degree symbol
About degree symbol
° is the degree symbol, a small raised circle widely used to denote measurement units. The degree symbol primarily appears in three contexts: indicating temperature (e.g., 25°C or 77°F), measuring angles in geometry and trigonometry (e.g., 90° for a right angle), and specifying geographic coordinates for latitude and longitude (e.g., 40°N, 74°W). The degree symbol is a fundamental character in scientific, mathematical, and everyday notation.
The degree symbol ° takes the form of a small superscript circle, distinct from the ordinal indicator (º) and the ring diacritic (˚). As a Unicode character officially named DEGREE SIGN, the degree symbol holds codepoint U+00B0 within the Latin-1 Supplement block, ensuring broad compatibility across major fonts, operating systems, and digital platforms for consistent display of the degree symbol.
【Temperature vs. Angle Usage】 The degree symbol is indispensable in both temperature scales and angular measurement. For temperature, the degree symbol appears before the scale letter (e.g., °C for Celsius, °F for Fahrenheit), while for angles, the degree symbol follows the numeric value (e.g., 45°). Notably, the Kelvin scale does not use the degree symbol—it is written simply as K (e.g., 273.15K).
【Modern Applications】 Beyond science and math, the degree symbol appears in everyday contexts: weather forecasts, oven temperature settings, compass navigation, map coordinates, and even in typography for indicating font weight (e.g., 18° for oblique type). The degree symbol remains one of the most frequently used special characters in daily digital communication.
How to Type degree symbol
Windows Input
Method 1: Hold Alt and type 0176 on the numeric keypad; Method 2: Hold Alt and type 248 (shorter Alt code); Method 3: Type du (pinyin for degree) in the Microsoft Pinyin input method and look for ° in the candidate list.
Mac Input
Method 1: Press Option + Shift + 8 to type the degree symbol °; Method 2: Press Option + K for a smaller degree mark (˚) — for the standard degree symbol, use the shortcut above; Method 3: Press Control + Command + Space to open the Character Viewer and search for "degree sign".
HTML/CSS Input
HTML: ° or °; CSS: content: "\00B0";
LaTeX Input
Use the \degree command in math mode (requires the gensymb or textcomp package); alternatively, use ^{\circ} (e.g., 25^{\circ}C) which is supported by default.
degree symbol FAQ
What is the difference between the degree symbol ° and the ordinal indicator º?
The degree symbol ° (U+00B0) is a small superscript circle used for temperature and angles. The ordinal indicator º (U+00BA) is a masculine ordinal marker used in Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian to denote order (e.g., 1º, 2º). They look similar but serve completely different purposes. The degree symbol is perfectly round; the ordinal indicator is slightly taller and aligns with lowercase letter heights.
How do I type the degree symbol ° on an iPhone or Android phone?
On iPhone/iPad: Switch to the numbers keyboard (123), then press the 0 key and hold — the degree symbol ° will appear as a popup option. On Android: Switch to the symbols keyboard (?123 or =\<), then press and hold the 0 key to select the degree symbol ° from the popup menu. You can also use the Google Keyboard's symbols page to find the degree symbol.
Does the Kelvin scale use the degree symbol °?
No, the Kelvin scale does not use the degree symbol. The correct notation is simply K (e.g., 273.15K, 0K). Unlike Celsius and Fahrenheit, Kelvin is an absolute thermodynamic temperature scale and is not measured in "degrees" — it is measured in "kelvins," so the degree symbol is omitted entirely from Kelvin temperature notation.
What is the Unicode codepoint for the degree symbol °?
The Unicode codepoint for the degree symbol ° is U+00B0. Its decimal HTML entity is ° and its hexadecimal entity is °. The degree symbol resides in the Latin-1 Supplement Unicode block and is universally supported across all modern fonts, operating systems, and web browsers.
Why does the degree symbol ° sometimes display as a question mark or blank box?
If the degree symbol ° displays as a question mark (?) or blank box, it typically indicates a font encoding or character encoding issue. This usually happens when: ① The document or webpage uses an encoding that doesn't support U+00B0 (ensure UTF-8 encoding is used); ② The selected font lacks the degree symbol glyph (try switching to a common font like Arial, Times New Roman, or system default); ③ The system's locale or keyboard layout is misconfigured. Using the HTML entity ° or ° ensures reliable rendering.