U+2248

Almost equal

Almost equal is a monochrome text character from the Unicode Mathematical Operators block, listed here under Math. Copy it with one click, or use the hex, octal, decimal and HTML entity codes below to embed it in web pages, code, and documents. It is often searched for as "approximately".

Quick facts

Unicode
U+2248
Decimal
8776
Hex
0x2248
Octal
0o21110

Unicode identity

FormatValueCopy
Code pointOfficial Unicode notationU+2248
Official nameUnicodeData.txt, Unicode 18.0.0ALMOST EQUAL TO
DecimalBase 108776
HexadecimalBase 160x2248
OctalBase 80o21110
BinaryBase 20010001001001000
General categorySymbol, mathSm
Unicode blockU+2200–U+22FFMathematical Operators
PlaneBasic Multilingual Plane (BMP, Plane 0)

HTML & CSS

FormatValueCopy
HTML entity (decimal)≈
HTML entity (hex)≈
HTML entity (named)≈
CSS content escapeUse inside content: "…"\2248
URL encodedPercent-encoded UTF-8%E2%89%88

Programming languages

FormatValueCopy
JavaScript / TypeScript\u2248
JSONUTF-16 surrogate pairs\u2248
Python\u2248
Java / C# / Kotlin\u2248

Byte encodings

FormatValueCopy
UTF-83 bytesE2 89 88
UTF-16 (BE)2248
UTF-32 (BE)00002248

How to type Almost equal

  • Windows

    Hold Alt and type +2248 with the hex numeric keypad option enabled, or type 2248 then press Alt+X in Word and most Office apps.

  • macOS

    Enable the Unicode Hex Input keyboard, hold Option, and type 2248. Or open Character Viewer (Control+Command+Space) and search "Almost equal".

  • Linux

    Press Ctrl+Shift+U, type 2248, then press Space or Enter in GTK apps. IBus and most terminals support the same sequence.

  • HTML, CSS & code

    Paste the character directly, or use the escapes above: ≈ in HTML, \2248 in CSS, and \u2248 in JavaScript.

Official Unicode reference

Character name
ALMOST EQUAL TO
Block
Mathematical Operators (U+2200–U+22FF)
General category
Sm — Symbol, math

Data from the Unicode Character Database, version 18.0.0. See the official code chart for the Mathematical Operators block: U2200.pdf (PDF, unicode.org).

Frequently asked questions

How do I copy the Almost equal symbol?

Click the Copy button at the top of this page, or select ≈ and press Ctrl+C (Cmd+C on Mac). It is plain Unicode text, so it pastes into documents, chats, code, and design tools.

What is the Unicode code point for Almost equal?

Almost equal is U+2248 (decimal 8776, hexadecimal 0x2248, octal 0o21110). It lives in the Mathematical Operators block (U+2200–U+22FF) of the Basic Multilingual Plane (BMP, Plane 0).

What is the official Unicode name of Almost equal?

The Unicode Standard (version 18.0.0) names this character "ALMOST EQUAL TO". Its General_Category is Sm (Symbol, math).

What is the HTML code for Almost equal?

Use ≈ or ≈, or the named entity ≈. In CSS, use content: "\2248".

How do I type Almost equal in code?

JavaScript: "\u2248". Python: "\u2248". JSON and Java: "\u2248". The UTF-8 byte sequence is E2 89 88.

Is Almost equal an emoji?

No. Almost equal is a text symbol and renders as a monochrome glyph in the current font. Some platforms may offer an emoji variant when U+FE0F is appended.

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