HTML Entity for North West Double Arrow (⇖)

Beginner
⏱️ 5 min read
📚 Updated: Jun 2026
🎯 1 Code Example
Unicode U+21D6

What You'll Learn

How to display the north west double arrow (⇖) in HTML using named, hexadecimal, decimal, and CSS escape methods. This bold double-stroke arrow points up and to the left and is useful for navigation buttons, back controls, and directional UI where a stronger arrow than ↖ is needed.

This character is U+21D6 (NORTH WEST DOUBLE ARROW) in the Arrows block (U+2190–U+21FF). Render it with ⇖, ⇖, ⇖, or CSS escape \21D6.

⚡ Quick Reference — North West Double Arrow Entity

Unicode U+21D6

Arrows block

Hex Code ⇖

Hexadecimal reference

HTML Code ⇖

Decimal reference

Named Entity ⇖

Most readable option

Reference Table
Name           Value
────────────   ──────────
Unicode        U+21D6
Hex code       ⇖
HTML code      ⇖
Named entity   ⇖
CSS code       \21D6
Meaning        North west double arrow
Related        U+2196 = North west (↖, ↖)
               U+21D7 = NE double (⇗, ⇗)
               U+21B8 = NW to long bar (↸)
Block          Arrows (U+2190–U+21FF)
1

Complete HTML Example

A simple example showing ⇖ using hexadecimal code, decimal HTML code, the named entity, and a CSS content escape:

html
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
 <style>
  #point::after{
   content: "\21D6";
  }
 </style>
</head>
<body>
<p>Symbol (hex): &#x21D6;</p>
<p>Symbol (decimal): &#8662;</p>
<p>Symbol (named): &nwArr;</p>
<p id="point">Symbol (CSS): </p>
</body>
</html>
Try it Yourself

🌐 Browser Support

The north west double arrow (⇖) is supported in all modern browsers:

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

👀 Live Preview

See ⇖ in navigation and directional contexts:

Inline text Go back ⇖   Previous section ⇖
Large glyph
Single vs double ↖ ⇖
Map hint North west ⇖ 2 km
Numeric refs &#x21D6; &#8662; &nwArr; \21D6

🧠 How It Works

1

Named Entity

&nwArr; is the HTML named entity for U+21D6—the most readable choice when writing directional markup.

HTML markup
2

Hexadecimal Code

&#x21D6; uses the Unicode hexadecimal value 21D6. The x prefix indicates hexadecimal format.

HTML markup
3

Decimal HTML Code

&#8662; uses the decimal Unicode value 8662 to display the same character.

HTML markup
4

CSS Entity

\21D6 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: . Unicode U+21D6 in the Arrows block (U+2190–U+21FF).

Use Cases

The north west double arrow (⇖) is commonly used in:

💻 User interfaces

Back buttons, collapse controls, and navigation to previous views.

🗺 Maps & navigation

Bold up-left direction on maps, signs, and route instructions.

⌨ Keyboard hints

Document diagonal movement with a stronger arrow than ↖.

🎨 Design elements

Directional icons and graphics needing a double-stroke NW arrow.

📄 Documentation

Unicode charts, arrow references, and HTML entity tutorials.

📊 Reference guides

Compare single (↖), double (⇖), and related NW variants.

💡 Best Practices

Do

  • Use &nwArr; for readable directional markup
  • Pair ⇖ with accessible text (e.g. “back” or aria-label)
  • Distinguish ⇖ from single ↖ and from ↸ (arrow to long bar)
  • Use consistent arrow styling across your UI
  • Serve pages with UTF-8 (<meta charset="utf-8">)

Don’t

  • Confuse ⇖ (&nwArr;) with ↖ (&nwarr;)
  • Confuse ⇖ with ↸ (north west arrow to long bar)
  • Use padded Unicode notation like U+021D6—the correct value is U+21D6
  • Put CSS escape \21D6 in HTML text nodes
  • Use \021D6 in CSS—the correct escape is \21D6

Key Takeaways

1

Three HTML references plus CSS all render ⇖

&#x21D6; &#8662; &nwArr;
2

For CSS stylesheets, use the escape in the content property

\21D6
3

Unicode U+21D6 — NORTH WEST DOUBLE ARROW

4

Arrows block (U+2190–U+21FF)

5

&nwArr; is the preferred named entity for readable source markup

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

Use &nwArr; (named), &#x21D6; (hex), &#8662; (decimal), or \21D6 in CSS content. All produce ⇖.
U+21D6 (NORTH WEST DOUBLE ARROW). Arrows block (U+2190–U+21FF). Hex 21D6, decimal 8662. Named entity: &nwArr;.
Use ⇖ when you need a bolder double-stroke north-west arrow for emphasis—common in back buttons, collapse controls, and UI where the single arrow ↖ feels too light.
HTML references (&#8662;, &#x21D6;, or &nwArr;) go directly in markup. The CSS escape \21D6 is used in stylesheets, typically in the content property of pseudo-elements. Same visual result, different layers of the stack.
Yes. &nwArr; is the named HTML entity for U+21D6 and is the most readable option in source markup. Note the capital A in nwArr.

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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
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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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