What ⟵ means
It marks a mapping from right to left.
In X ⟵ Y, the arrowhead leads to X: Y maps to X.
Broader milestones: John Gaston Leathem's notation for limits (values a function approaches) in 1905, arrow notation in two math books in 1908, and David Hilbert's rightward implication arrow in 1922.
Is ⟵ different from ?
Yes: the longer form marks mappings.
is the short form for direction and limits. is double-line; adds a “maps from” bar. In right-to-left text, arrows do not mirror: ⟵ still points left.
Part of the collection
Don't confuse it with
3
Related characters
2
Combination ideas
3Go back to the previous page
Pseudocode: increase x by one
Swipe left to continue
Questions 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.
More like this
13
How to type or find ⟵
- Also called
- longleftarrow
- Search it as
- mapping arrow · LaTeX long arrow
- Shows up in
- Anything that takes text · its shape is whatever your font draws
Windows (Word)
Windows
HTML
⟵CSS
\27F5LaTeX
Use \longleftarrow.
HTML
Use ⟵ or ⟵.
Codes and encoding1 code points
HTML decimal
⟵
HTML hex
⟵
CSS content
content: "\27F5";
Each escape is closed by the next backslash; a trailing space is needed before a literal hex digit.
URL encoded
%E2%9F%B5
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.