Symbol For Horizontal Tabulation Symbol
␉ represents the horizontal tabulation control character (U+2409).
U+2409
The symbol ␉ is a visible representation of the horizontal tabulation character. It’s often used in documentation and text tooling to make tabs easy to see and copy. You can use it directly or via its Unicode escape forms.
Symbol For Horizontal Tabulation Symbol Meaning
␉ (Unicode U+2409) is the “Symbol for Horizontal Tabulation.” It visually denotes the horizontal tab control character, which is commonly used to align text or move the cursor to the next tab stop in plain text and many programming contexts. In many environments, a real tab may be invisible or appear as spacing of different widths; using ␉ helps you show the presence of a tab explicitly in rendered text. This is especially helpful in manuals, debugging output, formatting guides, and examples where you want readers to understand where tab characters occur.
Common uses
- •Documenting text formatting where tabs are used for alignment
- •Showing invisible control characters in debugging logs or samples
- •Writing tutorials that demonstrate tab stops and spacing behavior
- •Annotating transcripts or source excerpts to highlight tab characters
- •Sharing code or markup snippets where the exact whitespace matters
Examples
␉ Symbol for Horizontal Tabulation
- ␉Header␉Item 1␉Item 2
- ␉Name␉Score␉Level
- ␉ColA␉ColB␉ColC
- ␉Term␉Definition␉Example
- ␉Step␉Result␉Notes
Variations
Ready to copy
Technical codes
| Unicode | U+2409 | |
| HTML Entity | ␉ | |
| HTML Code | ␉ | |
| CSS | \2409 | |
| Alt Code | Alt + 9225 | |
| Decimal | 9225 |
How to type Symbol For Horizontal Tabulation Symbol (␉)
On Windows
Hold Alt and type 9225 on the numeric keypad. In Word, type 2409 then press Alt + X.
On Mac
Switch to the Unicode Hex Input keyboard, then hold Option and type 2409. Or press Control + Command + Space and search.
On Linux
Press Control + Shift + U, type 2409, then press Enter or Space.
Anywhere
Copy ␉ with the button above and paste it wherever you need it — this works on every device and in every app, with no keyboard shortcut to remember.
FAQ
What does the ␉ symbol mean?
␉ is the “Symbol for Horizontal Tabulation” (Unicode U+2409). It visually represents a horizontal tab control character.
Is ␉ the same as pressing the Tab key?
It’s a visible symbol for the horizontal tab character. In many text systems, the actual tab behavior (cursor movement and alignment) depends on the underlying tab character and settings.
How can I copy it into code or text?
You can copy the character directly (␉) or use the Unicode escape forms: CSS escape (\\2409) and JavaScript escape (\\u{2409}).
Where is ␉ commonly used?
It’s commonly used in documentation, debugging, and formatting examples where showing the presence of a tab character clearly is important.