What ␥ means
␥ is the symbol for delete form two. Unicode classifies it as an “other symbol” — Unicode's shelf for signs that are neither maths, money nor punctuation and files it in the Control Pictures block; this site shelves it under Lines & boxes.
Its appearance depends on the font and text styling.
How it is encoded
␥ is a single code point, U+2425. In HTML that is ␥, and in CSS \2425.
Technical keyboard notation; its strokes can vary by font.
Don't confuse it with
3␡
Symbol For Delete
␡ is the generic visible picture for Delete; ␥ names an undoable keyboard function.
DEL
DEL is ASCII’s control code for marking erasures on perforated tape; ␥ names an undoable keyboard function.
Symbol For Delete Square Checker Board Form
is a checkerboard delete graphic from legacy computer character sets, not this keyboard-function symbol.
Questions people ask
1Is ␥ the same as pressing Delete?
No. It is a visible text character naming a keyboard function; typing it inserts the character instead of changing nearby text.
How to type ␥
Windows (Word)
Alt+XType 2425, 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 “symbol for delete form two”.
Linux
Ctrl+Shift+UType 2425, then Enter or Space.
HTML
␥CSS
\2425Codes and encoding1 code points
HTML decimal
␥
HTML hex
␥
CSS content
content: "\2425";
Each escape is closed by the next backslash; a trailing space is needed before a literal hex digit.
URL encoded
%E2%90%A5
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.