Heavy left-pointing angle quotation mark

It marks a heavy, angle-shaped opening or decorative edge.

The chevron family was once used to mark citations, and French guillemets—the paired angle quotation marks « »—date to the sixteenth century. ❮ belongs to that typographic family as a heavy ornament.

The opening or closing role of angle quotation marks is locale-dependent. In ordinary English prose, this heavy single mark reads as a decorative choice rather than standard quotation punctuation.

Use ❯ as its matching partner

Pair it with ❯ to finish a heavy angle enclosure. A lone ❮ can work as a visual lead-in or decorative edge; at the start of a quotation, it may look as if its closing mark is missing. For standard quotation, follow the style used by the language and document.