Lowercase a inverted breve (ȃ) is the Latin Extended-B character at Unicode U+0203 (LATIN SMALL LETTER A WITH INVERTED BREVE). It is the letter a with an inverted (upside-down) breve — used in Slavic linguistics and phonetic transcription.
Remember
Character ȃ
Unicode U+0203
Hex entity ȃ
Decimal ȃ
CSS escape \0203
Named entity (none)
Capital Ȃ (U+0202)
Hex, decimal, CSS, and a typed character all produce the same glyph: ȃ. Prefer ȃ in HTML source when you need an explicit entity.
Using Hex Code: ȃ
Using HTML Code: ȃ
Using CSS Entity: ȃ
Case pair: Ȃ / ȃ
How It Works
1. Hex:U+0203 → ȃ in HTML. The browser turns it into ȃ.
2. Decimal: same code point as 515 → ȃ. Same result as hex.
3. Named: HTML5 does not define a named entity for this character — use hex or decimal instead.
4. CSS: use \0203 in content (not an HTML entity). #point::after appends that ȃ after the paragraph text.
Pitfalls & Tips
Common mistakes when working with lowercase a inverted breve.
Named
No &…; shortcut
HTML5 has no named entity for U+0203. Use ȃ or ȃ.
Look-alikes
Not ă
Regular breve ă is ă (U+0103). Inverted breve ȃ is the upside-down form — a different code point.
Compose
Prefer precomposed
Use ȃ instead of a plus combining inverted breve when the precomposed form exists.
CSS vs HTML
Do not mix escapes
\0203 belongs in CSS. ȃ / ȃ belong in HTML. Prefer the padded CSS form so trailing digits are not misread.
Encoding
Declare UTF-8
If you type ȃ directly, keep <meta charset="UTF-8"> so the file is not misread.
Fonts
Check glyph coverage
Some fonts omit Latin Extended-B. Pick a font that includes U+0203 if the glyph is missing.
Compatibility
Browser Support
Lowercase a inverted breve (U+0203) and its entity forms (ȃ, ȃ, CSS \\0203) are supported in all modern browsers. Glyph display depends on font coverage.
✓ Universal encoding
Lowercase A Inverted Breve (ȃ)
Encode with hex, decimal, or CSS escape — or type ȃ 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+0203Full support
Bottom line: Prefer ȃ for readable HTML. Use \\0203 only inside CSS content.
Remember
Key Takeaways
Unicode: this character is U+0203 (decimal 515).
HTML: prefer ȃ — or use ȃ (no named entity).
CSS: use \0203 inside content for generated text.
Watch out:ȃ ≠ ă (ă) ≠ capital Ȃ (Ȃ).
One line:U+0203 → ȃ / ȃ / CSS \0203 (no named entity).
Frequently Asked Questions
Use ȃ (hex), ȃ (decimal), or the CSS escape \0203 in the content property. All render ȃ when the font supports Latin Extended-B. There is no named HTML entity.
U+0203 (LATIN SMALL LETTER A WITH INVERTED BREVE). Hex 203, decimal 515. It belongs to Latin Extended-B (U+0180–U+024F).
No. HTML5 does not define a named entity for U+0203. Use numeric references like ȃ or ȃ.
Use it for Slavic linguistics, phonetic transcription, language documentation, and specialized orthographies that need ȃ.
HTML entities (ȃ or ȃ) go in markup. The CSS escape \0203 is used in stylesheets (usually in the content property of ::before/::after). Both render ȃ.
No. Breve ă is ă (U+0103) — a cup-shaped mark. Inverted breve ȃ (U+0203) is the upside-down form of that mark — a different diacritic and code point.
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Did you know?
Lowercase a inverted breve is Unicode U+0203 (decimal 515) — LATIN SMALL LETTER A WITH INVERTED BREVE in Latin Extended-B. HTML5 has no named entity — use ȃ or ȃ. Capital is Ȃ (U+0202). Used in Slavic linguistics and phonetic transcription. Not the same as breve ă (ă).
