HTML Entity for Lowercase Esszed (ß)

Beginner

5 min read

Updated: Sep 2026

1 example

Unicode U+00DF

HTML Entity for lowercase esszed / eszett (ß) tutorial illustration

Definition

What Is the Lowercase Esszed Entity?

Lowercase esszed (ß) is the Latin-1 Supplement character at Unicode U+00DF (LATIN SMALL LETTER SHARP S). Also called eszett or sharp s, it is used in German for a special s sound (as in Straße, groß).

Remember

Character     ß
Unicode       U+00DF
Named entity  &szlig;
Hex entity    &#xDF;
Decimal       &#223;
CSS escape    \00DF
All-caps      usually SS (or ẞ U+1E9E)

Named, hex, decimal, CSS, and a typed character all produce the same glyph: ß. Prefer ß in HTML source for clarity.

Reference

Quick Reference

One table for every form you will actually use.

Form	Code	Where it goes
Named entity	`ß`	HTML markup (best default)
Hex entity	`ß`	HTML markup
Decimal entity	`ß`	HTML markup
CSS escape	`\00DF`	Stylesheet `content`
Direct character	`ß`	UTF-8 HTML text

When to Use Which

Situation	Use
Readable HTML source	`ß`
Numeric entity required	`ß` or `ß`
Generated text via `::before` / `::after`	`content: "\00DF"`
All-caps German text	Usually `SS` (or capital ẞ `U+1E9E`)
Greek beta instead	`β` (β) — different character

See it

Live Preview

Lowercase esszed in German and comparison contexts.

German sample Straße, groß, Fuß

Large glyph ß

Named entity ß → ß

vs ss / β / B ß | ss | β | B

With entities Named: ß | Hex: ß | Decimal: ß

Code

Complete HTML Example

One page that shows this character with named, hex, decimal, and CSS forms. Use View Output or open the live editor.

Named + Hex + Decimal + CSS

Four ways to produce ß in a single document.

html

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="UTF-8">
  <title>Lowercase Esszed (&szlig;)</title>
  <style>
    #point::after {
      content: "\00DF";
    }
  </style>
</head>
<body>
  <p>Using Named Entity: &szlig;</p>
  <p>Using Hex Code: &#xDF;</p>
  <p>Using HTML Code: &#223;</p>
  <p id="point">Using CSS Entity: </p>
  <p lang="de">Deutsch: Stra&szlig;e, gro&szlig;</p>
</body>
</html>

Try It Yourself

How It Works

1. Named: ß is the clearest HTML form and renders ß.

2. Hex: U+00DF → ß in HTML. Same result as the named entity.

3. Decimal: same code point as 223 → ß. Same result as hex.

4. CSS: use \00DF in content (not an HTML entity). #point::after appends that ß after the paragraph text.

Pitfalls & Tips

Common mistakes when working with lowercase esszed.

Look-alikes

Not beta or `ss`

Do not confuse ß with Greek β (β) or typing two plain s letters. They are different characters.

Case

All-caps is usually SS

Traditional uppercase of ß is SS. Capital ẞ (U+1E9E) exists but is less common and has no widely used named entity.

Spelling

Named entity is `szlig`

Remember ß (sharp-s ligature), not invented names like &esszed; or &eszett;.

CSS vs HTML

Do not mix escapes

\00DF belongs in CSS. ß / ß / ß belong in HTML.

Encoding

Declare UTF-8

If you type ß directly, keep <meta charset="UTF-8"> so the file is not misread.

Semicolon

End references

Always finish with ; — write ß, not &szlig.

Compatibility

Browser Support

Lowercase esszed (U+00DF) and its entity forms (ß, ß, ß, CSS \\00DF) are supported in all modern browsers.

✓ Universal encoding

Lowercase Esszed (ß)

Encode with named, hex, decimal, or CSS escape — or type ß directly in UTF-8 HTML.

100% Browser coverage

Google Chrome Supported

Yes

Microsoft Edge Supported

Yes

Mozilla Firefox Supported

Yes

Apple Safari Supported

Yes

Opera Supported

Yes

Internet Explorer All versions

Yes

U+00DF Full support

Bottom line: Prefer ß for readable HTML. Use \\00DF only inside CSS content.

Remember

Key Takeaways

Unicode: this character is U+00DF (decimal 223).
HTML: prefer ß — or use ß / ß.
CSS: use \00DF inside content for generated text.
Watch out: ß ≠ ss ≠ β; all-caps is usually SS.

One line: U+00DF → ß / ß / ß / CSS \00DF.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I display lowercase esszed (ß) in HTML using entities?

Use ß (named), ß (hex), ß (decimal), or the CSS escape \00DF in the content property. All render ß. Prefer ß in HTML source.

What is the Unicode value for lowercase esszed?

U+00DF (LATIN SMALL LETTER SHARP S). Hex DF, decimal 223. It belongs to Latin-1 Supplement (U+0080–U+00FF).

Is there a named HTML entity for U+00DF?

Yes. ß is the HTML5 named entity for ß (eszett / sharp s).

When should I use this HTML entity?

Use it for German words and names that need the sharp s (Straße, groß, Fuß), language lessons, and multilingual pages with German text.

What is the difference between HTML code and CSS entity for U+00DF?

HTML entities (ß, ß, or ß) go in markup. The CSS escape \00DF is used in stylesheets (usually in the content property of ::before/::after). Both render ß.

Is ß the same as ss, β, or capital ẞ?

No. Typing ss is two characters. Greek beta β is U+03B2 (β). Capital sharp S ẞ is U+1E9E. In many all-caps contexts German still uses SS instead of ẞ.

Did you know?

Lowercase esszed (eszett) is Unicode U+00DF (decimal 223) — LATIN SMALL LETTER SHARP S in Latin-1 Supplement. HTML5 provides ß — the most readable form. In all-caps German text it usually becomes SS; Unicode also defines capital ẞ (U+1E9E, no common named entity). Not the same as Greek beta (β) or two plain s letters.

Next: Lowercase Eth

Learn the HTML entity for lowercase eth (ð).

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About the author

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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