Tap the symbol to copy it, then paste it after a number: 20°C, 90°, 350°F. The table shows how to type it on Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android when you need it again.
°
DEGREE SIGN
U+00B0 · tap the symbol to copy
How to Type the Degree Symbol
Unicode
U+00B0 DEGREE SIGN
HTML
° or °
Windows
Alt + 0176 (numeric keypad)
Mac
Option + Shift + 8
iPhone
Hold the 0 key on the number keyboard, then slide to °
Android
Switch to the ?123 keyboard, then =\< for the second page; ° is usually there, or hold 0
LaTeX
^\circ or \degree (gensymb)
Degree Symbol Variants and Lookalikes
℃
Degree CelsiusA single character; many style guides prefer ° followed by C
℉
Degree FahrenheitSame idea for Fahrenheit
˚
Ring AboveA spacing accent mark that looks similar but is not the degree sign
º
Masculine Ordinal IndicatorSpanish and Portuguese 1º; often underlined in some fonts
°C
Degrees Celsius (two characters)The form used in most writing
°F
Degrees Fahrenheit (two characters)
⁰
Superscript ZeroA digit, not a degree sign; avoid it in measurements
∘
Ring OperatorFunction composition in maths
Using the Degree Symbol
The degree sign marks temperatures (37°C), angles (a 45° turn) and geographic coordinates (51°30′N). It sits directly after the number with no space, and in most style guides no space before the C or F either: write 20°C rather than 20 °C, although scientific publishers that follow the SI brochure do insert a thin space.
Two lookalikes cause most mistakes. The first is the masculine ordinal indicator º, which Spanish and Portuguese use for ordinals like 1º. Many fonts draw it with a small underline, and it sits lower than a real degree sign. The second is the superscript zero ⁰, which typewriter users borrowed for decades. Both will confuse a search, a spreadsheet formula or a screen reader, so use the real sign when you can.
Unicode also offers single-character ℃ and ℉. They exist mainly for East Asian typography, where a fixed-width cell matters, and they are rendered by the same fonts as the plain sign. In English text, ° followed by C or F is the standard form and is what spell-checkers and unit converters expect.
For angles, mathematicians pair the degree sign with prime marks: 45°30′15″ reads as 45 degrees, 30 minutes, 15 seconds. The prime ′ and double prime ″ are their own characters; apostrophes and quotation marks are common substitutes but curl in the wrong direction in many fonts. Latitude and longitude follow the same pattern, with N, S, E or W after the seconds.
If you paste the sign into a chat or a bio and it shows as a small box, the device lacks a font for it, which is rare because ° is part of Latin-1, the same basic block that covers é and ñ. It renders everywhere from ancient feature phones to games, and it passes username filters that block fancier characters, which makes it a safe decoration between words in a handle. On this site you will also find the aesthetic symbols page for ˚ and other ring-shaped accents used purely as ornaments, and the star symbols page for the small marks people combine with it in "°˖✧" style dividers.
Degree Symbol FAQ
How do I type the degree symbol on a Windows keyboard?
Hold Alt and type 0176 on the numeric keypad, then release Alt. On a laptop without a keypad, use the Windows emoji panel (Win + .) and search for "degree", or copy it from this page.
What is the degree symbol shortcut on a Mac?
Press Option + Shift + 8. Option + 0 gives you the similar-looking ordinal indicator º instead, which is a different character.
Where is the degree sign on the iPhone keyboard?
Open the number keyboard (123), then touch and hold the 0 key. A small pop-up appears with ° in it; slide your finger onto it and let go.
Is there a space between the number and the degree symbol?
No. Write 30° and 30°C with the sign directly after the number. The one exception is strict SI formatting, which puts a thin space before °C but still none between ° and the C.
What is the difference between ° and º?
The first is the degree sign (U+00B0). The second is the masculine ordinal indicator (U+00BA) used in Spanish and Portuguese for ordinals. They look alike in some fonts but are separate characters, and º often shows a small underline.
Should I use ℃ or °C?
Use °C in normal writing. The single character ℃ exists for East Asian fixed-width text and is fine in a bio or a tweet, but search, spreadsheets and most editors expect the two-character form.