Left Double Angle Quote
The left-pointing double angle quotation mark is U+00AB, a guillemet. It opens a quotation in French, Russian, Spanish and several other languages, and it is a single character, not two less-than signs.
| Symbol | « | |
|---|---|---|
| Unicode | U+00AB | |
| Name | Left Double Angle Quote | |
| HTML (named) | « | |
| HTML (decimal) | « | |
| HTML (hex) | « | |
| CSS content | \00AB | |
| JavaScript / JSON | \u00AB | |
| UTF-8 bytes | 0xC2 0xAB | |
| UTF-16 units | 0x00AB |
How do you type the left double angle quote on each platform?
| Where | How to type it |
|---|---|
| Any device | Click the « at the top of this page. It goes straight to your clipboard, and you paste it with Ctrl+V on Windows or Cmd+V on a Mac. This is the only method that behaves identically everywhere. |
| Windows | There is no short alt code for this character. Press Win and the full stop key to open the emoji and symbol panel, then use the symbols tab and search for left double angle quote. |
| macOS | Add Unicode Hex Input under Keyboard settings, switch to it, then hold Option and type 00AB. Without that input source, open the Character Viewer with Control+Command+Space and search for left double angle quote. |
| Linux and ChromeOS | Press Ctrl+Shift+U, type 00ab, then press Enter or the space bar. This works in GTK applications and with IBus. |
| Microsoft Word | Type 00AB in the document, then press Alt and X together with the cursor immediately after the last digit. Word replaces the digits with «. |
| Google Docs | Insert, then Special characters, then paste U+00AB or type left double angle quote in the search box. You can also draw the shape in the sketch pad on the right. |
| Excel and Google Sheets | Use the formula UNICHAR(171) in a cell. Copy the cell and paste it as a value if you want the character rather than the formula. |
| HTML | Write «, or the numeric reference «, or «. On a page served as UTF-8 the character itself also works. |
| CSS | Use content: "\00AB" inside a ::before or ::after rule. Terminate the escape with a space if the next character is also a hexadecimal digit. |
| JavaScript | The escape \u00AB produces this character inside a string literal, and the same escape is valid in JSON. |
More detail per platform: Windows alt codes, special characters on a Mac, special characters in Word and HTML entities.
Which characters look like the left double angle quote?
Several characters render almost identically to this one, and picking the wrong one breaks search, sorting and screen readers even when it looks right on screen. The left double angle quote « is U+00AB. These are the ones it is confused with.
| Character | Code point | Name | What it is really for |
|---|---|---|---|
| < | U+003C | Less-Than Sign | A mathematical operator. Two of them typed side by side look similar and are wrong: they break search and reflow differently. |
| ‹ | U+2039 | Single Left-Pointing Angle Quotation Mark | The single guillemet, used for a quotation inside a quotation. |
| » | U+00BB | Right-Pointing Double Angle Quotation Mark | The closing guillemet. German usage reverses the pair, so this one can also open a quotation. |
Frequently asked questions
Which guillemet opens the quotation?
In French, Russian and Spanish the left-pointing one opens it. In German typography the pair is reversed and the right-pointing one opens it. Both are the same two characters either way.
How do I copy the left double angle quote symbol?
Click the « above or the copy button and it is placed on your clipboard. Paste it anywhere with Ctrl+V or Cmd+V. It is a real text character, so it works in documents, chats and code.
What is the Unicode code point for left double angle quote?
The left double angle quote has the Unicode code point U+00AB. In HTML you can write it as « or «, or with the named entity «.
Does the left double angle quote symbol work everywhere?
In almost every modern app and font, yes. If a font does not include this glyph you may see a placeholder box, but the underlying character U+00AB is still correct and will render in a font that supports it.
Related symbols
Browse the full arrow symbols hub, or return to the searchable symbol grid.