Single Left-Pointing Angle Quotation Mark ‹

‹ (U+2039) is a standard Unicode character that you can copy and paste anywhere text is accepted. This page provides a concise reference with safe tips, internal links, and practical guidance so you can use it reliably across apps and platforms.

What it is and where it’s used: Single Left-Pointing Angle Quotation Mark is part of the Symbols family (block: General Punctuation). If you need styled or decorative alternatives, try our Fancy Text tool to generate compatible text that works in most modern interfaces.

History & usage: The character U+2039, named SINGLE LEFT-POINTING ANGLE QUOTATION MARK, is a punctuation mark used to start quoted material in some languages. In history and practice, it marks a quote from the left side of a line or block. It is part of the general punctuation block and is used to structure text and convey tone. In many styles, this mark works with a corresponding right-pointing angle quote to enclose quoted text. It is common in editing and typography for languages that prefer angle quotes over straight or curved quotation marks. The symbol helps readers see where quoted material begins, especially in dense prose or lists. In writing and in code, brackets and quotes often delimit groups, parameters, or quoted text. The left angle quote can appear alone or paired with its counterpart to enclose phrases or blocks of code. Usage conventions differ by locale and style guide, so writers choose this mark to match the preferred quotation style. This mark is one tool among many to organize ideas, indicate speech, and distinguish quoted material clearly.

Copy and input: the quickest method is to copy the character here. You can also insert it by its codepoint U+2039 in many development tools or editors. Some operating systems provide a character viewer or input palette that lets you search by name or code and insert the glyph into documents.

Display and fallback: if you see an empty box (tofu) or a placeholder rectangle, the active font might not include this codepoint. Switching to a font with broader Unicode coverage or using a fallback font usually fixes the issue. On the web, ensure the page’s font stack includes a general‑purpose fallback.

Related references: browse the Categories for similar characters. When choosing a symbol, prefer the official codepoint for semantic clarity and better compatibility with search, copy, and accessibility tooling.

See our category page for related symbols.