HTML Entity for Upsilon Small (ʊ)

Beginner
⏱️ 5 min read
📚 Updated: Jun 2026
🎯 1 Code Example
Unicode U+028A
HTML Entity for Upsilon Small symbol tutorial illustration

What You'll Learn

How to display the Upsilon Small symbol (ʊ) in HTML using hexadecimal, decimal, and CSS escape methods. This character is U+028A (LATIN SMALL LETTER UPSILON) in the IPA Extensions block—the IPA symbol for the near-close near-back rounded vowel, widely used in phonetic transcriptions and linguistic notation.

Render it with ʊ, ʊ, or CSS escape \028A. There is no named HTML entity. The related capital form is Ʊ (U+01B1). Do not confuse ʊ with Greek υ (U+03C5, υ) or plain u (U+0075).

⚡ Quick Reference — Upsilon Small Entity

Unicode U+028A

IPA Extensions

Hex Code ʊ

Hexadecimal reference

HTML Code ʊ

Decimal reference

Named Entity —

No named entity

Reference Table
Name           Value
────────────   ──────────
Unicode        U+028A
Hex code       ʊ
HTML code      ʊ
Named entity   (none)
CSS code       \028A
Meaning        Latin small letter upsilon
IPA vowel      Near-close near-back rounded vowel
Related        U+01B1 = Ʊ (upsilon, capital)
               U+03C5 = υ (Greek upsilon, υ)
Block          IPA Extensions (U+0250–U+02AF)
1

Complete HTML Example

A simple example showing the Upsilon Small symbol (ʊ) using hexadecimal code, decimal HTML code, and a CSS content escape:

html
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
 <style>
  #point:after{
   content: "\028A";
  }
 </style>
</head>
<body>
<p>Symbol (hex): &#x028A;</p>
<p>Symbol (decimal): &#650;</p>
<p id="point">Symbol (CSS): </p>
</body>
</html>
Try It Yourself

🌐 Browser Support

The Upsilon Small symbol (ʊ) is supported in modern browsers when the font includes IPA Extensions glyphs:

Chrome1+
Firefox1+
Safari1+
Edge12+
Opera4+
Android4.4+
iOS Safari1+

👀 Live Preview

See the Upsilon Small symbol (ʊ) and how it differs from related characters:

Large glyphʊ
IPA examplebook [bʊk]  |  foot [fʊt]
Unicode nameLatin small letter upsilon
Capital formƱ (U+01B1) — Latin capital letter upsilon
Greek upsilonυ (U+03C5) — &upsilon;  |  Υ (U+03A5) — &Upsilon;
Numeric refs&#x028A; &#650; \028A

🧠 How It Works

1

Hexadecimal Code

&#x028A; uses the Unicode hexadecimal value 028A to display the character. The x prefix indicates hexadecimal format.

HTML markup
2

Decimal HTML Code

&#650; uses the decimal Unicode value 650 to display the same character. A common method for IPA Extensions characters.

HTML markup
3

CSS Entity

\028A is used in CSS stylesheets, particularly in the content property of pseudo-elements like ::before and ::after.

CSS stylesheet
=

Same visual result

All three methods produce the glyph: ʊ. Unicode U+028A sits in IPA Extensions. Do not confuse with Greek U+03C5 (υ, &upsilon;) or capital Ʊ (U+01B1). Use fonts with IPA support for reliable rendering.

✅

Use Cases

The Upsilon Small symbol (ʊ) is commonly used in:

📝 Phonetic transcriptions

IPA notation for the near-close near-back rounded vowel in pronunciation guides.

🔤 Linguistic notation

Language studies, dictionaries, and phonology papers requiring IPA symbols.

🌐 Language learning

Educational sites and apps teaching English vowel sounds like in “book” and “foot”.

📄 Academic papers

Scholarly publications and research documentation with accurate phonetic symbols.

📚 Scientific content

Linguistics textbooks, speech-science resources, and Unicode reference pages.

🎨 Typography

Font specimens showcasing IPA Extensions characters in web typography.

⚙ Programmatic HTML

When building HTML from linguistic data, &#650; or &#x028A; guarantees correct output.

💡 Best Practices

Do

  • Serve pages as UTF-8; you can type ʊ directly in UTF-8 source
  • Use numeric references (&#x028A; or &#650;) when escaping is required
  • Use \028A in CSS content when generating the symbol via pseudo-elements
  • Use fonts that support IPA Extensions (e.g. Charis SIL, Doulos SIL, Gentium)
  • Distinguish ʊ (IPA upsilon) from Greek υ (&upsilon;)

Don’t

  • Use ʊ when you need Greek upsilon υ (&upsilon;, U+03C5)
  • Substitute plain u when ʊ is required for correct IPA notation
  • Confuse ʊ (IPA small upsilon) with Ʊ (Latin capital upsilon)
  • Use HTML entities in JS (use \u028A instead)
  • Expect a named HTML entity—none exists for ʊ

Key Takeaways

1

Type ʊ directly, or use hex/decimal references

&#x028A; &#650;
2

For CSS stylesheets, use the escape in the content property

\028A
3

Unicode U+028A — LATIN SMALL LETTER UPSILON (IPA Extensions)

4

Not Greek υ; capital form is Ʊ (U+01B1)

5

Previous: Upsilon (Ʊ)   Next: Uranus

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

Use &#x028A; (hex), &#650; (decimal), or \028A in CSS content. There is no named HTML entity. In UTF-8 you can also type ʊ directly.
U+028A (LATIN SMALL LETTER UPSILON). IPA Extensions block. Hex 028A, decimal 650. Capital form is U+01B1 (Ʊ). Not the same as Greek U+03C5 (υ, &upsilon;).
For phonetic transcriptions (IPA), linguistic notation, pronunciation guides, language-learning content, and scholarly text requiring the Latin small letter upsilon.
HTML entities (&#650; or &#x028A;) go directly in markup. The CSS escape \028A is used in stylesheets, typically in the content property of ::before or ::after. Same visual result, different layers of the stack.
Named HTML entities are reserved for commonly used ASCII, Latin-1, and widely recognized symbols. IPA Extensions characters like ʊ use numeric codes (hexadecimal or decimal) because they belong to specialized Unicode blocks. Use &#650; or &#x028A; in HTML, or \028A 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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