How to Type the Degree Symbol (°) on Any Device

The Degree Symbol: °

The degree symbol (°) is used for temperatures (32°F, 100°C), angles (90° angle), coordinates (40.7° N latitude), and more. It's not on most standard keyboards, but there are quick shortcuts for every device.

How to Type ° on Windows

• Alt code: Hold Alt and type 0176 on the numeric keypad (with Num Lock on). Release Alt.
• Character Map: Open Start → type "Character Map" → find ° and click Copy.
• Emoji keyboard: Press Win + . to open the emoji panel, then search "degree."
• Copy from here: °

How to Type ° on Mac

• Keyboard shortcut: Press Option + Shift + 8
• This works in any application — Pages, Word, email, browsers.

How to Type ° on iPhone / iPad

• On the standard keyboard, long-press the 0 (zero) key.
• A popup appears with the degree symbol °.
• Slide your finger to ° and release.

How to Type ° on Android

• On Gboard: switch to the number keyboard (tap ?123), then long-press 0 to get °.
• Alternatively, tap the symbols key (=\<) and look for ° in the special characters.

Degree Symbol in HTML

Method	Code	Result
HTML entity (name)	°	°
HTML entity (number)	°	°
Unicode escape	°	°
UTF-8 character	°	°

Degree vs. Similar Symbols

• Degree: ° (U+00B0) — used for temperature and angles
• Masculine ordinal indicator: º (U+00BA) — used in Spanish/Portuguese (like "1º")
• Ring above: ˚ (U+02DA) — a diacritical mark, looks similar but is different

Using the wrong character can cause issues in scientific documents or code. Always use U+00B0 for degree.

Other Useful Special Characters

Similar to the degree symbol, other commonly needed special characters include: © (copyright), ™ (trademark), ± (plus-minus), ½ (one-half), and μ (micro). All can be typed with Alt codes on Windows or Option shortcuts on Mac.