HTML Entity for Right Harpoon Over Left Harpoon (⇌)

Beginner
⏱️ 5 min read
📚 Updated: Jun 2026
🎯 1 Code Example
Unicode U+21CC
HTML entity for Right Harpoon Over Left Harpoon (U+21CC) — named ⇌, hex, decimal, and CSS tutorial

What You'll Learn

How to display the Right Harpoon Over Left Harpoon (⇌) in HTML using the named entity, hexadecimal, decimal, and CSS escape methods. This symbol is U+21CC (RIGHTWARDS HARPOON OVER LEFTWARDS HARPOON) in the Arrows block (U+2190–U+21FF)—a stacked pair of harpoons (right over left) used for reversible chemical reactions, equilibrium notation, and bidirectional arrows in math and science.

Render it with ⇌ (named), ⇌, ⇌, or CSS \21CC. Related: U+21CB (⇋, left harpoon over right / ⇋), U+21C0 (⇀, right harpoon barb up / ⇀).

⚡ Quick Reference — Right Harpoon Over Left Harpoon

Unicode U+21CC

Arrows block

Hex Code ⇌

Hexadecimal reference

HTML Code ⇌

Decimal reference

Named Entity ⇌

Most readable option

Reference Table
Name           Value
────────────   ──────────
Unicode        U+21CC
Hex code       ⇌
HTML code      ⇌
Named entity   ⇌
CSS code       \21CC
Meaning        Rightwards harpoon over leftwards harpoon
Related        U+21CB = left harpoon over right (⇋)
               U+21C0 = right harpoon barb up (⇀)
1

Complete HTML Example

A simple example showing the Right Harpoon Over Left Harpoon (⇌) using the named entity, hexadecimal code, decimal HTML code, and a CSS content escape:

html
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
 <style>
  #point:after{
   content: "\21CC";
  }
 </style>
</head>
<body>
<p>Symbol using Hexadecimal: &#x21CC;</p>
<p>Symbol using HTML Code: &#8652;</p>
<p>Symbol using HTML Entity: &rlhar;</p>
<p id="point">Symbol using CSS Entity: </p>
</body>
</html>
Try it Yourself

🌐 Browser Support

The Right Harpoon Over Left Harpoon (⇌) renders in modern browsers when the font includes Arrows block glyphs:

Chrome 1+
Firefox 1+
Safari 1+
Edge 12+
Opera 4+
Android 4.4+
iOS Safari 1+

👀 Live Preview

See the Right Harpoon Over Left Harpoon (⇌) in chemistry and math contexts:

Equilibrium A ⇌ B
Chemistry N₂ + 3H₂ ⇌ 2NH₃
Math notation f ⇌ g
Flow diagram Step 1 ⇌ Step 2
Large glyph ⇌
Harpoon comparison ⇌ ⇋ ⇀ ⇁
Entity refs &rlhar; &#x21CC; &#8652; \21CC

🧠 How It Works

1

Named HTML Entity

&rlhar; is the named entity for the Right Harpoon Over Left Harpoon (rightwards harpoon over leftwards harpoon). Easy to read in math and logic markup.

HTML markup
2

Hexadecimal Code

&#x21CC; uses the Unicode hexadecimal value 21CC. The x prefix indicates hexadecimal format.

HTML markup
3

Decimal HTML Code

&#8652; uses the decimal Unicode value 8652 for the same symbol.

HTML markup
4

CSS Entity

\21CC is used in CSS stylesheets in the content property of pseudo-elements like ::after.

CSS stylesheet
=

Same visual result

All four methods produce ⇌. Unicode U+21CC is in the Arrows block. Previous: Right Harpoon Barb Up To Bar.

✅

Use Cases

The Right Harpoon Over Left Harpoon (⇌) is commonly used in:

📐 Mathematics

Reversible relations and equilibrium notation in math and chemistry.

📜 Logic & category theory

Bidirectional morphisms and commutative diagrams with harpoon pairs.

📊 Scientific notation

Chemical equilibrium arrows and reversible process diagrams.

📚 Technical docs

Illustrate stacked harpoon symbols in guides and reference material.

🎯 Proofs

Reversible inference or two-way logical relations in formal writing.

🗃 Entity reference

Document and teach HTML entity usage for Arrows block symbols.

💡 Best Practices

Do

  • Prefer &rlhar; in HTML for readability
  • Use fonts that support the Arrows block (U+21CC)
  • Set <meta charset="utf-8">
  • Pair ⇌ with context (math, logic) so meaning is clear
  • Keep one encoding style per project for consistency
  • Distinguish ⇌ from ⇋ and ⇀ when stacked vs single harpoons matter

Don’t

  • Confuse &rlhar; (U+21CC, right over left) with &lrhar; (U+21CB, left over right)
  • Confuse &rlhar; (U+21CC) with &rharu; (U+21C0, single right harpoon barb up)
  • Use CSS \21CC inside HTML text nodes
  • Assume all fonts render harpoon glyphs identically
  • Mix named and numeric entities inconsistently in the same component

Key Takeaways

1

Four ways to render U+21CC in HTML and CSS

&rlhar; &#x21CC; &#8652;
2

For CSS, use \21CC in the content property

3

Unicode U+21CC — RIGHTWARDS HARPOON OVER LEFTWARDS HARPOON

4

Arrows block (U+2190–U+21FF) — named entity &rlhar;

5

Previous: Right Harpoon Barb Up To Bar (⥓)   Next: Right Harpoon With Barb Down Below Long Dash

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

Use &rlhar; (named), &#x21CC; (hex), &#8652; (decimal), or \21CC in CSS content. All four methods render ⇌ correctly.
U+21CC (RIGHTWARDS HARPOON OVER LEFTWARDS HARPOON). Arrows block (U+2190–U+21FF). Hex 21CC, decimal 8652. A stacked pair of harpoons with the right harpoon above the left.
In mathematical notation, reversible chemical reactions, equilibrium equations, logic, commutative diagrams, and any design that needs a bidirectional harpoon pair.
Named and numeric HTML references (&rlhar;, &#8652;, &#x21CC;) go in markup. The CSS escape \21CC is used in stylesheets, typically on ::before or ::after. Both produce ⇌.
Yes. &rlhar; is the named HTML entity for U+21CC. You can also use &#8652; (decimal) or &#x21CC; (hex) and \21CC in CSS.

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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
  • 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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