HTML Entity for Oe Ligature (œ)

Beginner
⏱️ 5 min read
📚 Updated: Jun 2026
🎯 1 Code Example
Unicode U+0153
HTML entity for Latin small ligature oe (U+0153) — named oelig, hex, decimal, and CSS tutorial

What You'll Learn

How to display the Latin small ligature oe (œ) in HTML using named entity, hexadecimal, decimal, and CSS escape methods. This character appears in French words such as cœur, œuf, and sœur, and in classical English spellings like fœtus and homœopathy.

This character is U+0153 (LATIN SMALL LIGATURE OE) in the Latin Extended-A block (U+0100–U+017F). Render it with œ, œ, œ, or CSS escape \0153. The uppercase form is Œ (U+0152, Œ)—a distinct character, not just capitalized œ.

⚡ Quick Reference — Oe Ligature

Unicode U+0153

Latin Extended-A

Hex Code œ

Hexadecimal reference

HTML Code œ

Decimal reference

Named Entity œ

Most readable option

Reference Table
Name           Value
────────────   ──────────
Unicode        U+0153
Hex code       œ
HTML code      œ
Named entity   œ
CSS code       \0153
Meaning        Latin small ligature oe
Uppercase      U+0152 (Œ, Œ)
Related        U+00E6 = ae ligature (æ, æ)
Block          Latin Extended-A (U+0100–U+017F)
1

Complete HTML Example

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

html
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
 <style>
  #point::after{
   content: "\0153";
  }
 </style>
</head>
<body>
<p>Symbol (hex): &#x0153;</p>
<p>Symbol (decimal): &#339;</p>
<p>Symbol (named): &oelig;</p>
<p id="point">Symbol (CSS): </p>
</body>
</html>
Try it Yourself

🌐 Browser Support

The oe ligature (œ) and the named entity &oelig; are supported in all modern browsers:

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

👀 Live Preview

See the oe ligature (œ) in French and classical contexts:

Large glyph œ
French cœur, œuf, sœur, œuvre
Classical fœtus, homœopathy, manœuvre
Not the same as two letters oe (U+006F U+0065) or uppercase Œ
Entity refs &#x0153; &#339; &oelig; \0153

🧠 How It Works

1

Named Entity

&oelig; is the HTML named entity for U+0153—readable in source HTML and part of the HTML5 entity set.

HTML markup
2

Hexadecimal Code

&#x0153; uses the Unicode hexadecimal value 0153 to display the oe ligature. The x prefix indicates hexadecimal format.

HTML markup
3

Decimal HTML Code

&#339; uses the decimal Unicode value 339 to display the same character.

HTML markup
4

CSS Entity

\0153 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: œ. Unicode U+0153 sits in Latin Extended-A. œ is a single ligature—do not confuse with two separate letters oe or with uppercase Œ (U+0152).

✅

Use Cases

The oe ligature (œ) is commonly used in:

🇫🇷 French text

Correct spelling where œ is required (e.g. cœur, œuf, sœur).

📚 Language learning

Vocabulary, pronunciation guides, and dictionary entries for French learners.

🌐 Internationalization

Websites and apps targeting French-speaking audiences.

📄 Classical typography

Traditional spellings such as fœtus and homœopathy for style or accuracy.

📖 Latin-derived terms

Medical, legal, and scholarly words that retain the oe ligature.

🔍 Search & SEO

Correct rendering so users can find French content; œ is distinct from oe.

📧 Forms & input

Name fields, addresses, and user input that may contain French characters.

💡 Best Practices

Do

  • Use &oelig; in HTML when possible for readability
  • Serve pages as UTF-8; you can also type œ directly in UTF-8 source
  • Set lang="fr" on French content for correct hyphenation and pronunciation
  • Distinguish œ (ligature) from two letters oe and from Œ (uppercase)
  • Use fonts that support Latin Extended-A characters

Don’t

  • Substitute oe when œ is required for correct French spelling
  • Confuse œ (&oelig;) with Œ (&OElig;, uppercase)
  • Use padded Unicode notation like U+00153—the correct value is U+0153
  • Put CSS escape \0153 in HTML text nodes
  • Mix entity styles randomly in one file

Key Takeaways

1

Four references render œ; named entity is most readable

&#x0153; &#339; &oelig;
2

For CSS stylesheets, use the escape in the content property

\0153
3

Unicode U+0153 — LATIN SMALL LIGATURE OE

4

Latin Extended-A block (U+0100–U+017F); uppercase is U+0152 (Œ)

5

Previous: Numero Sign (№)   Next: Combining Ogonek (̨)

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

Use &oelig; (named), &#x0153; (hex), &#339; (decimal), or \0153 in CSS content. All four methods render œ correctly.
U+0153 (LATIN SMALL LIGATURE OE). Latin Extended-A block. Hex 0153, decimal 339. Named entity: &oelig;. Uppercase form: U+0152 (Œ, &OElig;).
No. œ (U+0153) is one Unicode ligature character. Typing oe is two separate code points (U+006F + U+0065). In French, the ligature is often required for correct spelling and typography.
HTML references (&#339;, &#x0153;, or &oelig;) go directly in markup. The CSS escape \0153 is used in stylesheets, typically in the content property of pseudo-elements. Same visual result, different layers of the stack.
Yes. &oelig; is the named HTML entity for U+0153 and is the standard readable reference in HTML5 markup.

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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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Numero Sign (№) Combining Ogonek (̨)