HTML Number Entities

Q: What are HTML number entities?

In this guide, number entities means character references for number-shaped glyphs: digits 0-9, superscripts and subscripts, circled or inverted dingbat numerals, vulgar fractions, and Roman numerals. They are ordinary HTML character references (named, decimal, or hexadecimal), not a separate HTML feature from other entities.

Q: How do I show superscript 2 or 3 in HTML?

Use the named entities ² for superscript two and ³ for superscript three, or numeric references such as ² / ² and ³ / ³. For other superscript digits use the superscript block entries in the Quick Reference table.

Q: How do I display vulgar fractions like one half or three quarters?

HTML defines short names for common fractions: ½, ¼, ¾, &frac13;, &frac23;, and several others listed in the table. If no name exists for a fraction, use the hexadecimal or decimal code from the same row.

Q: How do circled numbers work in HTML?

Circled digits such as dingbat ❶ use their own Unicode code points. There is usually no short named entity; copy ❶ or the decimal value from the table. You can also inject the glyph with CSS content using a backslash hex escape for the same code point.

Q: Are Roman numerals separate characters in Unicode?

Yes. Unicode includes Roman numeral characters (for example capital and small forms in the Number Forms block). Reference them with the hex or decimal codes in this page's table, or type them directly in UTF-8 when your toolchain supports it.

Beginner

⏱️ 7 min read

📚 Updated: May 2026

🎯 1 Code Example

Digits, fractions, Roman numerals

HTML number entities reference: digits, fractions, superscripts, and circled numerals

What You'll Learn

HTML number entities (used here in the sense of number-shaped characters) cover ASCII digits, superscripts like ², subscripts, circled and dingbat-style numerals, vulgar fractions such as ½, and Roman numeral code points in the Number Forms block. Most rows use numeric references ❶ / ❶; a few common forms also have short named entities.

Use the Quick Reference to copy exact codes. For operators and relations, see HTML math entities; for quotes, dashes, and ellipsis, see HTML punctuation entities; for copyright, stars, and general symbols, see HTML symbol entities; for currency marks, see HTML currency entities; browse the full HTML entities index for every character page.

⚡ Quick Reference — HTML Number Entities

Filter by symbol, Unicode (e.g. U+00BD), hex, decimal, or entity name.

Symbol	Unicode	Hex code	HTML code	HTML entity
0	U+0030	0	0	-
1	U+0031	1	1	-
2	U+0032	2	2	-
3	U+0033	3	3	-
4	U+0034	4	4	-
5	U+0035	5	5	-
6	U+0036	6	6	-
7	U+0037	7	7	-
8	U+0038	8	8	-
9	U+0039	9	9	-
⁰	U+2070	⁰	⁰	-
¹	U+00B9	¹	¹	¹
²	U+00B2	²	²	²
³	U+00B3	³	³	³
⁴	U+2074	⁴	⁴	-
⁵	U+2075	⁵	⁵	-
⁶	U+2076	⁶	⁶	-
⁷	U+2077	⁷	⁷	-
⁸	U+2078	⁸	⁸	-
⁹	U+2079	⁹	⁹	-
₀	U+2080	₀	₀	-
₁	U+2081	₁	₁	-
₂	U+2082	₂	₂	-
₃	U+2083	₃	₃	-
₄	U+2084	₄	₄	-
₅	U+2085	₅	₅	-
₆	U+2086	₆	₆	-
₇	U+2087	₇	₇	-
₈	U+2088	₈	₈	-
₉	U+2089	₉	₉	-
❶	U+2776	❶	❶	-
❷	U+2777	❷	❷	-
❸	U+2778	❸	❸	-
❹	U+2779	❹	❹	-
❺	U+277A	❺	❺	-
❻	U+277B	❻	❻	-
❼	U+277C	❼	❼	-
❽	U+277D	❽	❽	-
❾	U+277E	❾	❾	-
❿	U+277F	❿	❿	-
➀	U+2780	➀	➀	-
➁	U+2781	➁	➁	-
➂	U+2782	➂	➂	-
➃	U+2783	➃	➃	-
➄	U+2784	➄	➄	-
➅	U+2785	➅	➅	-
➆	U+2786	➆	➆	-
➇	U+2787	➇	➇	-
➈	U+2788	➈	➈	-
➉	U+2789	➉	➉	-
➊	U+278A	➊	➊	-
➋	U+278B	➋	➋	-
➌	U+278C	➌	➌	-
➍	U+278D	➍	➍	-
➎	U+278E	➎	➎	-
➏	U+278F	➏	➏	-
➐	U+2790	➐	➐	-
➑	U+2791	➑	➑	-
➒	U+2792	➒	➒	-
➓	U+2793	➓	➓	-
↉	U+2189	↉	↉	-
¼	U+00BC	¼	¼	¼
½	U+00BD	½	½	½
¾	U+00BE	¾	¾	¾
⅐	U+2150	⅐	⅐	-
⅑	U+2151	⅑	⅑	-
⅒	U+2152	⅒	⅒	-
⅓	U+2153	⅓	⅓	&frac13;
⅔	U+2154	⅔	⅔	&frac23;
⅕	U+2155	⅕	⅕	&frac15;
⅖	U+2156	⅖	⅖	-
⅗	U+2157	⅗	⅗	&frac35;
⅘	U+2158	⅘	⅘	&frac45;
⅙	U+2159	⅙	⅙	&frac16;
⅚	U+215A	⅚	⅚	&frac56;
⅛	U+215B	⅛	⅛	&frac18;
⅜	U+215C	⅜	⅜	&frac38;
⅝	U+215D	⅝	⅝	&frac58;
⅞	U+215E	⅞	⅞	&frac78;
⅟	U+215F	⅟	⅟	-
Ⅰ	U+2160	Ⅰ	Ⅰ	-
Ⅱ	U+2161	Ⅱ	Ⅱ	-
Ⅲ	U+2162	Ⅲ	Ⅲ	-
Ⅳ	U+2163	Ⅳ	Ⅳ	-
Ⅴ	U+2164	Ⅴ	Ⅴ	-
Ⅵ	U+2165	Ⅵ	Ⅵ	-
Ⅶ	U+2166	Ⅶ	Ⅶ	-
Ⅷ	U+2167	Ⅷ	Ⅷ	-
Ⅸ	U+2168	Ⅸ	Ⅸ	-
Ⅹ	U+2169	Ⅹ	Ⅹ	-
Ⅺ	U+216A	Ⅺ	Ⅺ	-
Ⅻ	U+216B	Ⅻ	Ⅻ	-
Ⅼ	U+216C	Ⅼ	Ⅼ	-
Ⅽ	U+216D	Ⅽ	Ⅽ	-
Ⅾ	U+216E	Ⅾ	Ⅾ	-
Ⅿ	U+216F	Ⅿ	Ⅿ	-
ⅰ	U+2170	ⅰ	ⅰ	-
ⅱ	U+2171	ⅱ	ⅱ	-
ⅲ	U+2172	ⅲ	ⅲ	-
ⅳ	U+2173	ⅳ	ⅳ	-
ⅴ	U+2174	ⅴ	ⅴ	-
ⅵ	U+2175	ⅵ	ⅵ	-
ⅶ	U+2176	ⅶ	ⅶ	-
ⅷ	U+2177	ⅷ	ⅷ	-
ⅸ	U+2178	ⅸ	ⅸ	-
ⅹ	U+2179	ⅹ	ⅹ	-
ⅺ	U+217A	ⅺ	ⅺ	-
ⅻ	U+217B	ⅻ	ⅻ	-
ⅼ	U+217C	ⅼ	ⅼ	-
ⅽ	U+217D	ⅽ	ⅽ	-
ⅾ	U+217E	ⅾ	ⅾ	-
ⅿ	U+217F	ⅿ	ⅿ	-
ↀ	U+2180	ↀ	ↀ	-
ↁ	U+2181	ↁ	ↁ	-
ↂ	U+2182	ↂ	ↂ	-
Ↄ	U+2183	Ↄ	Ↄ	-
ↄ	U+2184	ↄ	ↄ	-
ↅ	U+2185	ↅ	ↅ	-
ↆ	U+2186	ↆ	ↆ	-

Complete HTML Example

Decimal digit references, named vulgar fractions and superscripts, and a circled numeral via CSS content:

html

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
 <meta charset="utf-8">
 <style>
  .circled-one::after {
   content: "\2776";
  }
 </style>
</head>
<body>

<p>Digits (decimal refs): &#48;&#49;&#50;</p>
<p>Fractions: &frac12; &frac14; &frac34;</p>
<p>Powers: 10&sup2; m&sup3;</p>
<p>Circled via CSS: <span class="circled-one"></span></p>

</body>
</html>

Try It Yourself

🌐 Browser Support

Named and numeric character references for these code points work in all modern browsers with UTF-8 documents and fonts that cover Number Forms and Dingbats where needed:

Chrome 1+

Firefox 1+

Safari 1+

Edge 12+

Opera 4+

Android 4.4+

iOS Safari 1+

👀 Live Preview

Glyphs from character references in this hub:

Digits and superscripts 0–9 · 10² m³ · x₁ x₂

Vulgar fractions ½ ¼ ¾ ⅓ ⅔

Dingbat circled ❶ ❷ ❸ ❹ ❺

Roman (Unicode) Ⅹ Ⅺ Ⅻ ⅰ ⅱ ⅲ

Large type ½ ❶ Ⅰ

🧠 How It Works

ASCII digits

Digits U+0030–U+0039 are usually typed directly. When you need explicit references (ASCII-only pipelines, teaching markup), use 0 through 9 or the matching 0–9 forms.

HTML markup

Named fractions and superscripts

HTML5 defines readable names for common fractions (½, ¼, …) and for ¹, ², ³. Other superscripts and all subscripts typically use numeric references from the table.

HTML markup

CSS `content`

Decorative dingbat numbers can be injected with escapes such as \2776 (U+2776) inside content on a pseudo-element, matching the same scalar value as ❶ in HTML.

CSS stylesheet

Same code points

Valid named and numeric references for one character render identically. Pick names for readability when they exist; otherwise copy hex or decimal from the Quick Reference.

✅

Use Cases

Number-related entities often appear in:

📚 Technical writing

Footnote markers, exponents, and unit notation (m³, cm²) in articles and specs.

🎓 Education

Fractions and circled step numbers in worksheets and online lessons.

📈 Data labels

Unicode Roman numerals or dingbat lists in dashboards when design calls for fixed glyphs.

♻ Legacy ASCII

Decimal references for digits when templates must stay in a restricted character set.

🎨 Typography

Proper vulgar fractions and superscripts instead of scaled ASCII substitutes.

📄 Print and PDF

Explicit references in HTML-to-PDF pipelines for predictable glyph selection.

💡 Best Practices

Do

Use UTF-8 and <meta charset="utf-8">
Prefer ½, ², and other names when the table lists them
Store numeric amounts as numbers; use entities only for displayed glyphs
Test fonts for dingbat circled numbers on target devices
Use MathML or a math engine for full equations, not entities alone

Don’t

Confuse this topic with numeric character references syntax (&#…;) in general—here we mean number-shaped characters
Rely on circled dingbats for semantic “step 1” without accessible text
Fake superscripts by shrinking regular digits unless you accept inferior typography
Assume every circled digit has a short named entity
Encode entire spreadsheets as HTML entity strings

Key Takeaways

Digits, fractions, superscripts, and Roman forms each have defined Unicode code points

½ ²

Circled and dingbat numerals usually need hex or decimal from the table

❶

CSS content can use the same code points with backslash hex escapes

\2776

Choose real math layout (MathML, KaTeX, MathJax) for complex formulas

Browse the full entity index for arrows, math, and more

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

What are HTML number entities?

Here we mean character references for number-shaped glyphs: digits, superscripts and subscripts, fractions, circled numerals, Roman numerals, and related symbols. They use the same HTML entity mechanisms as any other character (&name;, &#…;, &#x…;).

How do I show superscript 2 or 3 in HTML?

Use ² and ³, or ² / ² and ³ / ³. For ⁴–⁹ see the superscript rows in the Quick Reference.

How do I display vulgar fractions like one half or three quarters?

Named entities include ½, ¼, ¾, &frac13;, &frac23;, and more listed in the table. Otherwise use the numeric codes from the same row.

How do circled numbers work in HTML?

Each circled dingbat is a single Unicode character (for example U+2776). Reference it with ❶ or the decimal value from the table, or inject it via CSS content with a matching escape.

Are Roman numerals separate characters in Unicode?

Yes. Unicode includes Roman numeral code points in the Number Forms block. Use this page’s table for hex and decimal references, or type them in UTF-8 when your editor and headers support Unicode.

Explore More HTML Entities!

Discover 1500+ HTML character references — math operators, arrows, emojis, and more.

All HTML Entities →

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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