Menu
Home Explore People Places Arts History Plants & Animals Science Life & Culture Technology
On this page
Unicode alias names and abbreviations
Names and aliases of Unicode characters

In Unicode, characters can have a unique name. A character can also have one or more alias names. An alias name can be an abbreviation, a C0 or C1 control name, a correction, an alternate name or a figment. An alias too is unique over all names and aliases, and therefore identifying.

We don't have any images related to Unicode alias names and abbreviations yet.
We don't have any YouTube videos related to Unicode alias names and abbreviations yet.
We don't have any PDF documents related to Unicode alias names and abbreviations yet.
We don't have any Books related to Unicode alias names and abbreviations yet.
We don't have any archived web articles related to Unicode alias names and abbreviations yet.

Background

The formal, primary Unicode name is unique over all names, only uses certain characters & format, and is guaranteed never to change. The formal name consists of characters A–Z (uppercase), 0–9, " " (space), and "-" (hyphen). Next to this name, a character can have one or more formal (normative) alias names. Such an alias name also follows the rules of a name: characters used (A-Z, -, 0-9, <space>) and not used (a-z, %, $, etc.). Alias names are also unique in the full name set (that is, all names and alias names are all unique in their combined set). Alias names are formally described in the Unicode Standard.12 In this sense, an abbreviation is also considered a Unicode name.

Reason to add an alias

There are five possible reasons to assign an alias name to a code point.3 A character can have multiple aliases: for example U+0008 <control-0008> has control alias BACKSPACE and abbreviation alias BS.

1. Abbreviation Commonly occurring abbreviations (or acronyms) for control codes, format characters, spaces, and variation selectors. There are 354 such aliases, including 256 aliases for variant selectors (VS-1 ... VS-256). For example, U+00A0   NO-BREAK SPACE has alias NBSP. Presentation: in the code charts, the abbreviation is shown in a dashed box: NBSP. 2. Control ISO 6429 names for C0 and C1 control functions and similar commonly occurring names, are added as an alias to the character. There are 84 such aliases. For example, U+0008 <control-0008> has alias BACKSPACE. Presentation: Control characters do not have a primary name, they are labeled like <control-0008>. Its alias name like BACKSPACE is used in the chart documentation, but never as a primary name. This prevents unintended (automated) replacement by the actual, disrupting control character. For example, using alias name BEL in line would be replaced by U+0007 <control-0007> , triggering the bell sound. 3. Correction This is a correction for a "serious problem" in the primary character name, usually an error. There are 35 such aliases. For example, U+2118 ℘ SCRIPT CAPITAL P is actually a lowercase p, and so is given alias name ※ WEIERSTRASS ELLIPTIC FUNCTION: "actually this has the form of a lowercase calligraphic p, despite its name, and through the alias the correct spelling is added." Presentation: A corrected name is preceded by symbol ※ (the reference mark). 4. Alternate For widely used alternate name for a character. There is 1 such alias. Example: U+FEFF ZERO WIDTH NO-BREAK SPACE has alternate BYTE ORDER MARK. Presentation: listed in character charts description. 5. Figment Several documented labels for C1 control code points which were never actually approved in any standard (figment = feigned, in fiction). There are 3 such aliases. For example, U+0099 <control-0099> has figment alias SINGLE GRAPHIC CHARACTER INTRODUCER. This name is an architectural concept from early drafts of ISO/IEC 10646-1, but it was never approved and standardized. Presentation: These figment abbreviations are not published in Standard; the chart shows "XXX" for each informally, that is: not a unique or identifying abbreviation.

List of aliases

Code pointHTMLdecimalNameor <label>AliasReasonChartNote
AbbrName
U+0000&#0;<control-0000>NULNULLControlC0 Controls and Basic Latin (pdf)
U+0001&#1;<control-0001>SOHSTART OF HEADINGControlC0 Controls and Basic Latin (pdf)
U+0002&#2;<control-0002>STXSTART OF TEXTControlC0 Controls and Basic Latin (pdf)
U+0003&#3;<control-0003>ETXEND OF TEXTControlC0 Controls and Basic Latin (pdf)
U+0004&#4;<control-0004>EOTEND OF TRANSMISSIONControlC0 Controls and Basic Latin (pdf)
U+0005&#5;<control-0005>ENQENQUIRYControlC0 Controls and Basic Latin (pdf)
U+0006&#6;<control-0006>ACKACKNOWLEDGEControlC0 Controls and Basic Latin (pdf)
U+0007&#7;<control-0007>BELALERTControlC0 Controls and Basic Latin (pdf)
U+0008&#8;<control-0008>BSBACKSPACEControlC0 Controls and Basic Latin (pdf)
U+0009&Tab; &#9;<control-0009>TABCHARACTER TABULATIONControlC0 Controls and Basic Latin (pdf)
HTHORIZONTAL TABULATIONControl
U+000A&#10;<control-000A>LFLINE FEEDControlC0 Controls and Basic Latin (pdf)
NLNEW LINEControl
EOLEND OF LINEControl
U+000B&#11;<control-000B>LINE TABULATIONControlC0 Controls and Basic Latin (pdf)
VTVERTICAL TABULATIONControl
U+000C&#12;<control-000C>FFFORM FEEDControlC0 Controls and Basic Latin (pdf)
U+000D&#13;<control-000D>CRCARRIAGE RETURNControlC0 Controls and Basic Latin (pdf)
U+000E&#14;<control-000E>SOSHIFT OUTControlC0 Controls and Basic Latin (pdf)
LOCKING-SHIFT ONEControl
U+000F&#15;<control-000F>SISHIFT INControlC0 Controls and Basic Latin (pdf)
LOCKING-SHIFT ZEROControl
U+0010&#16;<control-0010>DLEDATA LINK ESCAPEControlC0 Controls and Basic Latin (pdf)
U+0011&#17;<control-0011>DC1DEVICE CONTROL ONEControlC0 Controls and Basic Latin (pdf)
U+0012&#18;<control-0012>DC2DEVICE CONTROL TWOControlC0 Controls and Basic Latin (pdf)
U+0013&#19;<control-0013>DC3DEVICE CONTROL THREEControlC0 Controls and Basic Latin (pdf)
U+0014&#20;<control-0014>DC4DEVICE CONTROL FOURControlC0 Controls and Basic Latin (pdf)
U+0015&#21;<control-0015>NAKNEGATIVE ACKNOWLEDGEControlC0 Controls and Basic Latin (pdf)
U+0016&#22;<control-0016>SYNSYNCHRONOUS IDLEControlC0 Controls and Basic Latin (pdf)
U+0017&#23;<control-0017>ETBEND OF TRANSMISSION BLOCKControlC0 Controls and Basic Latin (pdf)
U+0018&#24;<control-0018>CANCANCELControlC0 Controls and Basic Latin (pdf)
U+0019&#25;<control-0019>EOMEND OF MEDIUMControlC0 Controls and Basic Latin (pdf)
EMAbbreviationadded in version 15.0
U+001A&#26;<control-001A>SUBSUBSTITUTEControlC0 Controls and Basic Latin (pdf)
U+001B&#27;<control-001B>ESCESCAPEControlC0 Controls and Basic Latin (pdf)
U+001C&#28;<control-001C>INFORMATION SEPARATOR FOURControlC0 Controls and Basic Latin (pdf)
FSFILE SEPARATORControl
U+001D&#29;<control-001D>INFORMATION SEPARATOR THREEControlC0 Controls and Basic Latin (pdf)
GSGROUP SEPARATORControl
U+001E&#30;<control-001E>INFORMATION SEPARATOR TWOControlC0 Controls and Basic Latin (pdf)
RSRECORD SEPARATORControl
U+001F&#31;<control-001F>INFORMATION SEPARATOR ONEControlC0 Controls and Basic Latin (pdf)
USUNIT SEPARATORControl
U+0020&#32;SPACESPAbbreviationC0 Controls and Basic Latin (pdf)
U+007F&#127;<control-007F>DELDELETEControlC0 Controls and Basic Latin (pdf)
U+0080&#128;<control-0080>PADPADDING CHARACTERFigmentC1 Controls and Latin-1 Supplement (pdf)Aliases are not widely published by Unicode; chart shows non-unique XXX
U+0081&#129;<control-0081>HOPHIGH OCTET PRESETFigmentC1 Controls and Latin-1 Supplement (pdf)Aliases are not widely published by Unicode; chart shows non-unique XXX
U+0082&#130;<control-0082>BPHBREAK PERMITTED HEREControlC1 Controls and Latin-1 Supplement (pdf)
U+0083&#131;<control-0083>NBHNO BREAK HEREControlC1 Controls and Latin-1 Supplement (pdf)
U+0084&#132;<control-0084>INDINDEXControlC1 Controls and Latin-1 Supplement (pdf)
U+0085&#133;<control-0085>NELNEXT LINEControlC1 Controls and Latin-1 Supplement (pdf)
U+0086&#134;<control-0086>SSASTART OF SELECTED AREAControlC1 Controls and Latin-1 Supplement (pdf)
U+0087&#135;<control-0087>ESAEND OF SELECTED AREAControlC1 Controls and Latin-1 Supplement (pdf)
U+0088&#136;<control-0088>CHARACTER TABULATION SETControlC1 Controls and Latin-1 Supplement (pdf)
HTSHORIZONTAL TABULATION SETControl
U+0089&#137;<control-0089>CHARACTER TABULATION WITH JUSTIFICATIONControlC1 Controls and Latin-1 Supplement (pdf)
HTJHORIZONTAL TABULATION WITH JUSTIFICATIONControl
U+008A&#138;<control-008A>LINE TABULATION SETControlC1 Controls and Latin-1 Supplement (pdf)
VTSVERTICAL TABULATION SETControl
U+008B&#139;<control-008B>PARTIAL LINE FORWARDControlC1 Controls and Latin-1 Supplement (pdf)
PLDPARTIAL LINE DOWNControl
U+008C&#140;<control-008C>PARTIAL LINE BACKWARDControlC1 Controls and Latin-1 Supplement (pdf)
PLUPARTIAL LINE UPControl
U+008D&#141;<control-008D>REVERSE LINE FEEDControlC1 Controls and Latin-1 Supplement (pdf)
RIREVERSE INDEXControl
U+008E&#142;<control-008E>SINGLE SHIFT TWOControlC1 Controls and Latin-1 Supplement (pdf)
SS2SINGLE-SHIFT-2Control
U+008F&#143;<control-008F>SINGLE SHIFT THREEControlC1 Controls and Latin-1 Supplement (pdf)
SS3SINGLE-SHIFT-3Control
U+0090&#144;<control-0090>DCSDEVICE CONTROL STRINGControlC1 Controls and Latin-1 Supplement (pdf)
U+0091&#145;<control-0091>PRIVATE USE ONEControlC1 Controls and Latin-1 Supplement (pdf)
PU1PRIVATE USE-1Control
U+0092&#146;<control-0092>PRIVATE USE TWOControlC1 Controls and Latin-1 Supplement (pdf)
PU2PRIVATE USE-2Control
U+0093&#147;<control-0093>STSSET TRANSMIT STATEControlC1 Controls and Latin-1 Supplement (pdf)
U+0094&#148;<control-0094>CCHCANCEL CHARACTERControlC1 Controls and Latin-1 Supplement (pdf)
U+0095&#149;<control-0095>MWMESSAGE WAITINGControlC1 Controls and Latin-1 Supplement (pdf)
U+0096&#150;<control-0096>START OF GUARDED AREAControlC1 Controls and Latin-1 Supplement (pdf)
SPASTART OF PROTECTED AREAControl
U+0097&#151;<control-0097>END OF GUARDED AREAControlC1 Controls and Latin-1 Supplement (pdf)
EPAEND OF PROTECTED AREAControl
U+0098&#152;<control-0098>SOSSTART OF STRINGControlC1 Controls and Latin-1 Supplement (pdf)
U+0099&#153;<control-0099>SGCSINGLE GRAPHIC CHARACTER INTRODUCERFigmentC1 Controls and Latin-1 Supplement (pdf)Aliases are not widely published by Unicode; chart shows non-unique XXX
U+009A&#154;<control-009A>SCISINGLE CHARACTER INTRODUCERControlC1 Controls and Latin-1 Supplement (pdf)
U+009B&#155;<control-009B>CSICONTROL SEQUENCE INTRODUCERControlC1 Controls and Latin-1 Supplement (pdf)
U+009C&#156;<control-009C>STSTRING TERMINATORControlC1 Controls and Latin-1 Supplement (pdf)
U+009D&#157;<control-009D>OSCOPERATING SYSTEM COMMANDControlC1 Controls and Latin-1 Supplement (pdf)
U+009E&#158;<control-009E>PMPRIVACY MESSAGEControlC1 Controls and Latin-1 Supplement (pdf)
U+009F&#159;<control-009F>APCAPPLICATION PROGRAM COMMANDControlC1 Controls and Latin-1 Supplement (pdf)
U+00A0&nbsp; &NonBreakingSpace; &#160;NO-BREAK SPACENBSPAbbreviationC1 Controls and Latin-1 Supplement (pdf)
U+00AD&shy; &#173;SOFT HYPHENSHYAbbreviationC1 Controls and Latin-1 Supplement (pdf)
U+01A2&#418;LATIN CAPITAL LETTER OILATIN CAPITAL LETTER GHA※ CorrectionLatin Extended-B (pdf)
U+01A3&#419;LATIN SMALL LETTER OILATIN SMALL LETTER GHA※ CorrectionLatin Extended-B (pdf)
U+034F&#847;COMBINING GRAPHEME JOINERCGJAbbreviationCombining Diacritical Marks (pdf)The name of this character is misleading; it does not actually join graphemes
U+0616&#1558;ARABIC SMALL HIGH LIGATURE ALEF WITH LAM WITH YEHARABIC SMALL HIGH LIGATURE ALEF WITH YEH BARREE※ CorrectionArabic added in version 15.0
U+061C&#1564;ARABIC LETTER MARKALMAbbreviationArabic (pdf)See RLM
U+0709&#1801;SYRIAC SUBLINEAR COLON SKEWED RIGHTSYRIAC SUBLINEAR COLON SKEWED LEFT※ CorrectionSyriac (pdf)
U+0CDE&#3294;KANNADA LETTER FAKANNADA LETTER LLLA※ CorrectionKannada (pdf)
U+0E9D&#3741;LAO LETTER FO TAMLAO LETTER FO FON※ CorrectionLao (pdf)
U+0E9F&#3743;LAO LETTER FO SUNGLAO LETTER FO FAY※ CorrectionLao (pdf)
U+0EA3&#3747;LAO LETTER LO LINGLAO LETTER RO※ CorrectionLao (pdf)
U+0EA5&#3749;LAO LETTER LO LOOTLAO LETTER LO※ CorrectionLao (pdf)
U+0FD0&#4048;TIBETAN MARK BSKA- SHOG GI MGO RGYANTIBETAN MARK BKA- SHOG GI MGO RGYAN※ CorrectionTibetan (pdf)
U+11EC&#4588;HANGUL JONGSEONG IEUNG-KIYEOKHANGUL JONGSEONG YESIEUNG-KIYEOK※ CorrectionHangul Jamo (pdf)
U+11ED&#4589;HANGUL JONGSEONG IEUNG-SSANGKIYEOKHANGUL JONGSEONG YESIEUNG-SSANGKIYEOK※ CorrectionHangul Jamo (pdf)
U+11EE&#4590;HANGUL JONGSEONG SSANGIEUNGHANGUL JONGSEONG SSANGYESIEUNG※ CorrectionHangul Jamo (pdf)
U+11EF&#4591;HANGUL JONGSEONG IEUNG-KHIEUKHHANGUL JONGSEONG YESIEUNG-KHIEUKH※ CorrectionHangul Jamo (pdf)
U+180B&#6155;MONGOLIAN FREE VARIATION SELECTOR ONEFVS1AbbreviationMongolian (pdf)
U+180C&#6156;MONGOLIAN FREE VARIATION SELECTOR TWOFVS2AbbreviationMongolian (pdf)
U+180D&#6157;MONGOLIAN FREE VARIATION SELECTOR THREEFVS3AbbreviationMongolian (pdf)
U+180E&#6158;MONGOLIAN VOWEL SEPARATORMVSAbbreviationMongolian (pdf)
U+180F&#6159;MONGOLIAN FREE VARIATION SELECTOR FOURFVS4AbbreviationMongolian (pdf)
U+1BBD&#7101;SUNDANESE LETTER BHASUNDANESE LETTER ARCHAIC I※ CorrectionSudanese (pdf)added in version 15.0
U+200B&NegativeMediumSpace; &NegativeThickSpace; &NegativeThinSpace; &NegativeVeryThinSpace; &ZeroWidthSpace; &#8203;ZERO WIDTH SPACEZWSPAbbreviationGeneral Punctuation (pdf)
U+200C&zwnj; &#8204;ZERO WIDTH NON-JOINERZWNJAbbreviationGeneral Punctuation (pdf)
U+200D&zwj; &#8205;ZERO WIDTH JOINERZWJAbbreviationGeneral Punctuation (pdf)
U+200E&lrm; &#8206;LEFT-TO-RIGHT MARKLRMAbbreviationGeneral Punctuation (pdf)
U+200F&rlm; &#8207;RIGHT-TO-LEFT MARKRLMAbbreviationGeneral Punctuation (pdf)
U+202A&#8234;LEFT-TO-RIGHT EMBEDDINGLREAbbreviationGeneral Punctuation (pdf)
U+202B&#8235;RIGHT-TO-LEFT EMBEDDINGRLEAbbreviationGeneral Punctuation (pdf)
U+202C&#8236;POP DIRECTIONAL FORMATTINGPDFAbbreviationGeneral Punctuation (pdf)
U+202D&#8237;LEFT-TO-RIGHT OVERRIDELROAbbreviationGeneral Punctuation (pdf)
U+202E&#8238;RIGHT-TO-LEFT OVERRIDERLOAbbreviationGeneral Punctuation (pdf)
U+202F&#8239;NARROW NO-BREAK SPACENNBSPAbbreviationGeneral Punctuation (pdf)
U+205F&MediumSpace; &#8287;MEDIUM MATHEMATICAL SPACEMMSPAbbreviationGeneral Punctuation (pdf)
U+2060&NoBreak; &#8288;WORD JOINERWJAbbreviationGeneral Punctuation (pdf)
U+2066&#8294;LEFT-TO-RIGHT ISOLATELRIAbbreviationGeneral Punctuation (pdf)
U+2067&#8295;RIGHT-TO-LEFT ISOLATERLIAbbreviationGeneral Punctuation (pdf)
U+2068&#8296;FIRST STRONG ISOLATEFSIAbbreviationGeneral Punctuation (pdf)
U+2069&#8297;POP DIRECTIONAL ISOLATEPDIAbbreviationGeneral Punctuation (pdf)
U+2118&weierp; &wp; &#8472;SCRIPT CAPITAL PWEIERSTRASS ELLIPTIC FUNCTION※ CorrectionLetterlike Symbols (pdf)
U+2448&#9288;OCR DASHMICR ON US SYMBOL※ CorrectionOptical Character Recognition (pdf)
U+2449&#9289;OCR CUSTOMER ACCOUNT NUMBERMICR DASH SYMBOL※ CorrectionOptical Character Recognition (pdf)
U+2B7A&#11130;LEFTWARDS TRIANGLE-HEADED ARROW WITH DOUBLE HORIZONTAL STROKELEFTWARDS TRIANGLE-HEADED ARROW WITH DOUBLE VERTICAL STROKE※ CorrectionMiscellaneous Symbols and Arrows (pdf)
U+2B7C&#11132;RIGHTWARDS TRIANGLE-HEADED ARROW WITH DOUBLE HORIZONTAL STROKERIGHTWARDS TRIANGLE-HEADED ARROW WITH DOUBLE VERTICAL STROKE※ CorrectionMiscellaneous Symbols and Arrows (pdf)
U+A015&#40981;YI SYLLABLE WUYI SYLLABLE ITERATION MARK※ CorrectionYi Syllables (pdf)
U+AA6E&#43630;MYANMAR LETTER KHAMTI HHAMYANMAR LETTER KHAMTI LLA※ CorrectionMyanmar Extended-A (pdf)
U+FE00...U+FE0F&#65024;...&#65039;VARIATION SELECTOR-1...VARIATION SELECTOR-16VS1...VS16AbbreviationVariation Selectors (pdf)
(16 code points)
Abbreviation
U+FE18&#65048;PRESENTATION FORM FOR VERTICAL RIGHT WHITE LENTICULAR BRAKCETPRESENTATION FORM FOR VERTICAL RIGHT WHITE LENTICULAR BRACKET※ CorrectionVertical Forms (pdf)
U+FEFF&#65279;ZERO WIDTH NO-BREAK SPACEBOMBYTE ORDER MARKAlternateArabic Presentation Forms-B (pdf)
ZWNBSPAbbreviation
U+122D4&#74452;CUNEIFORM SIGN SHIR TENUCUNEIFORM SIGN NU11 TENU※ CorrectionCuneiform (pdf)
U+122D5&#74453;CUNEIFORM SIGN SHIR OVER SHIR BUR OVER BURCUNEIFORM SIGN NU11 OVER NU11 BUR OVER BUR※ CorrectionCuneiform (pdf)
U+12327&#74535;CUNEIFORM SIGN UN GUNUCUNEIFORM SIGN KALAM※ CorrectionCuneiform (pdf)
U+1680B&#92171;BAMUM LETTER PHASE-A MAEMBGBIEEBAMUM LETTER PHASE-A MAEMGBIEE※ CorrectionBamum Supplement (pdf)
U+16E56&#93782;MEDEFAIDRIN CAPITAL LETTER HPMEDEFAIDRIN CAPITAL LETTER H※ CorrectionMedefaidrin (pdf)
U+16E57&#93783;MEDEFAIDRIN CAPITAL LETTER NYMEDEFAIDRIN CAPITAL LETTER NG※ CorrectionMedefaidrin (pdf)
U+16E76&#93814;MEDEFAIDRIN SMALL LETTER HPMEDEFAIDRIN SMALL LETTER H※ CorrectionMedefaidrin (pdf)
U+16E77&#93815;MEDEFAIDRIN SMALL LETTER NYMEDEFAIDRIN SMALL LETTER NG※ CorrectionMedefaidrin (pdf)
U+1B001&#110593;HIRAGANA LETTER ARCHAIC YEHENTAIGANA LETTER E-1※ CorrectionKana Supplement (pdf)
U+1D0C5&#118981;BYZANTINE MUSICAL SYMBOL FHTORA SKLIRON CHROMA VASISBYZANTINE MUSICAL SYMBOL FTHORA SKLIRON CHROMA VASIS※ CorrectionByzantine Musical Symbols (pdf)
U+1E899&#125081;MENDE KIKAKUI SYLLABLE M172 MBOOMENDE KIKAKUI SYLLABLE M172 MBO※ CorrectionMende Kikakui (pdf)
U+1E89A&#125082;MENDE KIKAKUI SYLLABLE M174 MBOMENDE KIKAKUI SYLLABLE M174 MBOO※ CorrectionMende Kikakui (pdf)
U+E0100...U+E01EF&#917760;...&#917999;VARIATION SELECTOR-17...VARIATION SELECTOR-256VS17...VS256AbbreviationVariation Selectors Supplement (pdf)
(240 code points)
Abbreviation

Informal alternative names

The Unicode standard also uses and publishes alternative names that are not formal, and are not listed as normative alias names. These labels may not be unique and may use irregular characters in their name. They are used in Unicode code charts, for example U+070F   SYRIAC ABBREVIATION MARK: SAM.4

See also

References

  1. "NameAliases.txt". The Unicode Consortium. 2024-04-24. Retrieved 2024-09-11. https://www.unicode.org/Public/16.0.0/ucd/NameAliases.txt

  2. "The Unicode Standard". The Unicode Consortium. https://www.unicode.org/versions/Unicode16.0.0/core-spec/chapter-24

  3. "NameAliases.txt". The Unicode Consortium. 2024-04-24. Retrieved 2024-09-11. https://www.unicode.org/Public/16.0.0/ucd/NameAliases.txt

  4. "Unicode 14.0 Character Code Charts: Syriac" (PDF). https://unicode.org/charts/PDF/U0700.pdf#search=070F