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œ

Latin Small Ligature Oe Letter

œ is the Latin small ligature “oe” character, represented in Unicode as U+0153.

U+0153

The symbol œ is known as the Latin small ligature OE. It represents the combined “oe” sound/letter form in certain languages and typographic styles. Use the code points and escapes below to copy it reliably across platforms.

Latin Small Ligature Oe Letter Meaning

œ (Latin small ligature OE) is a single Unicode character that looks like a combined “o” and “e” (œ). It appears in words from languages and orthographies that use the “oe” ligature (for example, in French and related usage in older or styled texts). In plain text, it may be treated similarly to the letters “o” and “e,” but keeping it as the dedicated ligature character preserves intended typography and correct character semantics. For developers and designers, using the actual character (U+0153) avoids inconsistencies that can occur when substituting with two separate letters.

Common uses

  • Typing or proofreading French and other texts that use the “œ” ligature
  • Using typographic ligature forms in web design and editorial layouts
  • Accurate brand or product text that includes the œ character
  • Rendering content in multilingual documents where “oe” must remain as one symbol
  • Copying a single character for forms, labels, and metadata fields that require exact Unicode characters

Examples

œ (Latin Small Ligature OE) — Copy & Unicode Info

  • œcœur
  • œœuvre
  • œbœuf
  • œnœud
  • œœil

Variations

Technical codes

UnicodeU+0153
HTML Entityœ
HTML Codeœ
CSS\0153

FAQ

What does the Latin Small Ligature Oe letter mean?

œ (Latin small ligature OE) is a single Unicode character that looks like a combined “o” and “e” (œ). It appears in words from languages and orthographies that use the “oe” ligature (for example, in French and related usage in older or styled texts). In plain text, it may be treated similarly to the letters “o” and “e,” but keeping it as the dedicated ligature character preserves intended typography and correct character semantics. For developers and designers, using the actual character (U+0153) avoids inconsistencies that can occur when substituting with two separate letters.

What is the Unicode code point for œ?

The Unicode code point for œ is U+0153.

How can I copy œ on the web?

You can copy the character directly (œ), or use the HTML entity œ in markup.

What are the CSS and JavaScript escapes for œ?

CSS escape: \\0153. JavaScript escape: \\u{0153}.

Does œ equal the letters “o” and “e”?

Visually it resembles “oe,” but œ is a single Unicode character. For best results in typography and text correctness, use the ligature character itself.