White circle symbol (○)
U+25CB · WHITE CIRCLE · Unicode 1.1 (1993)
How to type ○
Windows
Alt code (numeric keypad)
Alt+9
Turn on Num Lock, hold the Alt key, type 9 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
25CB Alt+X
Type 25CB 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 “white circle 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 ;whitecircl.
- Now type ;whitecircl 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 ;whitecircl.
- Type ;whitecircl in any app and tap ○ in the suggestions.
Linux
Unicode input
Ctrl+Shift+U 25cb Enter
Press Ctrl+Shift+U, type 25cb and press Enter or Space. Works in GTK apps and with IBus (GNOME, Ubuntu, Fedora).
What ○ means and how it is used
The white circle ○ is an outline dot. In Japan and Korea ○ marks a correct answer or 'yes', while × means wrong. It also marks empty ratings (●●○) and unselected options. A larger version, ◯, exists for single-character use. In plain text it also stands for an empty radio button in forms and surveys.
In Unicode, ○ is code point U+25CB with the official name WHITE CIRCLE. It belongs to the Geometric Shapes block and arrived with Unicode 1.1 in 1993.
Other words for it: circle, hollow, ring.
You will find it in our shapes, 136 symbols in all, together with ● ■ □ ▲ △.
Codes for HTML, CSS and JavaScript
Tap Copy next to the code you need.
| HTML entity | ○ | |
|---|---|---|
| HTML decimal | ○ | |
| HTML hex | ○ | |
| CSS | content: "\25CB"; | |
| JavaScript | \u25CB | |
| URL | %E2%97%8B | |
| UTF-8 bytes | E2 97 8B | |
| Unicode | U+25CB |
Will it show on my friend's phone?
Very likely yes: ○ dates from Unicode 1.1 (1993), so every current system has a font for 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.
- ○White circle symbolU+25CB · WHITE CIRCLE
- Degree symbolU+00B0 · DEGREE SIGN · Latin-1 Supplement
- Masculine ordinal indicatorU+00BA · MASCULINE ORDINAL INDICATOR · Latin-1 Supplement
- Ring above (small ring)U+02DA · RING ABOVE · Spacing Modifier Letters
- Modifier letter small oU+1D52 · MODIFIER LETTER SMALL O · Phonetic Extensions
- Superscript zeroU+2070 · SUPERSCRIPT ZERO · Superscripts and Subscripts
- Ring operatorU+2218 · RING OPERATOR · Mathematical Operators
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 | White circle symbol |
| Português | Círculo branco |
| Español | Círculo blanco |
| Italiano | Cerchio bianco |
| Français | Cercle blanc |
| Deutsch | Weißer Kreis |
| Türkçe | Beyaz daire |
| Bahasa Indonesia | Lingkaran putih |
| Polski | Białe kółko |
| Русский | Белый круг |
| 日本語 | 白丸記号 (まる) |
| 한국어 | 흰 동그라미 |
Related symbols
All Shapes →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 25CB and press Alt+X.
What is the difference between ○ and °?
○ is the white circle symbol (U+25CB). ° is a different character: degree symbol (U+00B0, Latin-1 Supplement 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 ;whitecircl.
What is the HTML code for the white circle symbol?
Use the entity ○ or the numeric code ○ (hex ○). In CSS write \25CB, in JavaScript \u25CB.
Will ○ show on every phone?
Very likely yes: ○ dates from Unicode 1.1 (1993), so every current system has a font for it.