What means
Its documented source is a Sharp MZ computer character set. A Unicode proposal dated December 2021 lists it as entry C4 in the Japanese-primary character set for Sharp MZ computers; C4 marks its slot in that built-in collection of characters. The proposal sought to preserve old-computer symbols so character data could be converted both ways and used by emulators and conversion tools. It maps this arrow to ← as the plain leftward equivalent.
Don't confuse it with
4Combination ideas
1Possible wayfinding sign: the entrance is to the left.
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.
How to type
Windows (Word)
Alt+XType 1F8B4, 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 “negative squared leftwards arrow”.
Linux
Ctrl+Shift+UType 1f8b4, then Enter or Space.
HTML
🢴CSS
\1F8B4HTML code for this arrow
In HTML source, write `🢴` as a numeric character reference; the browser renders the character from it.
Codes and encoding1 code points
HTML decimal
🢴
HTML hex
🢴
CSS content
content: "\1F8B4";
Each escape is closed by the next backslash; a trailing space is needed before a literal hex digit.
URL encoded
%F0%9F%A2%B4
1
On screen
1
Code points
2
JS .length
4
UTF-8 bytes
A visible symbol can contain several code points. JS .length counts UTF-16 units; UTF-8 counts bytes.