HTML Entity for Lowercase A Macron (ā)

Beginner
⏱️ 5 min read
📚 Updated: Jun 2026
🎯 1 Code Example
Unicode U+0101
HTML Entity for Lowercase A Macron tutorial illustration

What You'll Learn

How to display the lowercase a with macron (ā) in HTML using named entity, hexadecimal, decimal, and CSS escape methods. The macron indicates a long vowel and is used in Latin (e.g. ācer, māter), Hawaiian (e.g. lā), Māori, and linguistic notation. It is U+0101 in the Latin Extended-A block.

Render it with ā, ā, ā, or CSS escape \101. The named entity ā is often the most readable option in HTML source.

⚡ Quick Reference — Lowercase A Macron Entity

Unicode U+0101

Latin Extended-A

Hex Code ā

Hexadecimal reference

HTML Code ā

Decimal reference

Named Entity ā

Most readable option

Reference Table
Name           Value
────────────   ──────────
Unicode        U+0101
Hex code       ā
HTML code      ā
Named entity   ā
CSS code       \101
Meaning        Latin small letter a with macron
Block          Latin Extended-A (U+0100–U+017F)
1

Complete HTML Example

A simple example showing the lowercase a macron (ā) using hexadecimal code, decimal HTML code, the named entity, and a CSS content escape:

html
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
 <style>
  #point:after{
   content: "\101";
  }
 </style>
</head>
<body>
<p>Symbol (hex): &#x101;</p>
<p>Symbol (decimal): &#257;</p>
<p>Symbol (named): &amacr;</p>
<p id="point">Symbol (CSS): </p>
</body>
</html>
Try it Yourself

🌐 Browser Support

The lowercase a macron (ā) and the named entity &amacr; are supported in modern browsers:

Chrome1+
Firefox1+
Safari1+
Edge12+
Opera4+
Android4.4+
iOS Safari1+

👀 Live Preview

See the lowercase a macron (ā) in Latin, Hawaiian, and Māori contexts:

Large glyphā
Latinācer, māter
Hawaiianlā (day/sun)
Named entity&amacr; renders as ā
Numeric refs&#x101; &#257; &amacr; \101

🧠 How It Works

1

Hexadecimal Code

&#x101; uses the Unicode hexadecimal value 101 to display the character. The x prefix indicates hexadecimal format.

HTML markup
2

Decimal HTML Code

&#257; uses the decimal Unicode value 257 to display the same character. A common method for Latin Extended-A characters.

HTML markup
3

Named Entity

&amacr; is the standard named entity for ā—readable in source HTML and part of the HTML5 entity set.

HTML markup
4

CSS Entity

\101 is used in CSS stylesheets, particularly in the content property of pseudo-elements like ::before and ::after.

CSS stylesheet
=

Same visual result

All four methods produce the glyph: ā. Unicode U+0101 sits in Latin Extended-A. The macron marks a long vowel—do not confuse with plain a (U+0061).

✅

Use Cases

The lowercase a macron (ā) is commonly used in:

📝 Latin

Marking long vowels in Latin (e.g. ācer, māter). Correct vowel length matters for pronunciation and scansion.

🌺 Hawaiian & Māori

Used in Hawaiian (e.g. lā) and Māori. The macron indicates a long vowel and is required for correct spelling.

📝 Proper names

Names of people, places, and brands that include ā must display correctly for accessibility and SEO.

🔤 Linguistics

Phonetic transcriptions and linguistic notation use ā to represent a long open vowel.

📄 Publishing

Academic, educational, or editorial content in Latin, Hawaiian, Māori, or linguistics.

🎨 Typography

Headlines, logos, and styled text in Hawaiian or Latin requiring correct spelling.

🔍 Search & SEO

Correct rendering so users can find Hawaiian place names and Latin text with long vowels.

💡 Best Practices

Do

  • Use &amacr; in HTML when possible for readability
  • Serve pages as UTF-8; you can also type ā directly in UTF-8 source
  • Set lang attributes (e.g. lang="haw", lang="la") for correct pronunciation
  • Use fonts that support Latin Extended-A characters
  • Distinguish ā (macron) from plain a (U+0061)

Don’t

  • Substitute plain a when ā is required for correct spelling
  • Omit the macron in Hawaiian or Māori where vowel length changes meaning
  • Put CSS escape \101 in HTML text nodes
  • Assume all fonts render Latin Extended-A glyphs identically
  • Omit UTF-8 encoding on pages with accented characters

Key Takeaways

1

Four references render ā; named entity is most readable

&#x101; &#257; &amacr;
2

For CSS stylesheets, use the escape in the content property

\101
3

Unicode U+0101 — LATIN SMALL LETTER A WITH MACRON

4

Essential for Latin, Hawaiian, Māori, and linguistic notation

5

Previous: Lowercase A Latin Subscript (ₐ)   Next: Lowercase A Ogonek

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

Use &amacr; (named), &#x101; (hex), &#257; (decimal), or \101 in CSS content. The named entity &amacr; is the most readable for HTML content.
U+0101 (LATIN SMALL LETTER A WITH MACRON). Latin Extended-A block. Hex 101, decimal 257. Used in Latin, Hawaiian, Māori, and linguistic notation.
When writing Latin (long vowels), Hawaiian (e.g. lā), Māori, or other languages that use the macron for long vowels, plus phonetic and linguistic notation.
HTML code (&#257; or &#x101;) or the named entity &amacr; is used in HTML content. The CSS entity (\101) is used in CSS, e.g. in the content property of pseudo-elements. Both produce ā but in different contexts.
Yes. The named HTML entity is &amacr;. It is part of the standard HTML5 entity set and is well supported. You can also use &#257; or &#x101; for numeric references.

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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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