Left Tortoise Shell Bracket 〔

〔 (U+3014) 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: Left Tortoise Shell Bracket is part of the Symbols family (block: CJK Symbols and 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 LEFT TORTOISE SHELL BRACKET is a punctuation mark used to delimit groups, parameters, or quoted text in writing and code. It belongs to the CJK Symbols and Punctuation block and uses the code point U+3014. In history, these brackets appeared in East Asian typography and in modern computing to frame lists and instructions. They pair with a right counterpart to enclose content. In many languages, they help readers see where a section begins and ends. In programming, they can enclose parameters or arguments in certain syntaxes and mark the start of a quoted block. In plain text, they serve as visual anchors for quoted material or structured lines. They support nesting and emphasis when needed, and they work alongside other bracket forms to organize ideas clearly. The left bracket, like its right partner, contributes to readable layout and consistent meaning across fonts and platforms. They are encoded for reliable rendering in digital documents and software, helping users interpret blocks, groups, and quoted passages with less ambiguity.

Copy and input: the quickest method is to copy the character here. You can also insert it by its codepoint U+3014 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.