Japanese symbols

Q: How do I type ※ on a keyboard?

On Windows: 203B Alt+X. On a Mac, open the Character Viewer with Ctrl+⌘+Space and search for it. On a phone, copy ※ from here. All methods for ※.

171 symbols · tap to copy

Common JIS symbols 35

Japanese marks 29

Circled kanji 85

Squared katakana and eras 22

About these japanese

Japanese symbols from the JIS character sets: ※ 〒々〆, enclosed and squared characters used in Japanese text.

This set has 171 symbols in 4 groups: common JIS symbols (35), japanese marks (29), circled kanji (85), squared katakana and eras (22).

The oldest came with Unicode 1.1 in 1993; the newest arrived in Unicode 12.1 (2019), so very old phones may miss a few.

How to type the popular japanese

Shortcuts from our keyboard tables. Alt codes need the numeric keypad; the Mac keys are for the U.S. layout.

Symbol	Windows	Mac
※Reference mark (komejirushi)	`203B` `Alt`+`X`	Character Viewer
・Katakana middle dot (nakaguro)	`30FB` `Alt`+`X`	Character Viewer
〒Japanese postal mark	`3012` `Alt`+`X`	Character Viewer
々Kanji repetition mark (noma)	`3005` `Alt`+`X`	Character Viewer
㈱Parenthesized kabushiki (Co., Ltd.)	`3231` `Alt`+`X`	Character Viewer
〜Wave dash (Japanese)	`301C` `Alt`+`X`	Character Viewer
〃Ditto mark (Japanese)	`3003` `Alt`+`X`	Character Viewer
〆Shime mark (closing)	`3006` `Alt`+`X`	Character Viewer

All ways to type symbols →

Symbols or emoji?

All 171 are text symbols, not emoji: they take the colour, size and font of the text around them, so they fit neatly into names, bios and documents.

Some characters exist in both forms. ♂ (U+2642) is a text symbol; add the invisible emoji selector U+FE0F and it becomes the emoji ♂️ on most phones.

Unicode blocks and versions

They come from 13 Unicode blocks; most of them (86) from the Enclosed CJK Letters and Months block.

Unicode block	Symbols	Unicode versions
Enclosed CJK Letters and Months	86	1.1, 12.1
CJK Compatibility	21	1.1
CJK Symbols and Punctuation	19	1.1, 3.2
Geometric Shapes	11	1.1
Miscellaneous Symbols	7	1.1
Arrows	6	1.1
Mathematical Operators	6	1.1
Hiragana	4	1.1
Katakana	4	1.1
General Punctuation	3	1.1

Questions people ask

How do I copy japanese?

Tap a symbol and it is copied. To copy several at once, turn on Collect, tap them in order and press Copy all in the bar at the bottom. Your recent symbols appear above the grid next time.

Why do some japanese show as boxes?

A box means your device has no font for that character. The oldest symbols here date from Unicode 1.1 (1993) and work everywhere; the newest come from Unicode 12.1 (2019) and need a recent system update.

How do I type ※ on a keyboard?

On Windows: 203B Alt+X. On a Mac, open the Character Viewer with Ctrl+⌘+Space and search for it. On a phone, copy ※ from here. All methods for ※.

Are these emoji?

No. They are text symbols: they follow your text colour and font, unlike emoji, which are colour pictures drawn by the device.

Where can I use them?

Anywhere you can type text: Instagram and TikTok bios, Discord, WhatsApp, Word, Google Docs, emails and most game chats. A few username fields accept only letters and numbers.

Pages for single japanese

More symbol sets

All symbol sets →