Help:Symbols

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Help:Special characters

Certain non-alphanumeric symbols and special characters aren't exactly "on" the keyboard. MediaWiki uses Unicode (UTF-8) text encoding,^[1] gateway to an unfathomably large code point collection – 149,813 as of Version 15.1.^[2] Most are not particularly relevant from an English content perspective, but the handful of "uncommon" common characters (odd punctuation, © marks, ‘curly quotes’…)—along with the hundreds, if not thousands of foreign entities needed for international coverage—the topic warrants a friendly cheat-sheet. Or several.

Equations

As somewhat of an aside, the pack-in <math> extension tag integrates TeX (or LaTeX), a type syntax for parsing mathematical formulas and complex notation, by way of non-standard graphic packages. Deployment rates in this particular establishment may be... sparse, but there are perks of niche relevance to meta-documentation (ask the IT department); hypothetically, perhaps also the odd markup "hack" using the vast library of arrows, accents, relational icons, and so on.

Samples

Adapting the famous Microsoft Word lineup;^[3] <math> syntax on the right:

Area of circle
$A = π r^{2}$	<math>A = \pi{r^2}</math>
Binomial Theorem
$(x + a)^{n} = \sum_{k = 0}^{n} (\binom{n}{k}) x^{k} a^{n - k}$	<math>(x + a)^n = \sum_{k=0}^n \binom{n}{k}x^k a^{n-k}</math>
Expansion of a Sum
$(1 + x)^{n} = 1 + \frac{n x}{1!} + \frac{n (n - 1) x^{2}}{2!} + \dots$	<math>(1 + x)^n = 1 + \frac{nx}{1!} + \frac{n(n-1)x^2}{2!} + \cdots</math>
Fourier Series
$f (x) = a_{0} + \sum_{n = 1}^{\infty} (a_{n} \cos \frac{n π x}{L} + b_{n} \sin \frac{n π x}{L})$	<math>f(x) = a_0 + \sum_{n=1}^\infty \left( a_n\cos\frac{n\pi x}{L} + b_n\sin\frac{n\pi x}{L} \right)</math>
Pythagorean Thorem
$a^{2} + b^{2} = c^{2}$	<math>a^2 + b^2 = c^2</math>
Quadratic Formula
$x = \frac{- b \pm \sqrt{b^{2} - 4 a c}}{2 a}$	<math>x={-b\pm\sqrt{b^2-4ac} \over 2a}</math>
Taylor Expansion
$e^{x} = 1 + \frac{x}{1!} + \frac{x^{2}}{2!} + \frac{x^{3}}{3!} + \dots, - \infty < x < \infty$	<math>e^x = 1 + \frac{x}{1!} + \frac{x^2}{2!} + \frac{x^3}{3!} + \cdots,\quad -\infty < x < \infty</math>
Trig Identity 1
$\sin α \pm \sin β = 2 \sin \frac{1}{2} (α \pm β) \cos \frac{1}{2} (α \mp β)$	<math>\sin\alpha\pm\sin\beta = 2 \sin\frac{1}{2}(\alpha\pm\beta)\cos\frac{1}{2}(\alpha\mp\beta)</math>
Trig Identity 2
$\cos α + \cos β = 2 \cos \frac{1}{2} (α + β) \cos \frac{1}{2} (α - β)$	<math>\cos\alpha + \cos\beta = 2\cos\frac{1}{2}(\alpha + \beta)\cos\frac{1}{2}(\alpha-\beta)</math>

Further resources

Symbols

As for actual text characters, the simplest and most "built-in" access is via the Special Characters tab of the WikiEditor toolbar. On the main, collapsed bar, click "Special Characters" to open the menu and browse various categories of options. If not your preference, you likely can find a browser extension or two with more opportunities for personalization.

Perhaps the next best option is inserting the HTML reference entity. These serve use where plain text cannot:   for example, will preserve a space in parser functions such as {{#if:}}, where literal whitespace would otherwise be trimmed. <nowiki> does evaluate them equal to regular characters,^{[citation needed]} subbing & with its own & will restore the offset.

The below table key is ~~stolen~~ imported from official MediaWiki documentation. Hover a symbol to reveal the Alt Text containing the entity key.

Symbols

Á	á	Â	â	´	Æ	æ	À	à	ℵ	Α	α	&	∧	∠	Å	å	≈	Ã	ã	Ä	ä	„	Β	β	¦	•	∩	Ç	ç	¸	¢
Χ	χ	ˆ	♣	≅	©	↵	∪	¤	†	‡	↓	⇓	°	Δ	δ	♦	÷	É	é	Ê	ê	È	è	∅			Ε	ε	≡	Η	η
Ð	ð	Ë	ë	€	∃	ƒ	∀	½	¼	¾	⁄	Γ	γ	≥	>	↔	⇔	♥	…	Í	í	Î	î	¡	Ì	ì	ℑ	∞	∫	Ι	ι
¿	∈	Ï	ï	Κ	κ	Λ	λ	⟨	«	←	⇐	⌈	“	≤	⌊	∗	◊	‎	‹	‘	<	¯	—	µ	·	−	Μ	μ	∇		–
≠	∋	¬	∉	⊄	Ñ	ñ	Ν	ν	Ó	ó	Ô	ô	Œ	œ	Ò	ò	‾	Ω	ω	Ο	ο	⊕	∨	ª	º	Ø	ø	Õ	õ	⊗	Ö
ö	¶	∂	‰	⊥	Φ	φ	Π	π	ϖ	±	£	′	″	∏	∝	Ψ	ψ	"	√	⟩	»	→	⇒	⌉	”	ℜ	®	⌋	Ρ	ρ	‏
›	’	‚	Š	š	⋅	§		Σ	σ	ς	∼	♠	⊂	⊆	∑	⊃	¹	²	³	⊇	ß	Τ	τ	∴	Θ	θ	ϑ		Þ	þ	˜
×	™	Ú	ú	↑	⇑	Û	û	Ù	ù	¨	ϒ	Υ	υ	Ü	ü	℘	Ξ	ξ	Ý	ý	¥	ÿ	Ÿ	Ζ	ζ	‍	‌

Wow... Surprize INK!®

Don't forget that one.

Special characters

Finally, some characters are used frequently enough to warrant immediate template shortcuts. These may periodically be replaced with the proper character, as a routine maintenance; use whichever you prefer.

Character		Shortcut
—	Em Dash	`{{em dash}}` → `—`
–	En Dash	`{{en dash}}` → `–`
‑	Nonbreaking Hyphen	`‑`
	Optional Hyphen	``
	Em Space
	En Space
	1/4 Em Space
	Nonbreaking Space	` `
©	Copyright	{{C}} → `©`
®	Registered	{{R}} → `®`
™	Trademark	{{TM}} → `™;`
§	Section
¶	Paragraph
…	Ellipsis
‘	Single Opening Quote
’	Single Closing Quote
“	Double Opening Quote
”	Double Closing Quote
	No-Width Optional Break
	No-Width Non Break

References

↑ "Help:Special characters" - MediaWiki, www.mediawiki.org.
↑ Unicode, Inc. "Unicode® Version 15.1 Character Counts". Unicode Statistics, www.unicode.org.
↑ "How to Insert Equations in a MS Word Document?" (August 20, 2025). @GeeksforGeeks, www.geeksforgeeks.org. Retrieved March 23, 2026.

[1] "Help:Special characters" - MediaWiki, www.mediawiki.org.

[2] Unicode, Inc. "Unicode® Version 15.1 Character Counts". Unicode Statistics, www.unicode.org.

[3] "How to Insert Equations in a MS Word Document?" (August 20, 2025). @GeeksforGeeks, www.geeksforgeeks.org. Retrieved March 23, 2026.

[1]

[2]

[3]

Á	á	Â	â	´	Æ	æ	À	à	ℵ	Α	α	&	∧	∠	Å	å	≈	Ã	ã	Ä	ä	„	Β	β	¦	•	∩	Ç	ç	¸	¢
Χ	χ	ˆ	♣	≅	©	↵	∪	¤	†	‡	↓	⇓	°	Δ	δ	♦	÷	É	é	Ê	ê	È	è	∅			Ε	ε	≡	Η	η
Ð	ð	Ë	ë	€	∃	ƒ	∀	½	¼	¾	⁄	Γ	γ	≥	>	↔	⇔	♥	…	Í	í	Î	î	¡	Ì	ì	ℑ	∞	∫	Ι	ι
¿	∈	Ï	ï	Κ	κ	Λ	λ	⟨	«	←	⇐	⌈	“	≤	⌊	∗	◊	‎	‹	‘	<	¯	—	µ	·	−	Μ	μ	∇		–
≠	∋	¬	∉	⊄	Ñ	ñ	Ν	ν	Ó	ó	Ô	ô	Œ	œ	Ò	ò	‾	Ω	ω	Ο	ο	⊕	∨	ª	º	Ø	ø	Õ	õ	⊗	Ö
ö	¶	∂	‰	⊥	Φ	φ	Π	π	ϖ	±	£	′	″	∏	∝	Ψ	ψ	"	√	⟩	»	→	⇒	⌉	”	ℜ	®	⌋	Ρ	ρ	‏
›	’	‚	Š	š	⋅	§		Σ	σ	ς	∼	♠	⊂	⊆	∑	⊃	¹	²	³	⊇	ß	Τ	τ	∴	Θ	θ	ϑ		Þ	þ	˜
×	™	Ú	ú	↑	⇑	Û	û	Ù	ù	¨	ϒ	Υ	υ	Ü	ü	℘	Ξ	ξ	Ý	ý	¥	ÿ	Ÿ	Ζ	ζ	‍	‌

Á	á	Â	â	´	Æ	æ	À	à	ℵ	Α	α	&	∧	∠	Å	å	≈	Ã	ã	Ä	ä	„	Β	β	¦	•	∩	Ç	ç	¸	¢
Χ	χ	ˆ	♣	≅	©	↵	∪	¤	†	‡	↓	⇓	°	Δ	δ	♦	÷	É	é	Ê	ê	È	è	∅			Ε	ε	≡	Η	η
Ð	ð	Ë	ë	€	∃	ƒ	∀	½	¼	¾	⁄	Γ	γ	≥	>	↔	⇔	♥	…	Í	í	Î	î	¡	Ì	ì	ℑ	∞	∫	Ι	ι
¿	∈	Ï	ï	Κ	κ	Λ	λ	⟨	«	←	⇐	⌈	“	≤	⌊	∗	◊	‎	‹	‘	<	¯	—	µ	·	−	Μ	μ	∇		–
≠	∋	¬	∉	⊄	Ñ	ñ	Ν	ν	Ó	ó	Ô	ô	Œ	œ	Ò	ò	‾	Ω	ω	Ο	ο	⊕	∨	ª	º	Ø	ø	Õ	õ	⊗	Ö
ö	¶	∂	‰	⊥	Φ	φ	Π	π	ϖ	±	£	′	″	∏	∝	Ψ	ψ	"	√	⟩	»	→	⇒	⌉	”	ℜ	®	⌋	Ρ	ρ	‏
›	’	‚	Š	š	⋅	§		Σ	σ	ς	∼	♠	⊂	⊆	∑	⊃	¹	²	³	⊇	ß	Τ	τ	∴	Θ	θ	ϑ		Þ	þ	˜
×	™	Ú	ú	↑	⇑	Û	û	Ù	ù	¨	ϒ	Υ	υ	Ü	ü	℘	Ξ	ξ	Ý	ý	¥	ÿ	Ÿ	Ζ	ζ	‍	‌

Help:Symbols

Equations

Samples

Further resources

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References

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Á	á	Â	â	´	Æ	æ	À	à	ℵ	Α	α	&	∧	∠	Å	å	≈	Ã	ã	Ä	ä	„	Β	β	¦	•	∩	Ç	ç	¸	¢
Χ	χ	ˆ	♣	≅	©	↵	∪	¤	†	‡	↓	⇓	°	Δ	δ	♦	÷	É	é	Ê	ê	È	è	∅			Ε	ε	≡	Η	η
Ð	ð	Ë	ë	€	∃	ƒ	∀	½	¼	¾	⁄	Γ	γ	≥	>	↔	⇔	♥	…	Í	í	Î	î	¡	Ì	ì	ℑ	∞	∫	Ι	ι
¿	∈	Ï	ï	Κ	κ	Λ	λ	⟨	«	←	⇐	⌈	“	≤	⌊	∗	◊	‎	‹	‘	<	¯	—	µ	·	−	Μ	μ	∇		–
≠	∋	¬	∉	⊄	Ñ	ñ	Ν	ν	Ó	ó	Ô	ô	Œ	œ	Ò	ò	‾	Ω	ω	Ο	ο	⊕	∨	ª	º	Ø	ø	Õ	õ	⊗	Ö
ö	¶	∂	‰	⊥	Φ	φ	Π	π	ϖ	±	£	′	″	∏	∝	Ψ	ψ	"	√	⟩	»	→	⇒	⌉	”	ℜ	®	⌋	Ρ	ρ	‏
›	’	‚	Š	š	⋅	§		Σ	σ	ς	∼	♠	⊂	⊆	∑	⊃	¹	²	³	⊇	ß	Τ	τ	∴	Θ	θ	ϑ		Þ	þ	˜
×	™	Ú	ú	↑	⇑	Û	û	Ù	ù	¨	ϒ	Υ	υ	Ü	ü	℘	Ξ	ξ	Ý	ý	¥	ÿ	Ÿ	Ζ	ζ	‍	‌