U+2193 · Math symbol
HTML entity
↓
LaTeX
\downarrow
Downwards Arrow Symbol ↓
↓ is downwards arrow. Write it in HTML as ↓ or paste the character directly. It was added in Unicode 1.1, and Unicode files it under Math symbol.
Also known as
Unicode 1.0 called this character down arrow. The standard renamed it later, but documents, fonts and font-editing tools from that era still use the old name.
What Unicode says about ↓
IPA: ingressive airflow
— annotation from the Unicode Standard, NamesList.txt
Codes & technical data
| Unicode | U+2193 | |
|---|---|---|
| HTML hex | ↓ | |
| HTML decimal | ↓ | |
| CSS | \2193 | |
| JavaScript | \u{2193} | |
| Python | \U00002193 | |
| Java / C# | \u2193 | |
| Rust | \u{2193} | |
| Swift | \u{2193} | |
| PHP | \u{2193} | |
| URL encoded | %E2%86%93 | |
| UTF-8 bytes | E2 86 93 | |
| UTF-16 bytes | 2193 | |
| Base64 | 4oaT | |
| Decimal | 8595 | |
| HTML entity | ↓ | |
| LaTeX | \downarrow | |
| Category | Math symbol (Sm) | |
| Introduced | Unicode 1.1 | |
Will ↓ survive being pasted?
- Normalisation. Yes. ↓ is unchanged by NFKC, so it survives normalising systems intact.
- 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.
Unicode cross-references
The standard points readers of ↓ at these characters — usually because they look alike, or because one is the correct choice where the other is often used by mistake.
Other arrow characters
Unicode names 24 characters ending in “arrow”. They differ by direction, weight or decoration rather than by meaning.
Nearby in Arrows
The core arrow set: every direction, plus doubled, dashed, hooked and looped variants. Anything not here is in one of the four supplemental arrow blocks, which exist because this one filled up.
How to type ↓
| Windows | Type 2193 then press Alt+X |
|---|---|
| macOS | Press Ctrl+Cmd+Space, then search for “downwards arrow” |
| Linux | Press Ctrl+Shift+U, type 2193, press Enter |
| HTML | ↓ |
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 ↓ downwards arrow symbol?
- On Windows, type 2193 and press Alt+X. On Linux press Ctrl+Shift+U then 2193. On any system the quickest route is the copy button on this page.
- What is the code for ↓?
- Downwards Arrow is U+2193, written in HTML as ↓ and in LaTeX as \downarrow. In UTF-8 it takes 3 bytes. The table above lists every escape format.
- What kind of character is ↓?
- Downwards Arrow is filed under Math symbol in the Arrows block, and was introduced in Unicode 1.1. 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.