What ✎ means
It marks writing, editing, or a note to add.
As an edit symbol, place ✎ beside a draft or annotation; for proofreading, nearby words must say what should change.
In the Middle Ages, people used pointed pieces of lead to draw or plan manuscripts. A copy of the book The Anatomy of Melancholy, dated 1821, preserves pencil lines, summaries, and an index in its margins. Those uses underpin the writing-and-editing association.
Plain and practical; it gives nearby text a work-in-progress feel.
On its own, it signals writing or revision, not approval.
Don't confuse it with
4Questions people ask
1Why does the pencil symbol look different?
The active font draws ✎. Fonts can change its angle and details, but not the character.
How to type ✎
Windows (Word)
Alt+XType 270E, 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 “lower right pencil”.
Linux
Ctrl+Shift+UType 270e, then Enter or Space.
HTML
✎CSS
\270ECodes and encoding1 code points
HTML decimal
✎
HTML hex
✎
CSS content
content: "\270E";
Each escape is closed by the next backslash; a trailing space is needed before a literal hex digit.
URL encoded
%E2%9C%8E
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.