter e. In phonetics and the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), schwa represents the mid central unrounded vowel sound /ə/—the unstressed, neutral “uh” vowel heard in syllables like the ‘a’ in about, the ‘e’ in taken, the ‘o’ in harmony, and the ‘u’ in supply. It is recognized by linguists as the most common vowel sound in the English language.

The term “schwa” derives from the Hebrew grammatical mark sheva (שְׁוָא), which indicates a weak or absent vowel. Beyond its central role in linguistic transcriptions and English dictionary pronunciation guides, ə is an active orthographic letter in the official Latin alphabets of Azerbaijani, Tatar, and Kazakh, where it represents an open-mid front unrounded vowel /æ/. Encoded in the Latin Extended-B block at U+0259, ə is widely used in language pedagogy, singing instruction, and speech pathology.

Common uses

  • Dictionary pronunciation keys: /əˈbaʊt/ for about, /ˈbʌt.ə/ for butter
  • Linguistics research and dialectal phonetic transcriptions
  • Azerbaijani and Tatar orthography: Azərbaycan (Azerbaijan), təşəkkür (thank you)
  • English as a Second Language (ESL) accent training and pronunciation guides

Schwa (ə) codes for HTML, CSS and programming

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

Unicode code pointU+0259
HTML decimalə
HTML hexə
CSS contentcontent: "\259";
JavaScript"\u0259"
Python"\u0259"
Python (by name)"\N{LATIN SMALL LETTER SCHWA}"
Java / C#"\u0259"
UTF-8 bytesC9 99
UTF-160259
URL encoded%C9%99

ə vs look-alike characters

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

CharNameWhen to use it
E
U+0065		Standard Latin lowercase e.
Turned E
U+01DD		Latin turned e (U+01DD), an older phonetic glyph with subtle typographic differences.
Capital Schwa
U+018F		Latin capital letter schwa (U+018F).

Symbols similar to ə

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

  • Details
  • Details

ə character properties

Official Unicode name
LATIN SMALL LETTER SCHWA
Also known as
schwa letter, turned e, neutral vowel, unstressed vowel
Code point
U+0259
Unicode block
IPA Extensions (U+0250–U+02AF)
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 a schwa sound in English?

Schwa is the relaxed, unstressed neutral vowel sound /ə/ heard in words like the "a" in "sofa", the "o" in "lemon", and the "e" in "the".

Why is schwa an upside-down e?

Phonetician Alexander Ellis inverted the lowercase letter "e" in the 19th century to create a visually distinct symbol for the neutral unstressed vowel, which the IPA later standardized.

Is there an alt code for the schwa (ə)?

No. ə is outside the Windows-1252 and code page 437 character sets, so no Alt + number code produces it. Copy it from this page, type 0259 then Alt + X in Word, or find it in Character Map.

How do I type the schwa (ə) on a Mac?

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

What is the HTML code for the schwa (ə)?

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

What is the Unicode for the schwa (ə)?

ə is U+0259, officially named LATIN SMALL LETTER SCHWA, in the IPA Extensions block. It has been part of Unicode since version 1.1 (1993).