HTML Entity for Left Arrow Over Right Arrow (⇆)

Beginner
⏱️ 5 min read
📚 Updated: Jun 2026
🎯 1 Code Example
Unicode U+21C6

What You'll Learn

How to display the Left Arrow Over Right Arrow (⇆) in HTML using the named entity, hexadecimal, decimal, and CSS escape methods. This symbol is U+21C6 (LEFTWARDS ARROW OVER RIGHTWARDS ARROW) in the Arrows block (U+2190–U+21FF)—a left arrow stacked over a right arrow, commonly used for bidirectional navigation, swap/resize controls, and UI elements.

Render it with ⇆ (named), ⇆, ⇆, or CSS \21C6. Related: U+21C4 (⇄, right arrow over left / ⇄), U+2194 (↔, left right arrow / ↔).

⚡ Quick Reference — Left Arrow Over Right Arrow

Unicode U+21C6

Arrows block

Hex Code ⇆

Hexadecimal reference

HTML Code ⇆

Decimal reference

Named Entity ⇆

Most readable option

Reference Table
Name           Value
────────────   ──────────
Unicode        U+21C6
Hex code       ⇆
HTML code      ⇆
Named entity   ⇆
CSS code       \21C6
Meaning        Leftwards arrow over rightwards arrow
Related        U+21C4 = right arrow over left (⇄)
               U+2194 = left right arrow (↔)
1

Complete HTML Example

A simple example showing the Left Arrow Over Right Arrow (⇆) using the named entity, hexadecimal code, decimal HTML code, and a CSS content escape:

html
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
 <style>
  #point:after{
   content: "\21C6";
  }
 </style>
</head>
<body>
<p>Symbol using Hexadecimal: &#x21C6;</p>
<p>Symbol using HTML Code: &#8646;</p>
<p>Symbol using HTML Entity: &lrarr;</p>
<p id="point">Symbol using CSS Entity: </p>
</body>
</html>
Try it Yourself

🌐 Browser Support

The Left Arrow Over Right Arrow (⇆) renders in modern browsers when the font includes Arrows block glyphs:

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

👀 Live Preview

See the Left Arrow Over Right Arrow (⇆) in bidirectional and swap contexts:

Swap control ⇆ Swap
Bidirectional A ⇆ B
Resize toggle ⇆ Resize
Large glyph
Arrow comparison ⇆ ⇄ ↔ ←
Entity refs &lrarr; &#x21C6; &#8646; \21C6

🧠 How It Works

1

Named HTML Entity

&lrarr; is the named entity for the Left Arrow Over Right Arrow (leftwards arrow over rightwards arrow). It is easy to read in bidirectional and swap markup.

HTML markup
2

Hexadecimal Code

&#x21C6; uses the Unicode hexadecimal value 21C6. The x prefix indicates hexadecimal format.

HTML markup
3

Decimal HTML Code

&#8646; uses the decimal Unicode value 8646 for the same symbol.

HTML markup
4

CSS Entity

\21C6 is used in CSS stylesheets in the content property of pseudo-elements like ::after.

CSS stylesheet
=

Same visual result

All four methods produce . Unicode U+21C6 is in the Arrows block. Next: Left Arrow Plus Below.

Use Cases

The Left Arrow Over Right Arrow (⇆) is commonly used in:

🔄 Bidirectional nav

Two-way or swap-style controls in app headers, toolbars, and navigation.

⇄ Swap / resize

Indicate swap, resize, or toggle between left/right in UI and forms.

📄 Documentation

Document flow, bidirectional relations, or specification notation.

📊 Diagrams

Indicate two-way or reversible relation in process and state diagrams.

⌨ Shortcuts

Show shortcut hints for swap or bidirectional actions in help and UI.

🗃 Table controls

Swap columns, toggle order, or bidirectional sort in data tables.

💡 Best Practices

Do

  • Prefer &lrarr; in HTML for readability
  • Pair ⇆ with text (e.g., “Swap”) or aria-label for accessibility
  • Use fonts that support the Arrows block (U+21C6)
  • Set <meta charset="utf-8">
  • Keep one encoding style per project for consistency
  • Distinguish ⇆ from ↔ when meaning matters

Don’t

  • Confuse &lrarr; (U+21C6) with &harr; (U+2194)
  • Use CSS \21C6 inside HTML text nodes
  • Confuse ⇆ with ⇄ (right over left)
  • Rely on the symbol alone without context in critical UI
  • Mix named and numeric entities inconsistently in the same component

Key Takeaways

1

Four ways to render U+21C6 in web content

&lrarr; &#x21C6; &#8646;
2

For CSS, use \21C6 in the content property

3

Unicode U+21C6 — LEFTWARDS ARROW OVER RIGHTWARDS ARROW

4

Arrows block (U+2190–U+21FF)

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

Use &lrarr; (named), &#x21C6; (hex), &#8646; (decimal), or \21C6 in CSS content. All four methods render ⇆ correctly.
U+21C6 (LEFTWARDS ARROW OVER RIGHTWARDS ARROW). Arrows block (U+2190–U+21FF). Hex 21C6, decimal 8646. Used for bidirectional or swap-style navigation.
In bidirectional navigation, swap or resize controls, technical documentation, diagrams, and any UI that indicates left-over-right arrow or two-way direction.
Named and numeric HTML references (&lrarr;, &#8646;, &#x21C6;) go in markup. The CSS escape \21C6 is used in stylesheets, typically on ::before or ::after. Both produce ⇆.
Yes. &lrarr; is the named HTML entity for U+21C6. You can also use &#8646; (decimal), &#x21C6; (hex), or \21C6 in CSS. Do not confuse with &harr; (U+2194, left right arrow).

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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.

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