About the Degree Symbol
What is the degree symbol?
The degree symbol ° is a small raised circle that marks degrees of angle and temperature.
It's the Unicode character U+00B0, named DEGREE SIGN. It sits at position 176 in Latin-1 and Windows-1252 and at 248 in the old DOS code page, which is why both Alt+0176 and Alt+248 type it on Windows.
- HTML.
°, ° or ° all show °.
- Mac. Option+Shift+8 types °, while Option+0 types º, a different character.
- Temperature units. Celsius and Fahrenheit take the sign (25 °C, 77 °F), but kelvin doesn't (298 K).
- Look-alikes. º, ˚ and ⁰ look close to ° but are separate characters with other jobs.
How do you type the degree symbol?
On Windows, hold Alt, type 0176 on the number pad, then let go of Alt.
Microsoft notes that this Alt code only works on keyboards with a numeric keypad. Every other system has its own shortcut, and the table lists the common ones.
Degree shortcuts and codes for each device and app
| Device or app | How to type ° |
|---|
| Windows | Hold Alt and type 0176 (or 248) on the number pad |
| Mac | Option+Shift+8 |
| iPhone and iPad | On the number keyboard, press and hold 0, then slide to ° |
| Android (Gboard) | Tap ?123, open the second page of symbols, then tap ° |
| ChromeOS and many Linux desktops | Ctrl+Shift+U, type 00b0, then press Space or Enter |
| Microsoft Word | Type 00B0, then press Alt+X |
| Excel | =UNICHAR(176) in a cell |
| Google Docs | Insert, Special characters, then search for degree |
| HTML | ° |
CSS content | "\00B0" |
| JavaScript | "\u00B0" |
| LaTeX | $^\circ$ in math mode, or \textdegree in text |
Should you write degrees Celsius as °C or ℃?
Write °C as two characters, the degree sign and a capital C, rather than the single character ℃.
The Unicode Standard says it's better to write the degree Celsius symbol as ° followed by C, and to treat the two forms as the same when searching. It says the same about °F and ℉. The single characters ℃ and ℉ are compatibility characters that also appear in older East Asian character sets, and Unicode normalization (NFKC) turns them back into °C and °F.
Our degree sign checker turns ℃ and ℉ into °C and °F.
Do you put a space before the degree symbol?
For angles, the ° sign follows the number with no space, as in 90°.
For temperatures, practice varies. The SI Brochure, ISO and the US Government Printing Office put a space before °C (10 °C), while scientific books from the University of Chicago Press and Oxford University Press print 10°C.
Pick one form and use it throughout a document. Kelvin never takes a degree sign, since the 13th General Conference on Weights and Measures dropped it in 1967, so 273 K is correct and 273 °K isn't.
Which characters look like the degree symbol?
Several characters look like ° but have other jobs.
The masculine ordinal indicator º is easy to type by accident, because Alt+0186 and Option+0 produce it. It marks ordinal numbers in Spanish, Portuguese and Italian (1º), and some fonts underline it.
Characters that look like ° but mean something other than degrees
| Character | Unicode name | Code point | What it's for |
|---|
| º | Masculine ordinal indicator | U+00BA | Ordinal numbers in Spanish, Portuguese and Italian (1º) |
| ˚ | Ring above | U+02DA | A spacing accent mark |
| ⁰ | Superscript zero | U+2070 | Exponents, as in 10⁰ |
| ∘ | Ring operator | U+2218 | Function composition in math (f ∘ g) |
| ᵒ | Modifier letter small o | U+1D52 | A raised letter o |
| ⚬ | Medium small white circle | U+26AC | A small circle symbol |
| ◦ | White bullet | U+25E6 | A hollow list bullet |
| ゜ | Katakana-hiragana semi-voiced sound mark | U+309C | A mark in Japanese kana |
Example
In the degree sign checker, the look-alikes in this text will be converted to the real °.
Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
Turn the dial 90˚.
Chill it below 4℃.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Turn the dial 90°.
Chill it below 4°C.
The checker found the masculine ordinal indicator º, the ring above ˚ and the degree Celsius character ℃, and it left every other character alone.
Clicking ° in the symbol grid gives its Unicode, HTML, CSS and JavaScript codes:
Unicode: U+00B0
HTML: °
CSS: \00B0
JavaScript: \u00B0
Common mistakes
These degree sign mistakes turn up in documents, spreadsheets and web pages.
- Typing º instead of °. On a Mac, Option+0 types the ordinal indicator º, which looks close but is U+00BA. Use Option+Shift+8, or paste the text into the degree sign checker.
- Getting ∞ from CHAR(176) in Excel for Mac. Excel's CHAR function reads the Mac character set on a Mac, where 176 is the infinity sign.
=UNICHAR(176) returns ° on Windows and Mac alike.
- Seeing ° on a web page. The page saves ° as UTF-8 but the browser reads it as Windows-1252, so the two bytes show up as °. Add
<meta charset="utf-8"> to the page or write °.
Common Use Cases
People use the ° sign for degrees in everyday writing and in technical work.
- Weather and recipes. The temperature symbol in forecasts like 72 °F and oven settings like 180 °C.
- Angles and geometry. A 45° slope, a 90° corner or a 360° turn.
- Map coordinates. 40° 26′ 46″ N, with the prime ′ and double prime ″ for minutes and seconds.
- Code and markup.
° in HTML or "\00B0" in a CSS content rule.
For raised numbers like m² and x³, see the squared and superscript symbols. The HTML entities reference lists the codes for other special characters. The rest of the collection is on the text symbols page.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Alt code for the degree symbol?
Alt+0176, typed on the number pad, gives the ° sign. Alt+248 works too, because 248 was the degree sign's position in the old DOS code page.
How do you type degrees on a phone?
On an iPhone or iPad, press and hold 0 on the number keyboard and slide to °. On Android's Gboard, tap ?123 and open the second page of symbols, where the degree sign sits.
Why is there no degree key on my keyboard?
Common English-language keyboard layouts leave the ° sign off, so typing degrees takes a shortcut or copy and paste. Some European layouts, such as the German and French ones, have ° on a key.
How do you write 2 degrees Celsius?
Write 2 °C, with a space as SI style prescribes. Some publishers drop the space and print 2°C, but degrees Celsius always take the ° sign followed by a capital C.
Does kelvin take a degree sign?
No, kelvin goes without the ° sign, so 20 °C is written as 293.15 K. The General Conference on Weights and Measures dropped the degree sign for kelvins in 1967.
What is the Ctrl+Shift+U code for the degree sign?
The code is 00b0, the hex value of the degree sign. Press Ctrl+Shift+U, type 00b0, then press Space or Enter on ChromeOS or a Linux desktop that supports it.
