Less than symbol (<)
U+003C · LESS-THAN SIGN · Unicode 1.1 (1993)
How to type <
Windows
Alt code (numeric keypad)
Alt+60
Turn on Num Lock, hold the Alt key, type 60 on the numeric keypad and let go of Alt: < appears.
Uses the old DOS code page 437, which US-English Windows uses for Alt codes without a leading 0; on Windows set to other languages the result can differ.
Word and Outlook: Alt + X
003C Alt+X
Type 003C and press Alt+X right after it: Word turns the code into <. Press Alt+X again to turn it back into the code.
Emoji and symbols panel (Windows 10 and 11)
Win+.
Press Win + full stop (.) to open the panel, go to the Symbols tab (Ω) and pick <.
No numeric keypad on your laptop? See the other ways in our Alt codes guide.
Mac
Character Viewer
Ctrl+⌘ Cmd+Space
Press Ctrl+⌘+Space (or the Globe key + E), search for “less than symbol” and click < to insert it.
iPhone
Make a shortcut (Text Replacement)
Turn a short word into < once and type it in any app:
- Copy < from this page.
- Open Settings › General › Keyboard › Text Replacement and tap +.
- Paste < as the Phrase and type a Shortcut, for example ;lessthan.
- Now type ;lessthan anywhere: the keyboard suggests <.
Android
Make a shortcut (Gboard personal dictionary)
Teach your keyboard a short word that turns into <:
- Copy < from this page.
- Open Gboard settings › Dictionary › Personal dictionary, choose your language and tap +.
- Paste < as the word and type a shortcut, for example ;lessthan.
- Type ;lessthan in any app and tap < in the suggestions.
Linux
Unicode input
Ctrl+Shift+U 003c Enter
Press Ctrl+Shift+U, type 003c and press Enter or Space. Works in GTK apps and with IBus (GNOME, Ubuntu, Fedora).
What < means and how it is used
The less-than sign < points toward the smaller value: 3 < 5. A common memory trick: the open side faces the bigger number. In HTML it starts tags, so web pages escape it as <. Chat users also use <3 to draw a heart. Its partner ≤ adds equality to the comparison.
The official Unicode name of < is LESS-THAN SIGN, code point U+003C. You will find it in the Basic Latin block; it was added in Unicode 1.1 (1993).
It also goes by these names and keywords: less, open, tag, than.
It sits in the math with 148 symbols, among them π ∞ √ ± ×.
Codes for HTML, CSS and JavaScript
Tap Copy next to the code you need.
| HTML entity | < | |
|---|---|---|
| HTML decimal | < | |
| HTML hex | < | |
| CSS | content: "\003C"; | |
| JavaScript | \u003C | |
| URL | %3C | |
| UTF-8 bytes | 3C | |
| Unicode | U+003C |
Will it show on my friend's phone?
< has been in Unicode since version 1.1 (1993). Practically every phone, computer and app shows it.
Checking your device…
Don't confuse < with
These look alike but are different characters. Search, sorting and screen readers treat them differently, so copy the one you mean.
- <Less than symbolU+003C · LESS-THAN SIGN
- Modifier letter left arrowheadU+02C2 · MODIFIER LETTER LEFT ARROWHEAD · Spacing Modifier Letters
- Single left-pointing angle quotation markU+2039 · SINGLE LEFT-POINTING ANGLE QUOTATION MARK · General Punctuation
- Heavy left-pointing angle quotation mark ornamentU+276E · HEAVY LEFT-POINTING ANGLE QUOTATION MARK ORNAMENT · Dingbats
- ᐸU+1438 · Unified Canadian Aboriginal Syllabics
- ᚲU+16B2 · Runic
- ⵦU+2D66 · Tifinagh
Names in other languages
What < is called in the 12 languages of this site (Unicode CLDR and our editors). Tap a name to open that language's page.
| Language | Name |
|---|---|
| English | Less than symbol |
| Português | Símbolo de menor que |
| Español | Símbolo menor que |
| Italiano | Simbolo minore |
| Français | Symbole inférieur |
| Deutsch | Kleiner-als-Zeichen |
| Türkçe | Küçüktür işareti |
| Bahasa Indonesia | Simbol kurang dari |
| Polski | Znak mniejszości |
| Русский | Знак меньше |
| 日本語 | 小なり記号 |
| 한국어 | 부등호 (작다) |
Related symbols
All Math →Questions people ask
How do I type < on a laptop without a numeric keypad?
On Windows press Win + full stop (.) and pick < in the Symbols tab, or in Word type 003C and press Alt+X.
What is the difference between < and ˂?
< is the less than symbol (U+003C). ˂ is a different character: modifier letter left arrowhead (U+02C2, Spacing Modifier Letters block). They can look alike, but computers treat them as different letters, so a search for one will not find the other.
How do I type < on an iPhone?
The iPhone keyboard has no key for <. Copy it here, then add it in Settings › General › Keyboard › Text Replacement with a shortcut like ;lessthan.
What is the HTML code for the less than symbol?
Use the entity < or the numeric code < (hex <). In CSS write \003C, in JavaScript \u003C.
Will < show on every phone?
< has been in Unicode since version 1.1 (1993). Practically every phone, computer and app shows it.