HTML Entity for Lowercase W (w)
What You'll Learn
How to display the lowercase letter w in HTML using entity methods and direct character input. The letter w is the twenty-third letter of the Latin alphabet (U+0077) and is part of the Basic Latin block. It appears in everyday text, Welsh orthography (where w can function as a vowel), mathematical notation (e.g. variable w for width or weight), 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 &w; for this letter.
⚡ Quick Reference — Lowercase W Entity
U+0077Basic Latin (ASCII)
wHexadecimal reference
wDecimal reference
wType directly (no named entity)
Name Value
──────────── ──────────
Unicode U+0077
Hex code w
HTML code w
Named entity (none — use w directly)
CSS code \0077
Meaning Latin small letter w
Related U+0057 = W (uppercase)
Block Basic Latin (U+0000–U+007F)Complete HTML Example
A simple example showing the lowercase letter w using hexadecimal code, decimal HTML code, the character directly, and a CSS content escape:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<style>
#point:after{
content: "\0077";
}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<p>Symbol (hex): w</p>
<p>Symbol (decimal): w</p>
<p>Symbol (direct): w</p>
<p id="point">Symbol (CSS): </p>
</body>
</html>🌐 Browser Support
The lowercase letter w (U+0077) is universally supported in all browsers and platforms as part of Basic Latin:
👀 Live Preview
See the lowercase letter w in common text contexts:
🧠 How It Works
Hexadecimal Code
w uses the Unicode hexadecimal value 77 to display the letter. The x prefix indicates hexadecimal format.
Decimal HTML Code
w uses the decimal Unicode value 119 to display the same character. This is the ASCII/Unicode decimal for w.
Direct Character
Type w directly in HTML. There is no named entity like &w;; the character itself is the standard approach in body text.
CSS Entity
\0077 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: w. Unicode U+0077 sits in Basic Latin. The uppercase form is U+0057 (W). In normal text, typing w is preferred over numeric entities.
Use Cases
The lowercase letter w (or its entity forms) is commonly used in:
Standard character in paragraphs, articles, and any Latin-script text. Usually typed directly.
Welsh orthography where w acts as a vowel; also common in English, German, Dutch, and other Latin-script languages.
Tutorials, API docs, and code samples that show the character w as an entity or escape.
Variable names where w represents width, weight, or angular frequency in equations.
Headings and page titles where the letter w appears in text content.
When building HTML in code, using w or w ensures correct output regardless of encoding context.
Using \0077 in the CSS content property to insert w via pseudo-elements.
💡 Best Practices
Do
- Type
wdirectly in body content; use entities only when necessary - Serve pages as UTF-8 so Basic Latin characters render without entities
- Use numeric references (
worw) when escaping is required - Use
\0077in CSScontentwhen generating the letter via pseudo-elements - Remember lowercase w is U+0077 and uppercase W is U+0057 when case matters
Don’t
- Overuse numeric entities for
win normal readable text - Expect a named HTML entity like
&w;—none exists for this letter - Confuse plain
w(U+0077) with ŵ (w circumflex) or ʍ (w with hook) - Use
U+00077or CSS\00077—the correct code isU+0077and\0077 - Put CSS escape
\0077in HTML text nodes
Key Takeaways
Type w directly, or use hex/decimal references
w wFor CSS stylesheets, use the escape in the content property
\0077Unicode U+0077 — LATIN SMALL LETTER W
Twenty-third letter of the Latin alphabet (Basic Latin block)
Previous: Lowercase V Reverse (ʌ) Next: Lowercase W Circumflex (ŵ)
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
w directly, or use w (hex), w (decimal), or \0077 in CSS content. There is no named HTML entity for w. For most content, typing w is standard; use numeric or CSS entities when escaping or generating via CSS.U+0077 (LATIN SMALL LETTER W). Basic Latin block. Hex 77, decimal 119. It is the twenty-third letter of the Latin alphabet and a standard character in virtually all Western scripts.w or w, or the CSS entity \0077. In UTF-8 pages you can type w directly.w or w) is used in HTML content; CSS entity \0077 is used in stylesheets in the content property of pseudo-elements. Both produce the character w.Explore More HTML Entities!
Discover 1500+ HTML character references — letters, symbols, and more.
About the author
8 people found this page helpful