HTML Entity for Oe Ligature (œ)

Beginner

5 min read

Updated: Sep 2026

1 example

Unicode U+0153

HTML Entity for oe ligature (U+0153) tutorial illustration

Definition

What Is Oe Ligature?

Oe ligature (œ) is the Unicode character at U+0153 in the Latin Extended-A block. Official name: LATIN SMALL LIGATURE OE. It appears in French words such as cœur and œuf, and in some classical English spellings.

Remember

Character     œ
Unicode       U+0153
Named entity  &oelig;
Hex entity    &#x0153;
Decimal       &#339;
CSS escape    \0153
Not the same  oe · Œ · æ

Prefer &oelig; in HTML when you want a readable entity, or paste œ directly in UTF-8. Numeric forms work the same.

Reference

Quick Reference

One table for every form you will actually use.

Form	Code	Where it goes
Named entity	`&oelig;`	HTML markup (preferred entity)
Direct character	`œ`	HTML text (UTF-8)
Hex entity	`œ`	HTML markup
Decimal entity	`œ`	HTML markup
CSS escape	`\0153`	Stylesheet `content`

When to Use Which

Situation	Use
Lowercase French / classical ligature	`&oelig;` or typed `œ`
Uppercase oe ligature	`Œ` / `&OElig;` (`U+0152`)
Ae ligature	æ / `æ`
IPA small capital OE (phonetics)	ɶ (U+0276) — not the French ligature
Generated text via `::before` / `::after`	`content: "\0153"`

See it

Live Preview

Oe ligature rendered in French and classical contexts.

Large glyph œ

French cœur, œuf, sœur, œuvre

Classical fœtus, manœuvre

Compared œ oe Œ æ

With entities Named: œ | Hex: œ | Decimal: œ

Code

Complete HTML Example

One page that shows Oe Ligature with named, hex, decimal, CSS escape, and a typed character. Use View Output or open the live editor.

Named + Hex + Decimal + CSS + Typed

Five ways to produce œ, plus a French word example.

html

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="UTF-8">
  <title>Oe Ligature (œ) in HTML</title>
  <style>
    #point::after {
      content: "\0153";
    }
  </style>
</head>
<body>
  <p>Symbol using Named Entity: &oelig;</p>
  <p>Symbol using Hex Code: &#x0153;</p>
  <p>Symbol using HTML Code: &#339;</p>
  <p id="point">Symbol using CSS Entity: </p>
  <p>Typed directly: œ</p>
  <p lang="fr">Example: c&oelig;ur</p>
</body>
</html>

Try It Yourself

How It Works

1. Named: &oelig; is the HTML5 name for U+0153 → œ. Most readable entity form.

2. Hex: U+0153 → œ in HTML. Same glyph as the named form.

3. Decimal: same code point as 339 → œ. Same result as hex and named.

4. CSS: use \0153 in content (not an HTML entity). #point::after appends that œ after the paragraph text.

5. Typed / example: paste œ in UTF-8, or write c&oelig;ur for a correct French spelling.

Pitfalls & Tips

Common mistakes when working with Oe Ligature.

Not two letters

Typing oe is o + e. The ligature œ is one code point — required for many French spellings.

Uppercase is separate

Use &OElig; (U+0152) for Œ. Do not treat CSS text-transform as a substitute for the correct uppercase character when encoding matters.

IPA

Not IPA small capital OE

ɶ (U+0276) is a phonetic symbol. French text needs œ / Œ, not the IPA letter.

CSS vs HTML

Do not mix escapes

\0153 belongs in CSS strings. &oelig; / œ / œ belong in HTML.

lang

Mark the language

Add lang="fr" on French phrases so screen readers and spell-checkers treat the text correctly.

Semicolon

End references

Always finish named/numeric forms with ; — write &oelig;, not &oelig.

Compatibility

Browser Support

Oe ligature (U+0153) and its entity forms (&oelig;, œ, œ, CSS \\0153) are supported in all mainstream browsers.

✓ Universal support

Oe Ligature (œ)

Encode with named, hex, decimal, CSS escape, or type the character — same code point everywhere encoding is supported.

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+0153 / entities Full support

Bottom line: Prefer &oelig; or a typed œ in HTML. Use œ or œ when numeric form is required, and \\0153 only inside CSS content.

Remember

Key Takeaways

Unicode: oe ligature is U+0153 (decimal 339) — glyph œ.
HTML: use &oelig;, œ, œ, or type œ.
CSS: use \0153 inside content for generated text.
Meaning: one ligature — not oe, not uppercase Œ, not IPA ɶ.

One line: U+0153 → &oelig; / œ / œ / CSS \0153.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I display the oe ligature (œ) in HTML?

Use &oelig; (named), œ (hex), œ (decimal), or the CSS escape \0153 in content. You can also paste œ directly in a UTF-8 document.

What is the Unicode value for the oe ligature?

U+0153 (LATIN SMALL LIGATURE OE). Hex 0153, decimal 339. It belongs to the Latin Extended-A block (U+0100–U+017F). Uppercase is U+0152 (Œ, &OElig;).

Is there a named HTML entity for U+0153?

Yes. Use &oelig;. Numeric forms œ and œ also work.

When should I use U+0153?

Use it for French words that require the ligature (cœur,œuf, sœur) and for classical spellings like fœtus when you need the single ligature character.

What is the difference between HTML code and CSS entity for U+0153?

HTML entities (&oelig;, œ, or œ) go in markup. The CSS escape \0153 goes in stylesheet strings (usually content on ::before/::after).

Is œ the same as typing oe or Œ?

No. œ is one Unicode ligature (U+0153). Typing oe is two letters (o + e). Œ is the uppercase ligature (U+0152, &OElig;).

Did you know?

Oe ligature is Unicode U+0153 (decimal 339) — glyph œ in Latin Extended-A. HTML5 names it &oelig;. Uppercase is Œ (U+0152, &OElig;). It is one character — not the two letters oe.

Next: Combining Ogonek

Learn the HTML entity for the combining ogonek (U+0328).

Combining Ogonek 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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