How do I type the ⩴ double colon equal symbol?

On Windows, type 2A74 and press Alt+X. On Linux press Ctrl+Shift+U then 2a74. On any system the quickest route is the copy button on this page.

What is the code for ⩴?

Double Colon Equal is U+2A74, written in HTML as &Colone; and in LaTeX as \Coloneq. In UTF-8 it takes 3 bytes. The table above lists every escape format.

Will ⩴ survive being pasted anywhere?

Not always. Double Colon Equal is a compatibility character: any system that applies Unicode NFKC normalisation — search indexes, usernames, identifiers — replaces it with ::=. Use it for display, not where text is normalised.

U+2A74 · Math symbol

HTML entity

&Colone;

LaTeX

\Coloneq

Double Colon Equal Symbol ⩴

⩴ is double colon equal, U+2A74. Unicode records it as a compatibility form of ::= (compat form). It was added in Unicode 3.2, and Unicode files it under Math symbol.

Codes & technical data

Unicode	`U+2A74`
HTML hex	`⩴`
HTML decimal	`⩴`
CSS	`\2A74`
JavaScript	`\u{2A74}`
Python	`\U00002A74`
Java / C#	`\u2A74`
Rust	`\u{2a74}`
Swift	`\u{2A74}`
PHP	`\u{2A74}`
URL encoded	`%E2%A9%B4`
UTF-8 bytes	`E2 A9 B4`
UTF-16 bytes	`2A74`
Base64	`4qm0`
Decimal	`10868`
HTML entity	`&Colone;`
LaTeX	`\Coloneq`
Decomposes to	::= (compat form)
Category	Math symbol (Sm)
Introduced	Unicode 3.2

Will ⩴ survive being pasted?

Normalisation. No. Anything that applies NFKC — search indexes, usernames, domain names, programming identifiers — rewrites ⩴ as ::=. Safe for display, not for storage.
Legacy encodings. ⩴ is Unicode-only — it has no Latin-1 equivalent, so a system stuck on an 8-bit encoding cannot represent it.
Size. 3 bytes in UTF-8. Character-limited fields — SMS, bios, some form validators — usually count bytes, not characters.

Other equal characters

Unicode names 24 characters ending in “equal”. They differ by direction, weight or decoration rather than by meaning.

Nearby in Supplemental Mathematical Operators

A second full block of operators: n-ary forms, integrals with modifiers, and the dense family of comparison relations that differ only in the slant or stroke of the equals bar.

All 256 characters in Supplemental Mathematical Operators →

How to type ⩴

Windows	Type `2A74` then press `Alt`+`X`
macOS	Press `Ctrl`+`Cmd`+`Space`, then search for “double colon equal”
Linux	Press `Ctrl`+`Shift`+`U`, type `2a74`, press `Enter`
HTML	`&Colone;`

About Unicode’s Math symbol category

Unicode classifies this as a mathematical symbol, which means software that lays out formulas treats it as an operator or relation and gives it spacing accordingly, rather than setting it tight against its neighbours like a letter.

Frequently asked questions

How do I type the ⩴ double colon equal symbol?: On Windows, type 2A74 and press Alt+X. On Linux press Ctrl+Shift+U then 2a74. On any system the quickest route is the copy button on this page.
What is the code for ⩴?: Double Colon Equal is U+2A74, written in HTML as &Colone; and in LaTeX as \Coloneq. In UTF-8 it takes 3 bytes. The table above lists every escape format.
Will ⩴ survive being pasted anywhere?: Not always. Double Colon Equal is a compatibility character: any system that applies Unicode NFKC normalisation — search indexes, usernames, identifiers — replaces it with ::=. Use it for display, not where text is normalised.