Left arrow symbol ←

Copy the left arrow ← or choose a double, long, heavy, hooked or emoji version. Use them for back buttons, replies, "previous" links and assignment in pseudocode.

How to type it 49 symbols on this page

Left arrows24

Left-pointing triangles and arrowheads13

Curved, return and back arrows12

How to type ←

Copy and paste

Click to copy it, then paste with Ctrl + V (⌘ + V on a Mac) or a long press on phones.

Windows

Hold Alt and type 27 on the number pad (Num Lock on), then let go of Alt.

In Microsoft Word, type 2190 and press Alt + X.

Mac

Press Control + ⌘ + Space to open the Character Viewer, then search for “leftwards arrow”.

iPhone and Android

Copy it here and paste it. To type it again later, save it as a text replacement (iPhone: Settings › General › Keyboard › Text Replacement; Gboard: Settings › Dictionary › Personal dictionary).

HTML and CSS

Unicode U+2190. Every format is on the leftwards arrow page.

Codes for every left arrow symbol

SymbolNameUnicodeHTMLAlt code
leftwards arrow U+2190 ← Alt 27
leftwards black arrow U+2B05 ⬅ –
leftwards white arrow U+21E6 ⇦ –
leftwards double arrow U+21D0 ⇐ –
leftwards paired arrows U+21C7 ⇇ –
leftwards two headed arrow U+219E ↞ –
leftwards arrow to bar U+21E4 ⇤ –
leftwards dashed arrow U+21E0 ⇠ –
leftwards triangle-headed arrow U+2B60 ⭠ –
leftwards sans-serif arrow U+1F850 🡐 –
leftwards heavy arrow U+1F844 🡄 –
leftwards arrow with large triangle arrowhead U+1F808 🠈 –
leftwards arrow with equilateral arrowhead U+1F814 🠔 –
left arrow U+1F868 🡨 –
wide-headed leftwards medium barb arrow U+1F870 🡰 –
wide-headed leftwards very heavy barb arrow U+1F880 🢀 –
leftwards arrow from bar U+21A4 ↤ –
leftwards triple arrow U+21DA ⇚ –
long leftwards arrow U+27F5 ⟵ –
long leftwards double arrow U+27F8 ⟸ –
leftwards arrow with tail U+21A2 ↢ –
leftwards harpoon with barb upwards U+21BC ↼ –
leftwards harpoon with barb downwards U+21BD ↽ –
leftwards arrow with dotted stem U+2B38 ⬸ –
black left-pointing triangle U+25C0 ◀ –
white left-pointing triangle U+25C1 ◁ –
black left-pointing small triangle U+25C2 ◂ –
white left-pointing small triangle U+25C3 ◃ –
black left-pointing pointer U+25C4 ◄ Alt 17
white left-pointing pointer U+25C5 ◅ –
black medium left-pointing triangle U+23F4 ⏴ –
black leftwards equilateral arrowhead U+2B9C ⮜ –
black left-pointing double triangle U+23EA ⏪ –
black left-pointing double triangle with vertical bar U+23EE ⏮ –
modifier left arrowhead U+02C2 ˂ –
single left-pointing angle quotation mark U+2039 ‹ Alt 0139
left-pointing double angle quotation mark U+00AB « Alt 174
leftwards arrow with hook U+21A9 ↩ –
anticlockwise top semicircle arrow U+21B6 ↶ –
leftwards arrow with loop U+21AB ↫ –
leftwards squiggle arrow U+21DC ⇜ –
leftwards arrow with tip upwards U+2B11 ⬑ –
upwards arrow with tip leftwards U+21B0 ↰ –
downwards arrow with tip leftwards U+21B2 ↲ –
downwards arrow with corner leftwards U+21B5 ↵ –
back with leftwards arrow above U+1F519 🔙 –
erase to the left U+232B ⌫ –
white left pointing backhand index U+1F448 👈 –
white left pointing index U+261C ☜ –

What the left arrow means

The left arrow ← (officially leftwards arrow, U+2190) usually means "back" or "previous": the back button in an app, "← older posts" on a blog, or undoing a step. The hooked ↩︎ is the classic "reply" or "return" arrow, and 🔙 is the emoji version of a back sign.

In pseudocode and some programming languages, ← means assignment: x ← x + 1 reads "x becomes x + 1". APL uses ← this way, while R spells it with two plain characters, <-. In logic, ⇐ means "is implied by", the mirror image of ⇒. On keyboards, ⇤ and ⇥ appear on the Tab key, and ⌫ is the Mac Delete key.

Left arrows vs angle brackets

Several characters look like a left-pointing arrowhead but are not arrows. ‹ and « are quotation marks (guillemets) used in French, Russian and other languages. < is the less-than sign, which has its own page: the less than symbol. ◀︎ ◄ and ◂ are triangles, often used for "previous" in media players.

Pick the arrow by style: ← for plain text, ⟵ when you want a longer arrow, ⇐ for logic, ⬅︎ for something bold that may become a color emoji, and ⭠ or 🡐 for a clean geometric look. For the other direction, see the right arrow symbol.

How to type ←

On Windows, hold Alt and type 27 on the number pad to get ←, or Alt + 17 for ◄. On a Mac, open the Character Viewer with Control + Command + Space and search "left arrow". On phones, search "left" or "back" in the emoji keyboard.

In Microsoft Word, AutoCorrect turns <-- into ←, or type 2190 and press Alt + X. In HTML, use &larr; for ← or &lArr; for ⇐. In LaTeX, use \leftarrow (or \gets), \Leftarrow and \longleftarrow.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Alt code for the left arrow?

Hold Alt and type 27 on the number pad to get ←. Alt + 17 gives the left-pointing pointer ◄.

What does ⇐ mean in math?

⇐ means "is implied by". A ⇐ B says that B implies A, the reverse of A ⇒ B.

Which left arrow should I use for a back button?

A plain ← or the hooked ↩︎ reads clearly as "back" in text. For a bolder button look, use ◀︎ or the 🔙 emoji.