Left Single Quotation Mark (‘) is the General Punctuation character at Unicode U+2018 (LEFT SINGLE QUOTATION MARK). It is the opening (curly) single quote used in proper typography.
Remember
Character ‘
Unicode U+2018
Hex entity ‘
Decimal ‘
Named entity ‘
CSS escape \2018
Not the same ' (U+0027) · ’ (’) · “ (“)
All of these produce the same glyph: ‘. Prefer ‘ when you want an explicit entity. Pair with ’ to close the quote.
Reference
Quick Reference
One table for every form you will actually use.
Form
Code
Where it goes
Named entity
‘
HTML markup (best entity default)
Hex entity
‘
HTML markup
Decimal entity
‘
HTML markup
CSS escape
\2018
Stylesheet content
Direct character
‘
UTF-8 HTML text
When to Use Which
Situation
Use
Readable HTML entity source
‘
Need a numeric entity
‘ or ‘
Generated text via ::before / ::after
content: "\2018"
Closing single quote
Use ’ (U+2019)
Opening double quote
Use “ (U+201C)
See it
Live Preview
Left Single Quotation Mark in common typography contexts.
Label snippet‘Hello’
Large glyph‘
Named entity‘ → ‘
vs ' / ’‘ | ' | ’
With entitiesHex: ‘ | Decimal: ‘ | Named: ‘
Code
Complete HTML Example
One page that shows this symbol 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 (paired with ’ in samples).
Using Hex Code: ‘Hello’
Using HTML Code: ‘Hello’
Using Named Entity: ‘Hello’
Using CSS Entity: ‘
‘Hello’
How It Works
1. Hex:U+2018 → ‘ in HTML. The browser turns it into ‘.
2. Decimal: same code point as 8216 → ‘. Same result as hex.
3. Named:‘ is the HTML5 name for this character. Closing quotes use ’.
4. CSS: use \2018 in content (not an HTML entity). #point::after appends that ‘ after the paragraph text.
Pitfalls & Tips
Common mistakes when working with Left Single Quotation Mark.
Look-alikes
‘ ≠ ' ≠ ’
‘ opens a curly single quote. The ASCII ' is straight. ’ closes the curly pair.
Pairing
Open with ‘
Close with ’. Mixing left and right marks looks wrong in polished typography.
Apostrophe
Contractions use ’
Words like don’t typically use the right single quote, not ‘.
CSS vs HTML
Do not mix escapes
\2018 belongs in CSS. ‘ / ‘ / ‘ belong in HTML.
A11y
Quotes are usually fine alone
Screen readers treat curly quotes as punctuation. Prefer real quote characters over decorative substitutes.
Semicolon
End references
Always finish with ; — write ‘, not &lsquo.
Compatibility
Browser Support
Left Single Quotation Mark (U+2018) and its entity forms (‘, ‘, ‘, CSS \\2018) are supported in all modern browsers. Glyph coverage depends on the font.
✓ Universal encoding
Left Single Quotation Mark (‘)
Encode with named, hex, decimal, or CSS escape — or type ‘ directly in UTF-8 HTML.
100%Browser coverage
Google ChromeSupported
Yes
Microsoft EdgeSupported
Yes
Mozilla FirefoxSupported
Yes
Apple SafariSupported
Yes
OperaSupported
Yes
Internet ExplorerIE 9+
Yes*
U+2018 / ‘Full support
Bottom line: Prefer ‘ for readable HTML. Use \\2018 only inside CSS content.
Use ‘ (named), ‘ (hex), ‘ (decimal), or the CSS escape \2018 in the content property. You can also type ‘ directly in UTF-8 HTML.
U+2018 (LEFT SINGLE QUOTATION MARK). Hex 2018, decimal 8216. It belongs to General Punctuation (U+2000–U+206F).
Yes. ‘ is the HTML5 named entity. You can also use ‘ or ‘.
Use it as the opening curly single quote in typography, dialogue, nested quotes, and proper English punctuation. Pair it with ’ for the closing mark. Prefer ‘ for readable HTML.
HTML entities (‘, ‘, or ‘) go in markup. The CSS escape \2018 is used in stylesheets (usually in the content property of ::before/::after). Both render ‘.
The ASCII apostrophe ' (U+0027 / ') is straight. ’ (U+2019) is the right (closing) curly single quote. ‘ (U+2018) is the left (opening) curly single quote.
🤔
Did you know?
Left Single Quotation Mark is Unicode U+2018 (decimal 8216) — LEFT SINGLE QUOTATION MARK. HTML5 provides ‘. Prefer it for readable source. Do not confuse it with the ASCII apostrophe ' / ' (U+0027) or the right form ’ (U+2019).
