HTML Entity for Lowercase S (s)
What You'll Learn
How to display the lowercase letter s in HTML using entity methods and direct character input. The letter s is the nineteenth letter of the Latin alphabet (U+0073) and is part of the Basic Latin block. It appears in everyday text, mathematical notation (e.g. variable s for standard deviation or distance), documentation, and academic content. In most cases you can type it directly; numeric or CSS entities are useful when escaping, generating content via CSS, or ensuring correct encoding.
This character can be displayed using the character itself, a hexadecimal reference, a decimal reference, or a CSS escape in the content property. There is no named HTML entity like &s; for this letter.
⚡ Quick Reference — Lowercase S Entity
U+0073Basic Latin (ASCII)
sHexadecimal reference
sDecimal reference
sType directly (no named entity)
Name Value
──────────── ──────────
Unicode U+0073
Hex code s
HTML code s
Named entity (none — use s directly)
CSS code \0073
Meaning Latin small letter s
Related U+0053 = S (uppercase)
Block Basic Latin (U+0000–U+007F)Complete HTML Example
A simple example showing the lowercase letter s using hexadecimal code, decimal HTML code, the character directly, and a CSS content escape:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<style>
#point:after{
content: "\0073";
}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<p>Symbol (hex): s</p>
<p>Symbol (decimal): s</p>
<p>Symbol (direct): s</p>
<p id="point">Symbol (CSS): </p>
</body>
</html>🌐 Browser Support
The lowercase letter s (U+0073) is universally supported in all browsers and platforms as part of Basic Latin:
👀 Live Preview
See the lowercase letter s in common text contexts:
🧠 How It Works
Hexadecimal Code
s uses the Unicode hexadecimal value 73 to display the letter. The x prefix indicates hexadecimal format.
Decimal HTML Code
s uses the decimal Unicode value 115 to display the same character. This is the ASCII/Unicode decimal for s.
Direct Character
Type s directly in HTML. There is no named entity like &s;; the character itself is the standard approach in body text.
CSS Entity
\0073 is used in CSS stylesheets, particularly in the content property of pseudo-elements like ::before and ::after.
Same visual result
All methods produce the glyph: s. Unicode U+0073 sits in Basic Latin. The uppercase form is U+0053 (S). In normal text, typing s is preferred over numeric entities.
Use Cases
The lowercase letter s (or its entity forms) is commonly used in:
Standard character in paragraphs, articles, and any Latin-script text. Usually typed directly.
Tutorials, API docs, and code samples that show the character s as an entity or escape.
Variable names where s represents standard deviation, distance, or seconds.
Words in English, Spanish, French, German, and many other Latin-script languages.
Headings and page titles where the letter s appears in text content.
When building HTML in code, using s or s ensures correct output regardless of encoding context.
Using \0073 in the CSS content property to insert s via pseudo-elements.
💡 Best Practices
Do
- Type
sdirectly in body content; use entities only when necessary - Serve pages as UTF-8 so Basic Latin characters render without entities
- Use numeric references (
sors) when escaping is required - Use
\0073in CSScontentwhen generating the letter via pseudo-elements - Remember lowercase s is U+0073 and uppercase S is U+0053 when case matters
Don’t
- Overuse numeric entities for
sin normal readable text - Expect a named HTML entity like
&s;—none exists for this letter - Confuse plain
s(U+0073) with§(section sign) or ś (s acute) - Use
U+00073or CSS\00073—the correct code isU+0073and\0073 - Put CSS escape
\0073in HTML text nodes
Key Takeaways
Type s directly, or use hex/decimal references
s sFor CSS stylesheets, use the escape in the content property
\0073Unicode U+0073 — LATIN SMALL LETTER S
Nineteenth letter of the Latin alphabet (Basic Latin block)
Previous: Lowercase R Tail (ɽ) Next: Lowercase S Acute (ś)
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
s directly, or use s (hex), s (decimal), or \0073 in CSS content. There is no named HTML entity for s. For most content, typing s is standard; use numeric or CSS entities when escaping or generating via CSS.U+0073 (LATIN SMALL LETTER S). Basic Latin block. Hex 73, decimal 115. It is the nineteenth letter of the Latin alphabet and a standard character in virtually all Western scripts.s or s, or the CSS entity \0073. In UTF-8 pages you can type s directly. Do not confuse with §, which is the section sign (§).s or s) is used in HTML content; CSS entity \0073 is used in stylesheets in the content property of pseudo-elements. Both produce the character s.Explore More HTML Entities!
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