Male and female symbols
The male and female symbols ♂ and its close relatives, with the keyboard shortcut for each one.
U+2642
Male and female symbols and related symbols
8 symbols, each with its codes and shortcuts.
| Symbol | Name | Code | HTML | Windows | Mac | LaTeX |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male sign | U+2642 | ♂ | Alt + 11 | |||
| Female sign | U+2640 | ♀ | Alt + 12 | |||
| Male and female sign | U+26A5 | ⚥ | ||||
| Male with stroke and male and female sign | U+26A7 | ⚧ | ||||
| Doubled female sign | U+26A2 | ⚢ | ||||
| Doubled male sign | U+26A3 | ⚣ | ||||
| Interlocked female and male sign | U+26A4 | ⚤ | ||||
| Male with stroke sign | U+26A6 | ⚦ |
What ♂ means
♂ comes from the shield and spear of Mars and ♀ from the hand mirror of Venus. Biologists use them for male and female.
Common uses: biology, forms and bios.
- Unicode name
- Male Sign
- Code point
- U+2642
- Windows
- Alt + 11
- Mac
- Character Viewer
How to type ♂
Copy and paste
Click the big ♂ at the top. It copies instantly.
Windows
Hold Alt and type 11 on the number pad, then let go of Alt. In Word, type 2642 and press Alt + X. In other apps, the emoji panel (Windows key + .) has a symbols tab you can search.
Mac
The Character Viewer (Control + Command + Space) finds any symbol by name.
iPhone and Android
Copy it from this page, or set up a text replacement in your keyboard settings so a short code like ;sym turns into the symbol.
HTML
Use ♂ or ♂.
Questions people ask
How do I type ♂ on a keyboard?
On Windows, hold Alt and type 11 on the number pad. On a Mac, open the Character Viewer with Control + Command + Space.
How do I copy and paste ♂?
Tap the large ♂ at the top of this page. It is copied to your clipboard and you can paste it anywhere.
What does ♂ mean?
♂ comes from the shield and spear of Mars and ♀ from the hand mirror of Venus. Biologists use them for male and female.
Where is ♂ used?
Biology, forms and bios.
More symbols
Updated November 13, 2026