What ÷ means
Divide the left number by the right one. So 12 ÷ 4 = 3. The Swiss mathematician Johann Rahn introduced it for division in a 1659 German algebra book; earlier, the same mark (the obelus) flagged doubtful passages in manuscripts.
Why do people write / instead?
The slash is on every keyboard. Unicode also has a separate division slash, ∕, for mathematical typesetting. Use ÷ for school-style arithmetic; use / when speed or compatibility matters.
Don't confuse it with
4Questions people ask
1Why does ÷ show as a box on some devices?
Because that device's fonts have no glyph for it. The character is still correct and still copies correctly — the box is a missing glyph, not a broken character.
How to type ÷
Windows (Word)
Alt+XType 00F7, then Alt+X to get ÷.
Windows
Win+Rrun charmap for the full table, or use the emoji picker's Ω symbols tab (Win + .).
macOS
Control+Command+SpaceOpen the character viewer and search “division sign”.
Linux
Ctrl+Shift+UType 00f7, then Enter or Space.
HTML
÷CSS
\00F7Windows (Word)
Type 00F7, then press Alt+X.
macOS
Enable the Unicode Hex Input keyboard, hold Option and type 00F7.
Linux (GTK)
Press Ctrl+Shift+U, type f7, then Space or Enter.
Codes and encoding1 code points
HTML decimal
÷
HTML hex
÷
CSS content
content: "\00F7";
Each escape is closed by the next backslash; a trailing space is needed before a literal hex digit.
URL encoded
%C3%B7
1
On screen
1
Code points
1
JS .length
2
UTF-8 bytes
A visible symbol can contain several code points. JS .length counts UTF-16 units; UTF-8 counts bytes.