HTML Entity for South West Arrow (↙)

Beginner

5 min read

Updated: Sep 2026

1 example

Unicode U+2199

HTML Entity for south west arrow (U+2199) tutorial illustration

Definition

What Is South West Arrow?

South west arrow (↙) is the Unicode character at U+2199 in the Arrows block. Official name: SOUTH WEST ARROW. It is a diagonal arrow pointing toward the south-west direction.

Remember

Character     ↙
Unicode       U+2199
Named entity  &swarr;
Hex entity    &#x2199;
Decimal       &#8601;
CSS escape    \2199
Not the same  ↖ · ↗ · ↘

Prefer &swarr; in HTML markup (&swarrow; is an alias). You can also type ↙ in UTF-8, or use numeric forms when needed. Pair the glyph with text for accessibility.

Reference

Quick Reference

One table for every form you will actually use.

Form	Code	Where it goes
Named entity	`&swarr;`	HTML markup (preferred)
Alias	`&swarrow;`	Same glyph as `&swarr;`
Direct character	`↙`	HTML text (UTF-8)
Hex entity	`↙`	HTML markup
Decimal entity	`↙`	HTML markup
CSS escape	`\2199`	Stylesheet `content`

When to Use Which

Situation	Use
South-west diagonal arrow	`&swarr;` or type `↙`
South-east diagonal	↘ (`&searr;`)
North-west diagonal	↖
North-east diagonal	↗
Generated text via `::before` / `::after`	`content: "\2199"`

See it

Live Preview

South west arrow rendered alone and next to the other diagonal arrows.

Large glyph ↙

UI hint Go to previous section ↙

Diagonals ↖ ↗ ↘ ↙

Collapse Collapse panel ↙

With entities Named: ↙ | Hex: ↙ | Decimal: ↙

Code

Complete HTML Example

One page that shows the arrow 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 ↙, plus a short navigation hint.

html

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="UTF-8">
  <title>South West Arrow (↙) in HTML</title>
  <style>
    #point::after {
      content: "\2199";
    }
  </style>
</head>
<body>
  <p>Using Named Entity: &swarr;</p>
  <p>Using Hex Code: &#x2199;</p>
  <p>Using HTML Code: &#8601;</p>
  <p id="point">Using CSS Entity: </p>
  <p>Typed directly: ↙</p>
  <p>Navigation: Go back &swarr;</p>
</body>
</html>

Try It Yourself

How It Works

1. Named: &swarr; is the HTML5 name for U+2199 → ↙. Best default in markup.

2. Hex: U+2199 → ↙ in HTML. Same glyph as the named form.

3. Decimal: same code point as 8601 → ↙. Same result as hex and named.

4. CSS: use \2199 in content (not an HTML entity). #point::after appends that ↙ after the paragraph text.

5. Typed / UI: paste ↙ in UTF-8, or write Go back &swarr; for a short directional hint.

Pitfalls & Tips

Common mistakes when working with &swarr;.

vs ↘

Not south east

U+2198 (↘) points south-east. U+2199 points south-west — different diagonals.

vs ↖

Not north west

↖ (U+2196) points north-west. Do not swap it with &swarr;.

Name

Remember &swarr;

Prefer &swarr;. The alias &swarrow; is valid but less common in tutorials.

CSS vs HTML

Do not mix escapes

\2199 belongs in CSS strings. &swarr; / ↙ / ↙ belong in HTML.

A11y

Do not rely on the glyph alone

Add nearby text or an aria-label when the arrow is the only control label.

Semicolon

End named entities

Always finish with ; — write &swarr;, not &swarr.

Compatibility

Browser Support

South west arrow (U+2199) and its entity forms (&swarr;, ↙, ↙, CSS \\2199) are supported in all mainstream browsers. Visible glyphs depend on Arrows font coverage.

✓ Universal support

South West Arrow (↙)

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+2199 / entities Full support

Bottom line: Prefer &swarr; in HTML. Use ↙ / ↙ when numeric form is required, and \\2199 only inside CSS content.

Remember

Key Takeaways

Unicode: south west arrow is U+2199 (decimal 8601) — glyph ↙.
HTML: prefer &swarr; — also ↙ / ↙ / type ↙.
CSS: use \2199 inside content for generated text.
Meaning: ↙ is south-west — not ↘, not ↖, not ↗.

One line: U+2199 → &swarr; / ↙ / ↙ / CSS \2199.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I display ↙ in HTML?

Use &swarr; (named), ↙ (hex), ↙ (decimal), type ↙ directly in UTF-8, or the CSS escape \2199 in content. Prefer &swarr; in normal HTML.

What is the Unicode value for south west arrow?

U+2199 (SOUTH WEST ARROW). Hex 2199, decimal 8601. It belongs to the Arrows block (U+2190–U+21FF).

Is there a named HTML entity for U+2199?

Yes. Use &swarr; (or the alias &swarrow;). Numeric forms ↙ and ↙ also work.

Is ↙ the same as ↘ or ↖?

No. ↙ is U+2199 (south west). ↘ is U+2198 (south east). ↖ is U+2196 (north west). ↗ is U+2197 (north east).

When should I use &swarr;?

Use it for diagonal south-west direction in navigation hints, UI labels, flowcharts, and diagrams. Pair the glyph with text for accessibility.

What is the difference between HTML code and CSS entity for U+2199?

HTML entities (&swarr;, ↙, or ↙) go in markup. The CSS escape \2199 goes in stylesheet strings (usually content on ::before/::after).

Did you know?

South west arrow is Unicode U+2199 (decimal 8601) — glyph ↙ in the Arrows block (U+2190–U+21FF). HTML5 names it &swarr; (also &swarrow;). Official name: SOUTH WEST ARROW. Do not confuse with south east U+2198 (↘), north east U+2197 (↗), or north west U+2196 (↖).

Next: South West Arrow Hook

Learn the HTML entity for south west arrow with hook (U+2926).

Hooked SW arrow 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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