HTML Entity for Broken Vertical Bar (¦)

Beginner
⏱️ 5 min read
📚 Updated: Jun 2026
🎯 1 Code Example
Unicode U+00A6
HTML Entity for Broken Vertical Bar symbol tutorial illustration

What You'll Learn

How to display the Broken Vertical Bar (¦) in HTML using various entity methods. This character is U+00A6 in the Latin-1 Supplement block (U+0080–U+00FF), approved in Unicode 1.1 (1993). Unicode officially names it BROKEN BAR (formerly “broken vertical bar”)—a vertical line with a gap in the middle, also known as a parted rule in typography.

It was originally intended as an alternate representation of the pipe character (|, U+007C) in legacy computing environments. You can render it with a hexadecimal reference, a decimal reference, the named entity ¦, or a CSS escape in the content property. All four methods are widely supported in modern browsers.

⚡ Quick Reference — Broken Vertical Bar

Unicode U+00A6

Latin-1 Supplement block

Hex Code ¦

Hexadecimal reference

HTML Code ¦

Decimal reference

Named Entity ¦

Most readable option

Reference Table
Name           Value
────────────   ──────────
Unicode        U+00A6
Hex code       ¦
HTML code      ¦
Named entity   ¦
CSS code       \A6
1

Complete HTML Example

This example demonstrates the Broken Vertical Bar (¦) using hexadecimal code, decimal HTML code, the named entity, and a CSS content escape on a pseudo-element:

html
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
 <style>
  #point:after{
   content: "\A6";
  }
 </style>
</head>
<body>
<p>Broken Vertical Bar using Hexa Decimal: &#xa6;</p>
<p>Broken Vertical Bar using HTML Code: &#166;</p>
<p>Broken Vertical Bar using HTML Entity: &brvbar;</p>
<p id="point">Broken Vertical Bar using CSS Entity: </p>
</body>
</html>
Try it Yourself

🌐 Browser Support

The Broken Vertical Bar entity is universally supported in all modern browsers:

Chrome 1+
Firefox 1+
Safari 1+
Edge 12+
Opera 4+
Android 4.4+
iOS Safari 1+

👀 Live Preview

See the Broken Vertical Bar rendered live in different contexts:

Inline divider Section A ¦ Section B ¦ Section C
Large glyph ¦
Pipe vs broken bar Solid pipe: |   Broken bar: ¦
Parted rule Typography divider ¦ parted rule example
Monospace refs &#xa6; &#166; &brvbar; \A6

🧠 How It Works

1

Hexadecimal Code

&#xa6; uses the Unicode hexadecimal value A6 to display the Broken Vertical Bar. The x prefix indicates hexadecimal format.

HTML markup
2

Decimal HTML Code

&#166; uses the decimal Unicode value 166 to display the same character. This is commonly used for Latin-1 Supplement characters.

HTML markup
3

Named HTML Entity

&brvbar; is the semantic named entity—brvbar stands for “broken vertical bar” and is the most readable option in source HTML.

HTML markup
4

CSS Entity

\A6 is used in CSS stylesheets, particularly in the content property of pseudo-elements like ::before and ::after.

CSS stylesheet
=

Same visual result

All four methods produce the Broken Vertical Bar glyph: ¦. Unicode U+00A6 sits in the Latin-1 Supplement block (U+0080–U+00FF). The solid vertical bar (pipe) is U+007C (|).

✅

Use Cases

The Broken Vertical Bar (¦) commonly appears in the following scenarios:

✏ Typography

Parted rules in typesetting, decorative dividers, and layout elements.

📄 Technical writing

Manuals, specifications, and formatted documentation with visual separators.

💻 Legacy encoding docs

ISO-8859-1, Windows-1252, and character-set reference material.

🎨 Design elements

Decorative separators, list dividers, and visual breaks in UI copy.

📐 Mathematical notation

Contexts where a broken vertical bar is used as a distinct symbol.

📝 Content separators

Inline dividers between columns, labels, or metadata fields.

♿ Accessibility

Provide aria-label or visible text when ¦ conveys meaning (e.g. “broken bar” or “parted rule”).

💡 Best Practices

Do

  • Use &brvbar; for readable source markup
  • Use the solid pipe | (U+007C) for programming operators and shell syntax
  • Pick one style (hex / decimal / named) per project
  • Add aria-label when ¦ is a meaningful separator
  • Declare <meta charset="utf-8"> for reliable Latin-1 rendering

Don’t

  • Substitute ¦ for | in code samples or CLI documentation
  • Mix entity styles randomly in one file
  • Use CSS escape \A6 inside HTML text nodes
  • Confuse ¦ (broken bar) with | (solid vertical line / pipe)
  • Assume decorative separators need no accessible label in UI contexts

Key Takeaways

1

Three HTML references all render ¦

&#xa6; &#166; &brvbar;
2

For CSS stylesheets, use the escape in the content property

\A6
3

Unicode U+00A6 belongs to the Latin-1 Supplement block (U+0080–U+00FF)

4

Prefer &brvbar; for readability in HTML source

5

Use | (U+007C) for pipes in code; ¦ is for typography and parted rules

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

Use &#xa6; (hex), &#166; (decimal), &brvbar; (named), or \A6 in CSS content. All produce ¦.
U+00A6 (hex A6, decimal 166). Latin-1 Supplement block. Officially named BROKEN BAR—a vertical line with a gap, also called a parted rule.
For typography, parted rules, technical writing, decorative dividers, and legacy character-set documentation. For programming pipe syntax, use the solid vertical bar | (U+007C) instead.
HTML entities (&#166;, &#xa6;, or &brvbar;) go directly in markup. The CSS escape \A6 is used in stylesheets, typically in the content property of ::before or ::after. Same visual result, different layers of the stack.
Yes. &brvbar; is the named HTML entity for ¦. You can also use &#166; (decimal) or &#xa6; (hex).

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About the author

Mari Selvan M P
Mari Selvan M P 🔗

Developer, cloud engineer, and technical writer

  • Experience 12 years building web and cloud systems
  • Focus Full Stack Development, AWS, and Developer Education

I write practical tutorials so students and working developers can learn by doing—from databases and APIs to deployment on AWS.

AWS Certified Developer – Associate (Credly)

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