Sharp Sign (♯)
The sharp sign ♯ is Unicode U+266F, the music accidental that raises a note by a semitone. Press Copy to put it on your clipboard.
- Unicode
U+266F- HTML
♯- Word
266F Alt+X
How to type the sharp sign (♯)
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 266F 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 Music Sharp Sign, 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 sharp and double-click it.
- With the Unicode Hex Input keyboard enabled (System Settings → Keyboard → Input Sources), hold Option and type 266F.
Linux & ChromeOS
- Press Ctrl + Shift + U, type 266f, 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 ;shar. 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 266F, then press Alt + X.
- Insert → Symbol → More Symbols. Set “from” to Unicode (hex), type 266F in “Character code” and click Insert.
Google Docs
- Insert → Special characters, then search for “sharp” or draw it in the box.
Excel & Google Sheets
- Enter
=UNICHAR(9839)in a cell. It works in Excel 2013 and later and in Google Sheets.
HTML
- Write
♯or♯in your HTML.
What does ♯ mean?
♯ is the sharp, an accidental that raises a note by one semitone: C♯ is a half step above C. Sharps also appear in key signatures, where G major carries one sharp (F♯) and D major two.
It is easy to confuse with the number sign # on your keyboard. The two are drawn differently: in ♯ the two vertical strokes are upright and the cross strokes slope upwards, while in # the horizontal strokes are level and the verticals lean. More importantly they are different characters, so a search for “C♯” will not match “C#”. That is also why the programming language C# is written with the number sign: Microsoft chose the keyboard character for practicality, even though the name comes from the music sharp. In HTML the sharp has the entity ♯.
Sharp Sign 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.
| Unicode code point | U+266F | |
|---|---|---|
| HTML entity (named) | ♯ | |
| HTML decimal | ♯ | |
| HTML hex | ♯ | |
| CSS content | content: "\266F"; | |
| JavaScript | "\u266F" | |
| Python | "\u266F" | |
| Python (by name) | "\N{MUSIC SHARP SIGN}" | |
| Java / C# | "\u266F" | |
| LaTeX | \sharp | |
| UTF-8 bytes | E2 99 AF | |
| UTF-16 | 266F | |
| URL encoded | %E2%99%AF |
♯ 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 |
|---|---|---|
NumberU+0023 | Number sign or hashtag. The standard way to write C# (the language) and hashtags; not a music sharp. | |
Musical Symbol Double SharpU+1D12A | Double sharp, which raises a note by a whole tone. | |
Music FlatU+266D | Flat, which lowers a note by a semitone. |
Symbols similar to ♯
Click to copy, or open a symbol for its codes. See the full music symbols collection.
♯ character properties
- Official Unicode name
- MUSIC SHARP SIGN
- Also known as
- music sharp, sharp symbol, sharp note
- Code point
- U+266F
- Unicode block
- Miscellaneous Symbols (U+2600–U+26FF)
- General category
- Math symbol (Sm)
- Added in
- Unicode 1.1 (1993)
- Plane
- Basic Multilingual Plane (0)
- Emoji
- No, it is a text symbol
Frequently asked questions
Is ♯ the same as #?
No. ♯ (U+266F) is the music sharp sign; # (U+0023) is the number sign. They look alike but are separate characters with different meanings.
How do I write C sharp correctly?
In music writing use C♯. In everyday text where the symbol is hard to type, C# is widely accepted, and it is the official spelling of the C# programming language.
Is there an alt code for the sharp sign?
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 266F then Alt + X in Word, or find it in Character Map.
How do I type the sharp sign 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 “sharp” and double-click it, or copy it from this page.
What is the HTML code for the sharp sign?
Use the named entity ♯ or the numeric reference ♯ (hex ♯). All three display ♯ in every browser.
What is the Unicode for the sharp sign?
♯ is U+266F, officially named MUSIC SHARP SIGN, in the Miscellaneous Symbols block. It has been part of Unicode since version 1.1 (1993).