HTML Entity for Inverted Question Mark (¿)

Beginner

6 min read

Updated: Sep 2026

1 example

Unicode U+00BF

HTML Entity for Inverted Question Mark (¿) tutorial illustration

Definition

What Is the Inverted Question Mark Entity?

Inverted Question Mark (¿) is the Latin-1 Supplement character at Unicode U+00BF (INVERTED QUESTION MARK). It opens questions in Spanish and related languages (e.g. ¿Qué tal?).

Remember

Character     ¿
Unicode       U+00BF
Hex entity    &#x00BF;
Decimal       &#191;
Named entity  &iquest;
CSS escape    \00BF

All of these produce the same glyph: ¿. Prefer ¿ in HTML source for clarity; use hex/decimal when generating entities, and CSS \00BF only in content.

Reference

Quick Reference

One table for every form you will actually use.

Form	Code	Where it goes
Named entity	`¿`	HTML markup (best default)
Hex entity	`¿`	HTML markup
Decimal entity	`¿`	HTML markup
CSS escape	`\00BF`	Stylesheet `content`
Direct character	`¿`	UTF-8 HTML text

When to Use Which

Situation	Use
Readable Spanish HTML source	`¿`
Need a numeric entity in HTML	`¿` or `¿`
Generated text via `::before` / `::after`	`content: "\00BF"`
UTF-8 page, typing is easy	Type `¿` directly
Spanish exclamation (not question)	Use Inverted Exclamation Mark (`¡`)

See it

Live Preview

Inverted Question Mark in common Spanish contexts.

Greeting ¿Qué tal?

Large glyph ¿

Phrase ¿Cómo estás?

Named entity ¿ → ¿

With entities Hex: ¿ | Decimal: ¿ | Named: ¿

Code

Complete HTML Example

One page that shows Inverted Question Mark with hex, decimal, named, and CSS. Use View Output or open the live editor.

Hex + Decimal + Named + CSS

All four ways to produce ¿ in a single document.

html

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="UTF-8">
  <title>Inverted Question Mark (¿) in HTML</title>
  <style>
    #point::after {
      content: "\00BF";
    }
  </style>
</head>
<body>
  <p>Using Hex Code: &#x00BF;</p>
  <p>Using HTML Code: &#191;</p>
  <p>Using Named Entity: &iquest;</p>
  <p id="point">Using CSS Entity: </p>
  <p>Spanish: &iquest;Qué tal?</p>
</body>
</html>

Try It Yourself

How It Works

1. Hex: U+00BF → ¿ in HTML. The browser turns it into ¿.

2. Decimal: same code point as 191 → ¿. Same result as hex.

3. Named: ¿ is the HTML5 name for this character — easiest to read in source.

4. CSS: use \00BF in content (not an HTML entity). #point::after appends that ¿ after the paragraph text.

5. Spanish: open with ¿ and close with ? — e.g. ¿Qué tal? → ¿Qué tal?.

Pitfalls & Tips

Common mistakes when working with the Inverted Question Mark.

Named

Prefer ¿

Named form is clearer than numeric codes in hand-written HTML.

Spanish

Pair with ?

Open with ¿ and close with ? — e.g. ¿Qué tal?.

CSS vs HTML

Do not mix escapes

\00BF belongs in CSS. ¿ / ¿ / ¿ belong in HTML.

Look-alikes

Not ? or ¡

? is the closing mark. ¡ (¡) opens exclamations — a different character.

Semicolon

End references

Always finish with ; — write ¿, not &iquest.

Default

Type ¿ when you can

On UTF-8 pages you may type ¿ directly; entities help when encoding must be explicit.

Compatibility

Browser Support

Inverted Question Mark (U+00BF) and its entity forms (¿, ¿, ¿, CSS \\00BF) are supported in all mainstream browsers.

✓ Universal support

Inverted Question Mark (¿)

Use ¿, or encode with hex, decimal, or CSS escape — same glyph everywhere.

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+00BF / entities Full support

Bottom line: Prefer ¿ in HTML for readability. Use ¿ or ¿ when encoding must be numeric, and \\00BF only inside CSS content.

Remember

Key Takeaways

Unicode: inverted question mark is U+00BF (decimal 191).
HTML: prefer ¿, or use ¿ / ¿.
CSS: use \00BF inside content for generated text.
Spanish: open with ¿ and close with ?.

One line: U+00BF → ¿ / ¿ / ¿ / CSS \00BF.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I display the Inverted Question Mark (¿) in HTML using entities?

Use ¿ (named), ¿ (hex), ¿ (decimal), or the CSS escape \00BF in the content property. All render ¿.

What is the Unicode value for Inverted Question Mark?

U+00BF (INVERTED QUESTION MARK). Hex 00BF, decimal 191. It belongs to the Latin-1 Supplement block.

Is there a named HTML entity for ¿?

Yes. ¿ is the named HTML5 entity for ¿ and is supported in all modern browsers.

When should I use the Inverted Question Mark HTML entity?

Use it to open questions in Spanish and related languages (e.g. ¿Qué tal?). Prefer ¿ for readable source; pair with a closing ? at the end of the phrase.

What is the difference between HTML code and CSS entity for ¿?

HTML entities (¿, ¿, or ¿) go in markup. The CSS escape \00BF is used in stylesheets (usually in the content property of ::before/::after). Both render ¿.

How is ¿ different from ? or ¡?

? (U+003F) is the regular closing question mark. ¡ (U+00A1, ¡) is the inverted exclamation mark. ¿ opens questions; ? closes them.

Did you know?

Inverted Question Mark is Unicode U+00BF (decimal 191). HTML5 provides the named entity ¿ — prefer it for readable Spanish punctuation, or use ¿ / ¿. Pair ¿ with closing ? (e.g. ¿Qué tal?).

Next: Inverted S

Learn the HTML entity for Inverted S — next in this sequence.

Inverted S 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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