What ↯ means
↯ is the downwards zigzag arrow. Unicode classifies it as an “other symbol” — Unicode's shelf for signs that are neither maths, money nor punctuation and files it in the Arrows block; this site shelves it under Arrows.
Its appearance depends on the font and text styling.
How it is encoded
↯ is a single code point, U+21AF. In HTML that is ↯, and in CSS \21AF.
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 21AF, 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 “downwards zigzag arrow”.
Linux
Ctrl+Shift+UType 21af, then Enter or Space.
HTML
↯CSS
\21AFCodes and encoding1 code points
HTML decimal
↯
HTML hex
↯
CSS content
content: "\21AF";
Each escape is closed by the next backslash; a trailing space is needed before a literal hex digit.
URL encoded
%E2%86%AF
1
On screen
1
Code points
1
JS .length
3
UTF-8 bytes
A visible symbol can contain several code points. JS .length counts UTF-16 units; UTF-8 counts bytes.