Inverted closed open e (ʖ) is the Unicode character at U+0296 in IPA Extensions. Official name: LATIN SMALL LETTER INVERTED CLOSED OPEN E. It is a phonetic letter — not the Spanish inverted question mark. The path /html/entity/question-mark-inverted is a historical slug for this code point.
Remember
Character ʖ
Unicode U+0296
Hex entity ʖ
Decimal ʖ
CSS escape \0296
Named entity (none)
Not the same ¿ (¿) · ɛ · ?
Prefer ʖ or ʖ in HTML when you need an entity. You can also type ʖ in a UTF-8 document. For ¿, see Inverted Question Mark (¿).
Built with Hex: ʖ
Built with Decimal: ʖ
Built with CSS: ʖ
Typed: ʖ
Note: ʖ is not ¿
How It Works
1. Hex:U+0296 → ʖ in HTML. The browser turns it into ʖ.
2. Decimal: same code point as 662 → ʖ. Same result as hex.
3. CSS: use \0296 in content (not an HTML entity). #point::after appends ʖ.
4. Typed: paste ʖ in a UTF-8 document for phonetic text. There is no named entity — numeric form is required when you need an entity.
Pitfalls & Tips
Common mistakes when working with inverted closed open e.
Slug
Not inverted “¿”
The URL says question-mark-inverted, but the character is U+0296 (ʖ). For Spanish punctuation, use ¿.
Named?
No named entity
HTML5 does not define a named entity for U+0296. Use ʖ or ʖ. Do not confuse with ¿.
ɛ
Not open e
ɛ (U+025B, Latin small letter open e) is a different IPA letter. Do not swap them.
Fonts
Need IPA coverage
Some fonts omit IPA Extensions. Prefer a font that includes U+0296 for reliable glyphs.
CSS
Pad the CSS escape
Prefer \0296 (four hex digits). A short \296 can swallow the next hex digit if one follows immediately.
CSS vs HTML
Do not mix escapes
\0296 belongs in CSS strings. ʖ / ʖ belong in HTML.
Semicolon
End references
Always finish entities with ; — write ʖ, not ʖ.
Compatibility
Browser Support
Inverted closed open e (U+0296) and its entity forms (ʖ, ʖ, CSS \\0296) are supported in all mainstream browsers. Visible glyphs depend on IPA Extensions font coverage.
✓ Universal support
Inverted Closed Open E (ʖ)
Encode with hex, decimal, CSS escape, or type the character — same code point everywhere encoding is supported.
100%Browser coverage
Google ChromeSupported
Yes
Microsoft EdgeSupported
Yes
Mozilla FirefoxSupported
Yes
Apple SafariSupported
Yes
OperaSupported
Yes
Internet ExplorerAll versions
Yes
U+0296Full support
Bottom line: Prefer ʖ or ʖ in HTML when encoding must be explicit, and \\0296 only inside CSS content. There is no named entity.
Remember
Key Takeaways
Unicode: inverted closed open e is U+0296 (decimal 662) — glyph ʖ.
One line:U+0296 → ʖ / ʖ / CSS \0296 (no named entity).
Frequently Asked Questions
Use ʖ (hex), ʖ (decimal), type ʖ in UTF-8, or the CSS escape \0296 in content. There is no HTML5 named entity for U+0296.
U+0296 (LATIN SMALL LETTER INVERTED CLOSED OPEN E). Hex 296, decimal 662. It belongs to IPA Extensions (U+0250–U+02AF).
No. HTML5 does not define a named entity for this letter. Use numeric references like ʖ or ʖ when you need an entity form.
No. The slug question-mark-inverted points to U+0296 (ʖ), an IPA Extensions letter. The Spanish inverted question mark is U+00BF (¿) with named entity ¿.
HTML entities (ʖ or ʖ) go in markup. The CSS escape \0296 goes in stylesheet strings (usually content on ::before/::after).
ʖ is inverted closed open e (U+0296). ¿ is inverted question mark punctuation (U+00BF). ɛ is Latin small letter open e (U+025B). Related-looking, different characters.
🤔
Did you know?
Inverted closed open e is Unicode U+0296 (decimal 662) — LATIN SMALL LETTER INVERTED CLOSED OPEN E (glyph ʖ) in IPA Extensions. HTML5 has no named entity — use ʖ or ʖ. The URL slug question-mark-inverted is historical; this is not the Spanish inverted question mark ¿ (¿). Related open-e letter: ɛ (U+025B).
