HTML Entity for Left Brace ({)

Beginner
⏱️ 5 min read
📚 Updated: Jun 2026
🎯 1 Code Example
Unicode U+007B
HTML entity for Left Brace (U+007B) — named {, hex, decimal, and CSS tutorial

What You'll Learn

How to display the Left Brace ({) in HTML using the named entity, hexadecimal, decimal, and CSS escape methods. This symbol is U+007B (LEFT CURLY BRACKET) in the Basic Latin block (U+0000–U+007F)—the opening curly brace used in code snippets, programming documentation, mathematical set notation, and JSON examples.

Render it with { (named), {, {, or CSS \7B. Related: U+007D (}, right brace / }), U+005B ([, left square bracket).

⚡ Quick Reference — Left Brace

Unicode U+007B

Basic Latin (ASCII)

Hex Code {

Hexadecimal reference

HTML Code {

Decimal reference

Named Entity {

Most readable option

Reference Table
Name           Value
────────────   ──────────
Unicode        U+007B
Hex code       {
HTML code      {
Named entity   {
CSS code       \7B
Meaning        Left curly bracket (opening brace)
Related        U+007D = right brace (})
               U+005B = left bracket ([)
1

Complete HTML Example

A simple example showing the Left Brace ({) using the named entity, hexadecimal code, decimal HTML code, and a CSS content escape:

html
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
 <style>
  #point:after{
   content: "\7B";
  }
 </style>
</head>
<body>
<p>Symbol using Hexadecimal: &#x7B;</p>
<p>Symbol using HTML Code: &#123;</p>
<p>Symbol using HTML Entity: &lbrace;</p>
<p id="point">Symbol using CSS Entity: </p>
</body>
</html>
Try it Yourself

🌐 Browser Support

The Left Brace ({) is part of Basic Latin and renders in all modern browsers:

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

👀 Live Preview

See the Left Brace ({) in code, math, and JSON contexts:

JSON object { "name": "value" }
Set notation { x : x > 0 }
Code block function() { ... }
Large glyph {
Bracket pair { } [ ]
Entity refs &lbrace; &#x7B; &#123; \7B

🧠 How It Works

1

Named HTML Entity

&lbrace; is the named entity for the Left Brace (left curly bracket). It is easy to read in code and documentation markup.

HTML markup
2

Hexadecimal Code

&#x7B; uses the Unicode hexadecimal value 7B. The x prefix indicates hexadecimal format.

HTML markup
3

Decimal HTML Code

&#123; uses the decimal Unicode value 123 for the same symbol.

HTML markup
4

CSS Entity

\7B 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+007B is in Basic Latin. Previous: Left Barb Up Right Barb Up Harpoon.

✅

Use Cases

The Left Brace ({) is commonly used in:

💻 Code snippets

Display literal { in programming tutorials, API docs, and code examples.

🔢 Math notation

Set notation, e.g. { x : x > 0 }, in math content and equations.

📄 JSON examples

Show JSON syntax, object literals, or template examples in documentation.

🗃 Structured text

Lists, blocks, or formatted text that use braces as delimiters.

⌨ Templates

Escape { in template or config examples so it is not interpreted as syntax.

🛠 API docs

Document placeholder syntax or object schemas that include opening braces.

💡 Best Practices

Do

  • Prefer &lbrace; in HTML for readability
  • Use <pre> and <code> for multi-line code samples with braces
  • Escape { in template engines (EJS, Handlebars) when showing literal syntax
  • Set <meta charset="utf-8">
  • Keep one encoding style per project for consistency
  • Pair with &rbrace; (}) when showing balanced brace pairs

Don’t

  • Confuse &lbrace; (U+007B) with &lbrack; (U+005B, left square bracket)
  • Confuse &lbrace; with &lpar; (U+0028, left parenthesis)
  • Use CSS \7B inside HTML text nodes
  • Leave raw { in templates where it may be parsed as template syntax
  • Mix named and numeric entities inconsistently in the same component

Key Takeaways

1

Four ways to render U+007B in web content

&lbrace; &#x7B; &#123;
2

For CSS, use \7B in the content property

3

Unicode U+007B — LEFT CURLY BRACKET

4

Basic Latin block (U+0000–U+007F) — ASCII punctuation

5

Previous: Left Barb Up Right Barb Up Harpoon (⥎)   Next: Left Bracket

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

Use &lbrace; (named), &#x7B; (hex), &#123; (decimal), or \7B in CSS content. All four methods render { correctly.
U+007B (LEFT CURLY BRACKET). Basic Latin block (U+0000–U+007F). Hex 7B, decimal 123. The opening curly brace used in code and math.
In code snippets, programming documentation, mathematical set notation, JSON and data-structure examples, and any content that requires a literal left curly bracket.
Named and numeric HTML references (&lbrace;, &#123;, &#x7B;) go in markup. The CSS escape \7B is used in stylesheets, typically on ::before or ::after. Both produce {.
Yes. &lbrace; is the named HTML entity for U+007B. You can also use &#123; (decimal), &#x7B; (hex), or \7B in CSS.

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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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