HTML Entity for Masculine Ordinal Indicator (º)

Beginner

5 min read

Updated: Sep 2026

1 example

Unicode U+00BA

HTML Entity for masculine ordinal indicator (U+00BA) tutorial illustration

Definition

What Is the Masculine Ordinal Indicator Entity?

Masculine ordinal indicator (º) is the Latin-1 Supplement character at Unicode U+00BA (MASCULINE ORDINAL INDICATOR). It marks masculine ordinals in Spanish and Portuguese — for example 1º, 2º, and 3º.

Remember

Character     º
Unicode       U+00BA
Named entity  &ordm;
Hex entity    &#x00BA;
Decimal       &#186;
CSS escape    \00BA

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

Reference

Quick Reference

One table for every form you will actually use.

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

When to Use Which

Situation	Use
Readable HTML source	`º`
Numeric entity required	`º` or `º`
Generated text via `::before` / `::after`	`content: "\00BA"`
Feminine ordinal ª	`ª` — see Feminine Ordinal Indicator
Degree / temperature °	`°` (`U+00B0`) — different character

See it

Live Preview

Masculine ordinal indicator in Spanish/Portuguese ranking contexts.

Ordinals 1º 2º 3º

Large glyph º

Named entity º → º

vs ª / ° º | ª | °

With entities Named: º | Hex: º | Decimal: º

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 º in a single document.

html

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="es">
<head>
  <meta charset="UTF-8">
  <title>Masculine Ordinal (&ordm;)</title>
  <style>
    #point::after {
      content: "\00BA";
    }
  </style>
</head>
<body>
  <p>Using Named Entity: &ordm;</p>
  <p>Using Hex Code: &#x00BA;</p>
  <p>Using HTML Code: &#186;</p>
  <p id="point">Using CSS Entity: </p>
  <p>Ordinal: 1&ordm; 2&ordm; 3&ordm;</p>
</body>
</html>

Try It Yourself

How It Works

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

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

3. Decimal: same code point as 186 → º. Same result as hex.

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

Pitfalls & Tips

Common mistakes when working with the masculine ordinal indicator.

Named

Prefer `º`

The named entity is clearer than numeric forms and is defined in HTML5.

Look-alikes

Not `°`

Degree ° is U+00B0. Ordinal º is U+00BA. Do not mix them for temperatures vs rankings.

Gender

`º` ≠ `ª`

Masculine is º. Feminine is ª. Pick the form that matches the noun gender.

CSS vs HTML

Do not mix escapes

\00BA belongs in CSS. º / º / º belong in HTML.

Encoding

Declare UTF-8

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

Semicolon

End references

Always finish with ; — write º, not &ordm.

Compatibility

Browser Support

Masculine ordinal indicator (U+00BA) and its entity forms (º, º, º, CSS \\00BA) are supported in all mainstream browsers.

✓ Universal encoding

Masculine Ordinal (º)

Encode with named, hex, decimal, or CSS escape — or type º 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+00BA Full support

Bottom line: Prefer º for readable HTML. Use \\00BA only inside CSS content.

Remember

Key Takeaways

Unicode: this character is U+00BA (decimal 186).
HTML: prefer º — or use º / º.
CSS: use \00BA inside content for generated text.
Watch out: º ≠ ª ≠ °.

One line: U+00BA → º / º / º / CSS \00BA.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I display the masculine ordinal indicator in HTML using entities?

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

What is the Unicode value for the masculine ordinal indicator?

U+00BA (MASCULINE ORDINAL INDICATOR). Hex 00BA, decimal 186. It belongs to the Latin-1 Supplement block.

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

Yes. º is the HTML5 named entity for º. The feminine ordinal is ª (ª, U+00AA).

When should I use this HTML entity?

Use it for Spanish and Portuguese ordinals (1º, 2º), dates, rankings, and multilingual content that needs the masculine ordinal mark.

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

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

Is º the same as the degree sign °?

No. Degree is ° (°, U+00B0). Masculine ordinal is º (º, U+00BA). They look similar but are different characters.

Did you know?

Masculine ordinal indicator is Unicode U+00BA (decimal 186) — MASCULINE ORDINAL INDICATOR in Latin-1 Supplement. HTML5 provides º — used for Spanish/Portuguese ordinals like 1º and 2º. Feminine form is ª (ª, U+00AA).

Next: Measured Angle

Continue to the next HTML entity in this sequence (U+2221).

Continue tutorial →

About the author

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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HTML Entity | Marriage Symbol HTML Entity | Measured Angle