Pilcrow (¶) in HTML
The pilcrow is the paragraph mark. Its named reference is ¶ and its code point is U+00B6, and outside legal citation its main modern use is as a visible marker for a paragraph break.
At a glance
- Character
- ¶
- Named entity
- ¶
- Decimal reference
- ¶
- Hex reference
- ¶
- Unicode code point
- U+00B6
- Unicode name
- PILCROW SIGN
- In the entity reference
- Punctuation
In detail
The pilcrow started as an editorial mark showing where a new argument began in a block of unbroken manuscript text. Modern documents use whitespace for that job, so the character survives mostly in two niches: citing a numbered paragraph in a legal or standards document, and standing in visually for a paragraph break that would otherwise be invisible.
The second niche is why word processors and code editors show it when you turn on invisible characters. In that context it represents a carriage return or a paragraph separator in the underlying document. Nothing of the sort is true in HTML, where a paragraph is an element and there is no character marking its end, so a pilcrow you see on a web page is content someone typed.
It is the conventional glyph for a permalink beside a heading in technical documentation. Used that way it is decoration and needs the same treatment as any other icon character: aria-hidden on the glyph and a real accessible name on the link, otherwise the heading is announced with a pilcrow sign before it every time.
In legal citation it references a numbered paragraph the way the section sign references a numbered section, and the same doubling convention applies for a range. Keeping the symbol and its number together with a non-breaking space matters here for the same reason it does with the section sign.
Examples
<p>The finding at ¶ 14 contradicts ¶¶ 9 to 11.</p><h2 id="usage">
Usage
<a class="anchor" href="#usage" aria-label="Permalink to Usage">
<span aria-hidden="true">¶</span>
</a>
</h2>Things that catch people out
- It does not create a paragraph break. Putting the character between two sentences renders a symbol and leaves the text in one paragraph.
- Pasting from a word processor with invisibles displayed can bring the literal character into your content, where it renders as a stray glyph rather than as an editing aid.
- A permalink whose only content is this character and no label is an unlabelled link, which some accessibility checkers flag as an error rather than a warning.
Try it: HTML Entity Reference
Search 152 entities across 9 categories, switch the copy format between the character, the name, the decimal form and the hex form, and copy in one click.
HTML Entity Reference
LOCAL · Browser-OnlySearchable reference of 150+ HTML entities with one-click copy in any format
152 entities across 9 categories
Commonly Used
→Arrows(13)
±Math(35)
$Currency(8)
…Punctuation(21)
©Symbols(24)
πGreek(30)
½Fractions(6)
●Geometric(7)
æLatin Special(8)
Click any entity card to copy it in your chosen format. All data is embedded in the page and works offline.
Related HTML entities
All html entities →Section sign (§) in HTML
The section sign at U+00A7 with its entity forms, how the doubled form marks a range of sections, and why it should never be separated from its number.
Dagger (†) and double dagger (‡)
The dagger at U+2020 and double dagger at U+2021, the traditional footnote symbol order, the case sensitive entity names, and the date convention.
Non-breaking space ( ) in HTML
The no-break space at U+00A0, what it prevents beyond line breaking, why it defeats site search, and the CSS properties that do the job better.
Copyright symbol (©) in HTML
The copyright sign at U+00A9 with its named, decimal and hex references, what a copyright notice actually does, and why (c) in brackets is not a substitute.
Registered sign (®) in HTML
The registered trade mark sign at U+00AE, its entity forms, the difference between it and the trademark symbol, and the rule about which marks may carry it.
Trademark symbol (™) in HTML
The trade mark sign at U+2122, its entity and numeric forms, how it differs from the registered sign, and the service mark character that has no entity.
Tools for this
- HTML Entity Reference Free online HTML entity reference - search and copy HTML entities with live preview
- HTML Entity Encoder Free online HTML entity encoder - encode or decode HTML entities to prevent XSS and display issues