HTML Entity for Down Harpoon With Barb Left (⇃)

Beginner

5 min read

Updated: Sep 2026

1 example

Unicode U+21C3

HTML Entity for down harpoon with barb left (U+21C3) tutorial illustration

Definition

What Is Down Harpoon With Barb Left?

Down harpoon with barb left (⇃) is the Unicode character at U+21C3 in the Arrows block. Official name: DOWNWARDS HARPOON WITH BARB LEFTWARDS. It is a single down harpoon with the barb on the left — useful in math and science notation.

Remember

Character     ⇃
Unicode       U+21C3
Named entity  &dharl;
Hex entity    &#x21C3;
Decimal       &#8643;
CSS escape    \21C3
Not the same  ⇂ (&dharr;) · ↓ (&darr;) · ⥯ (&duhar;)

Prefer &dharl; in HTML markup (also aliased as &downharpoonleft; / &LeftDownVector;). You can also type ⇃ in UTF-8, or use numeric forms when needed.

Reference

Quick Reference

One table for every form you will actually use.

Form	Code	Where it goes
Named entity	`&dharl;`	HTML markup (preferred)
Alias names	`&downharpoonleft;` / `&LeftDownVector;`	HTML markup (same glyph)
Direct character	`⇃`	HTML text (UTF-8)
Hex entity	`⇃`	HTML markup
Decimal entity	`⇃`	HTML markup
CSS escape	`\21C3`	Stylesheet `content`
Barb right (related)	`&dharr;` (⇂, U+21C2)	Down harpoon, barb right

When to Use Which

Situation	Use
Down harpoon, barb left	`&dharl;` or type `⇃`
Down harpoon, barb right	`&dharr;`
Up harpoon, barb left	`&upharpoonleft;`
Paired down/up harpoons	`&duhar;`
Generated text via `::before` / `::after`	`content: "\21C3"`

See it

Live Preview

Down harpoon with barb left rendered alone, in notation, and compared with related marks.

Glyph ⇃

Large glyph ⇃

Notation A ⇃ B

Compared ⇃ ⇂ ↿ ↓ ⥯

With entities Named: ⇃ | Hex: ⇃ | Decimal: ⇃

Code

Complete HTML Example

One page that shows Down Harpoon With Barb Left with named, hex, decimal, CSS escape, and a typed character. Use View Output or open the live editor.

Named + Hex + Decimal + CSS + Typed

Five ways to display ⇃ in HTML and CSS.

html

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="UTF-8">
  <title>Down Harpoon With Barb Left (U+21C3) in HTML</title>
  <style>
    #point::after {
      content: "\21C3";
    }
  </style>
</head>
<body>
  <p>Built with Named: &dharl;</p>
  <p>Built with Hex: &#x21C3;</p>
  <p>Built with Decimal: &#8643;</p>
  <p id="point">Built with CSS: </p>
  <p>Typed: ⇃</p>
  <p>Label: Force &dharl;</p>
</body>
</html>

Try It Yourself

How It Works

1. Named: &dharl; is the preferred short HTML5 name for U+21C3 → ⇃ (aliases: &downharpoonleft;, &LeftDownVector;).

2. Hex / decimal: ⇃ and ⇃ insert the same code point.

3. CSS: use \21C3 in content (not an HTML entity). #point::after appends ⇃.

4. Typed: paste ⇃ in a UTF-8 document, or pair it with a label like Force &dharl;.

Pitfalls & Tips

Common mistakes when working with Down Harpoon With Barb Left.

Barb

Not &dharr;

&dharr; / &downharpoonright; is barb right (U+21C2). &dharl; is barb left (U+21C3).

↓

Not ↓

↓ is the plain down arrow (U+2193). A harpoon has a one-sided barb.

Pair

Not a paired glyph

&duhar; is one combined down/up harpoon character. U+21C3 is a single down harpoon.

CSS vs HTML

Do not mix escapes

\21C3 belongs in CSS strings. &dharl; / ⇃ belong in HTML.

Fonts

Arrow font coverage

Some fonts omit harpoon glyphs. Prefer a font with solid Arrows-block coverage.

a11y

Add accessible text

A lone harpoon can be unclear to screen readers. Pair it with visible text or an aria-label.

Semicolon

End references

Always finish entities with ; — write &dharl;, not &dharl.

Compatibility

Browser Support

Down harpoon with barb left (U+21C3) and its entity forms (&dharl;, ⇃, ⇃, CSS \\21C3) are supported in all mainstream browsers. Visible glyphs depend on Arrows-block font coverage.

✓ Universal support

Down Harpoon With Barb Left (⇃)

Encode with named, hex, decimal, CSS escape, or type the character — same code point everywhere encoding is supported.

100% Browser coverage

Google Chrome Supported

Yes

Microsoft Edge Supported

Yes

Mozilla Firefox Supported

Yes

Apple Safari Supported

Yes

Opera Supported

Yes

Internet Explorer All versions

Yes

U+21C3 / &dharl; Full support

Bottom line: Prefer &dharl; or &downharpoonleft; in HTML. Use ⇃ / ⇃ when numeric form is required, and \\21C3 only inside CSS content.

Remember

Key Takeaways

Unicode: down harpoon barb left is U+21C3 (decimal 8643) — glyph ⇃.
HTML: prefer &dharl; (aliases &downharpoonleft; / &LeftDownVector;).
CSS: use \21C3 inside content for generated text.
Barb: &dharl; (left) ≠ &dharr; (right).

One line: U+21C3 → &dharl; / ⇃ / CSS \21C3.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I display ⇃ in HTML?

Use &dharl; (named), ⇃ (hex), ⇃ (decimal), type ⇃ directly in UTF-8, or the CSS escape \21C3 in content. Prefer &dharl; or &downharpoonleft; in normal HTML.

What is the Unicode value for this mark?

U+21C3 (DOWNWARDS HARPOON WITH BARB LEFT). Hex 21C3, decimal 8643. It belongs to the Arrows block (U+2190–U+21FF).

Is there a named HTML entity for U+21C3?

Yes. Use &dharl;, &downharpoonleft;, or &LeftDownVector;. Numeric forms ⇃ and ⇃ also work. Barb-right uses &dharr; / &downharpoonright; (U+21C2).

When should I use U+21C3?

Use it for a single down harpoon with the barb on the left in math or science notation. Prefer &dharr; for barb right, and &duhar; for a paired down/up harpoon glyph.

What is the difference between HTML code and CSS entity for U+21C3?

HTML entities (&dharl;, ⇃, or ⇃) go in markup. The CSS escape \21C3 goes in stylesheet strings (usually content on ::before/::after).

Is &dharl; the same as &dharr; or ↓?

No. &dharl; is ⇃ (U+21C3, barb left). &dharr; is ⇂ (U+21C2, barb right). ↓ is ↓ (U+2193), a plain down arrow.

Did you know?

Down harpoon with barb left is Unicode U+21C3 (decimal 8643) — glyph ⇃ (DOWNWARDS HARPOON WITH BARB LEFT) in the Arrows block. HTML5 names it &dharl; (also &downharpoonleft; / &LeftDownVector;). Barb-right sibling is &dharr; (⇂). Plain down is ↓ (↓).

Next: Down Harpoons Beside Each Other

Learn the HTML entity for down harpoon left beside down harpoon right.

Next harpoon tutorial →

About the author

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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