Spacing macron (¯) is the Unicode character at U+00AF in Latin-1 Supplement. Unicode name: MACRON (formerly SPACING MACRON). It is a standalone horizontal bar — often used to mark long vowels in linguistic notes — with its own width.
Remember
Character ¯
Unicode U+00AF
Named entity ¯
Hex entity ¯
Decimal ¯
CSS escape \AF
Not the same ̄ · ā · ¸
Prefer ¯ in HTML markup (¯ is an alias). You can also type ¯ in UTF-8, or use numeric forms when needed. For letters like ā, use the precomposed entity (e.g. ā), not ¯ alone.
Using Named Entity: ¯
Using Hex Code: ¯
Using HTML Code: ¯
Using CSS Entity: ¯
Typed directly: ¯
Long vowel mark ¯ above base letter
How It Works
1. Named:¯ is the HTML5 name for U+00AF → ¯. Best default in markup.
2. Hex:U+00AF → ¯ in HTML. Same glyph as the named form.
3. Decimal: same code point as 175 → ¯. Same result as hex and named.
4. CSS: use \AF in content (not an HTML entity). #point::after appends that ¯ after the paragraph text.
5. Typed / note: paste ¯ in UTF-8, or write a short label like Long vowel mark ¯ … when documenting the diacritic.
Pitfalls & Tips
Common mistakes when working with ¯.
vs ā
Not a letter with macron
¯ alone is the mark ¯. For a long a, use ā (ā), not a¯.
vs U+0304
Not the combining mark
U+0304 attaches above a base letter. U+00AF is spacing — it sits as its own character.
Name
Remember ¯
The named entity is ¯ — not ā (that is the letter ā).
CSS vs HTML
Do not mix escapes
\AF belongs in CSS strings. ¯ / ¯ / ¯ belong in HTML.
Semicolon
End named entities
Always finish with ; — write ¯, not ¯.
A11y
Name the mark in context
Screen readers may announce “macron” or skip it. Add nearby text when the mark is instructional.
Compatibility
Browser Support
Spacing macron (U+00AF) and its entity forms (¯, ¯, ¯, CSS \\AF) are supported in all mainstream browsers. Visible glyphs depend on Latin-1 font coverage.
✓ Universal support
Spacing Macron (¯)
Encode with named, 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+00AF / entitiesFull support
Bottom line: Prefer ¯ in HTML. Use ¯ / ¯ when numeric form is required, and \\AF only inside CSS content.
Remember
Key Takeaways
Unicode: spacing macron is U+00AF (decimal 175) — glyph ¯.
HTML: prefer ¯ — also ¯ / ¯ / type ¯.
CSS: use \AF inside content for generated text.
Meaning:¯ is a spacing mark — not ā (ā), not U+0304.
Use ¯ (named), ¯ (hex), ¯ (decimal), type ¯ directly in UTF-8, or the CSS escape \AF in content. Prefer ¯ in normal HTML.
U+00AF (MACRON; formerly SPACING MACRON). Hex AF, decimal 175. It belongs to Latin-1 Supplement (U+0080–U+00FF).
Yes. Use ¯ (or the alias ¯). Numeric forms ¯ and ¯ also work.
No. ¯ (U+00AF) is a spacing mark. Combining macron is U+0304. ā is the precomposed letter U+0101 (ā).
Use it when you need the macron as a standalone symbol in linguistics, phonetics, or education — not when you want a letter like ā (prefer ā).
HTML entities (¯, ¯, or ¯) go in markup. The CSS escape \AF goes in stylesheet strings (usually content on ::before/::after).
🤔
Did you know?
Spacing macron is Unicode U+00AF (decimal 175) — glyph ¯ in Latin-1 Supplement (U+0080–U+00FF). HTML5 names it ¯ (also ¯). Unicode name: MACRON (formerly SPACING MACRON). It is a standalone horizontal bar with its own width. Do not confuse with combining macron U+0304 (̄) or precomposed letters like ā (ā).
