Greek Small Letter Tau
Most keyboards skip the greek small letter tau entirely, which is why it gets copied instead of typed. This one lives at code point U+03C4 and belongs to the math group; click it above to copy, or use the table below for the HTML, CSS and JavaScript equivalents.
| Symbol | τ | |
|---|---|---|
| Unicode | U+03C4 | |
| Name | Greek Small Letter Tau | |
| HTML (named) | τ | |
| HTML (decimal) | τ | |
| HTML (hex) | τ | |
| CSS content | \03C4 | |
| JavaScript / JSON | \u03C4 | |
| UTF-8 bytes | 0xCF 0x84 | |
| UTF-16 units | 0x03C4 |
How do you type the greek small letter tau on each platform?
| Where | How to type it |
|---|---|
| Any device | Click the τ 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 greek small letter tau. |
| macOS | Add Unicode Hex Input under Keyboard settings, switch to it, then hold Option and type 03C4. Without that input source, open the Character Viewer with Control+Command+Space and search for greek small letter tau. |
| Linux and ChromeOS | Press Ctrl+Shift+U, type 03c4, then press Enter or the space bar. This works in GTK applications and with IBus. |
| Microsoft Word | Type 03C4 in the document, then press Alt and X together with the cursor immediately after the last digit. Word replaces the digits with τ. |
| Google Docs | Insert, then Special characters, then paste U+03C4 or type greek small letter tau 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(964) in a cell. Copy the cell and paste it as a value if you want the character rather than the formula. |
| HTML | Write τ, or the numeric reference τ, or τ. On a page served as UTF-8 the character itself also works. |
| CSS | Use content: "\03C4" inside a ::before or ::after rule. Terminate the escape with a space if the next character is also a hexadecimal digit. |
| JavaScript | The escape \u03C4 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.
Frequently asked questions
How do I copy the greek small letter tau symbol?
Click the τ 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 greek small letter tau?
The greek small letter tau has the Unicode code point U+03C4. In HTML you can write it as τ or τ, or with the named entity τ.
Does the greek small letter tau 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+03C4 is still correct and will render in a font that supports it.
Related symbols
Browse the full math symbols hub, or return to the searchable symbol grid.