HTML Entity for Lowercase Y Umlaut (ÿ)

Beginner
⏱️ 5 min read
📚 Updated: Jun 2026
🎯 1 Code Example
Unicode U+00FF
HTML Entity for Lowercase Y Umlaut tutorial illustration

What You'll Learn

How to display the lowercase y with diaeresis/umlaut (ÿ) in HTML using named entity, hexadecimal, decimal, and CSS escape methods. It appears in French place names such as L'Haÿ-les-Roses and Aÿ-Champagne, and in Dutch and Albanian orthography. It is U+00FF in the Latin-1 Supplement block.

Render it with ÿ, ÿ, ÿ, or CSS escape \00FF. The named entity ÿ is often the most readable option. Do not confuse ÿ (y umlaut) with plain y (U+0079) or ý (y acute, ý).

⚡ Quick Reference — Lowercase Y Umlaut Entity

Unicode U+00FF

Latin-1 Supplement

Hex Code ÿ

Hexadecimal reference

HTML Code ÿ

Decimal reference

Named Entity ÿ

Most readable option

Reference Table
Name           Value
────────────   ──────────
Unicode        U+00FF
Hex code       ÿ
HTML code      ÿ
Named entity   ÿ
CSS code       \00FF
Meaning        Latin small letter y with diaeresis
Also known as  y umlaut
Related        U+0178 = Ÿ (Ÿ)
Block          Latin-1 Supplement (U+0080–U+00FF)
1

Complete HTML Example

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

html
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
 <style>
  #point:after{
   content: "\00FF";
  }
 </style>
</head>
<body>
<p>Symbol (hex): &#xFF;</p>
<p>Symbol (decimal): &#255;</p>
<p>Symbol (named): &yuml;</p>
<p id="point">Symbol (CSS): </p>
</body>
</html>
Try It Yourself

🌐 Browser Support

The lowercase y umlaut (ÿ) and the named entity &yuml; are supported in all modern browsers:

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

👀 Live Preview

See the lowercase y umlaut (ÿ) in French and multilingual contexts:

Large glyphÿ
FrenchL'Haÿ-les-Roses, Aÿ-Champagne
Named entity&yuml; renders as ÿ
UppercaseŸ (U+0178) — &Yuml;
Not the same asy (plain)  |  ý (y acute)  |  ü (u umlaut)
Numeric refs&#xFF; &#255; &yuml; \00FF

🧠 How It Works

1

Hexadecimal Code

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

HTML markup
2

Decimal HTML Code

&#255; uses the decimal Unicode value 255 to display the same character. A common method for Latin-1 characters.

HTML markup
3

Named Entity

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

HTML markup
4

CSS Entity

\00FF 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: ÿ. Unicode U+00FF sits in Latin-1 Supplement. Uppercase equivalent: U+0178 (Ÿ, &Yuml;). Do not confuse with plain y (U+0079) or ý (y acute).

✅

Use Cases

The lowercase y umlaut (ÿ) is commonly used in:

🇫🇷 French

Place names such as L'Haÿ-les-Roses and Aÿ-Champagne require correct ÿ spelling on maps and websites.

🇩🇪 Dutch & Albanian

Used in Dutch and Albanian orthography where ÿ represents a distinct sound or spelling convention.

📝 Proper names

French place names, surnames, and brands that include ÿ must display correctly for accessibility and SEO.

🔤 Education

Language learning apps, dictionaries, and pronunciation guides teaching French and European spelling.

🌐 Internationalization

Multilingual websites, forms, and CMS content requiring correct European spelling.

🎨 Typography

Headlines, logos, and styled text requiring correct umlaut/diaeresis spelling.

🔍 Search & SEO

Correct rendering so users can find French place names containing ÿ.

💡 Best Practices

Do

  • Use &yuml; in HTML when possible for readability
  • Serve pages as UTF-8; you can also type ÿ directly in UTF-8 source
  • Set lang="fr" on French content for correct pronunciation
  • Use fonts that support Latin-1 Supplement characters
  • Distinguish ÿ (umlaut) from plain y and ý (acute)

Don’t

  • Substitute plain y when ÿ is required for correct French spelling
  • Confuse ÿ (umlaut) with ý (acute) or ŷ (circumflex)
  • Use &Yuml; for lowercase—that is uppercase Ÿ (U+0178); use &yuml; for ÿ
  • Use the old incorrect CSS escape \000FF—the correct value is \00FF
  • Put CSS escape \00FF in HTML text nodes

Key Takeaways

1

Four references render ÿ; named entity is most readable

&#xFF; &#255; &yuml;
2

For CSS stylesheets, use the escape in the content property

\00FF
3

Unicode U+00FF — LATIN SMALL LETTER Y WITH DIAERESIS

4

Essential for French place names; uppercase is Ÿ (U+0178, &Yuml;)

5

Previous: Lowercase Y Stroke (ɏ)   Next: Lowercase Yogh (ȝ)

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

Use &yuml; (named), &#xFF; (hex), &#255; (decimal), or \00FF in CSS content. All four methods render ÿ correctly.
U+00FF (LATIN SMALL LETTER Y WITH DIAERESIS). Latin-1 Supplement block. Hex FF, decimal 255. Used in French place names and other languages. Uppercase form is U+0178 (Ÿ) with named entity &Yuml;.
For French place names (e.g. L'Haÿ-les-Roses, Aÿ-Champagne), Dutch and Albanian text, internationalized content, and any text requiring correct spelling with this character.
No. ÿ (U+00FF) is y with diaeresis/umlaut (&yuml;). ý (U+00FD) is y with acute (&yacute;). They are different characters with different Unicode values.
The named entity &yuml; is easier to read in hand-written HTML. Numeric codes are useful when generating markup programmatically. All produce the same character ÿ.

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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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Lowercase Y Stroke (ɏ) Lowercase Yogh (ȝ)