HTML Entity for Lowercase B Tone Six (ƅ)

Beginner
⏱️ 5 min read
📚 Updated: Jun 2026
🎯 1 Code Example
Unicode U+0185
HTML Entity for Lowercase B Tone Six tutorial illustration

What You'll Learn

How to display the lowercase b tone six (ƅ) in HTML using hexadecimal, decimal, and CSS escape methods. This character is the Latin small letter tone six, historically used in the Zhuang and Bouyei alphabets (1957–1986) to indicate the sixth tone with mid-level pitch. It is U+0185 in the Latin Extended-B block.

Render it with ƅ, ƅ, or CSS escape \0185. There is no named HTML entity for this character, so numeric codes or CSS must be used.

⚡ Quick Reference — Lowercase B Tone Six Entity

Unicode U+0185

Latin Extended-B

Hex Code ƅ

Hexadecimal reference

HTML Code ƅ

Decimal reference

Named Entity —

No named entity

Reference Table
Name           Value
────────────   ──────────
Unicode        U+0185
Hex code       ƅ
HTML code      ƅ
Named entity   (none)
CSS code       \0185
Meaning        Latin small letter tone six
Historical use Zhuang & Bouyei (6th tone, 1957–1986)
Block          Latin Extended-B (U+0180–U+024F)
1

Complete HTML Example

A simple example showing the lowercase b tone six (ƅ) using hexadecimal code, decimal HTML code, and a CSS content escape:

html
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
 <style>
  #point:after{
   content: "\0185";
  }
 </style>
</head>
<body>
<p>Symbol (hex): &#x0185;</p>
<p>Symbol (decimal): &#389;</p>
<p id="point">Symbol (CSS): </p>
</body>
</html>
Try it Yourself

🌐 Browser Support

The lowercase b tone six (ƅ) renders correctly in modern browsers when UTF-8 is used and a font with Latin Extended-B support is available:

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

👀 Live Preview

See the lowercase b tone six (ƅ) and how it differs from related characters:

Large glyphƅ
Character typeTone six letter (6th tone, mid-level pitch)
Not the same asb (plain b) or ƀ (b with stroke)
Unicode blockLatin Extended-B (U+0180–U+024F)
Numeric refs&#x0185; &#389; \0185

🧠 How It Works

1

Hexadecimal Code

&#x0185; uses the Unicode hexadecimal value 0185 to display the character. The x prefix indicates hexadecimal format.

HTML markup
2

Decimal HTML Code

&#389; uses the decimal Unicode value 389 to display the same character. A common method for Latin Extended-B characters.

HTML markup
3

CSS Entity

\0185 is used in CSS stylesheets, particularly in the content property of pseudo-elements like ::before and ::after.

CSS stylesheet
=

Same visual result

All three methods produce the glyph: ƅ. Unicode U+0185 sits in Latin Extended-B. Do not confuse ƅ with plain b (U+0062) or ƀ (b with stroke, U+0180). There is no named HTML entity.

✅

Use Cases

The lowercase b tone six (ƅ) is commonly used in:

📜 Zhuang & Bouyei texts

Digitize 1957–1986 orthographies that used ƅ for the sixth tone.

🔤 Tonal notation

Display tone letters and tonal writing system symbols in linguistics articles.

📚 Academic papers

Represent historical orthographies and Southeast Asian language research.

🎨 Typography

Showcase Latin Extended-B and tone letter coverage in font demos.

🔍 Character references

Document Latin Extended-B and tonal character sets for developers and linguists.

📖 Language learning

Display historical Zhuang/Bouyei script in heritage and educational content.

🌐 Internationalization

Support proper rendering of minority and historical writing systems using tone letters.

💡 Best Practices

Do

  • Use &#389; or &#x0185; in HTML (no named entity exists)
  • Serve pages as UTF-8; you can also type ƅ directly in UTF-8 source
  • Use fonts that support Latin Extended-B (U+0180–U+024F)
  • Provide context (e.g. Zhuang/Bouyei historical orthography) when using this symbol
  • Distinguish ƅ from plain b and from related b variants

Don’t

  • Assume a named entity exists—there is none for ƅ
  • Substitute plain b when ƅ is required for tonal accuracy
  • Put CSS escape \0185 in HTML text nodes
  • Assume all fonts render Latin Extended-B tone letters identically
  • Mix entity styles randomly in one file

Key Takeaways

1

Three references render ƅ (no named entity)

&#x0185; &#389;
2

For CSS stylesheets, use the escape in the content property

\0185
3

Unicode U+0185 — LATIN SMALL LETTER TONE SIX

4

Historically used in Zhuang and Bouyei for the sixth tone (1957–1986)

5

Previous: Lowercase B Stroke (ƀ)   Next: Lowercase B Topbar (ƃ)

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

Use &#x0185; (hex), &#389; (decimal), or \0185 in CSS content. There is no named HTML entity; use numeric codes or CSS.
U+0185 (LATIN SMALL LETTER TONE SIX). Latin Extended-B block. Hex 0185, decimal 389. Historically used in Zhuang and Bouyei orthography for the sixth tone.
In Zhuang and Bouyei historical text digitization, linguistic and tonal writing system content, academic papers on Southeast Asian languages, font specimens, and Unicode reference sites documenting tone letters.
HTML code (&#389; or &#x0185;) is used in HTML content. The CSS entity (\0185) is used in CSS, e.g. in the content property of pseudo-elements. Both produce ƅ but in different contexts.
No. Named HTML entities do not include Latin Extended-B tone letters like ƅ. Use &#389; or &#x0185; in HTML, or \0185 in CSS. This is standard for tonal and extended Latin characters.

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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
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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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Lowercase B Stroke (ƀ) Lowercase B Topbar