What ↊ means
In Pitman's dozenal notation, ↊ means ten.
Base 12 allows twelve values in each place, so it needs two digit signs beyond 0–9. Pitman's pair uses ↊ for ten and ↋ for eleven; other dozenal systems use A and B or other paired signs.
Isaac Pitman devised the turned digits in 1857 as part of an arithmetic-reform proposal. Around 1860, he used the signs in publications promoting the system.
In a mathematical context, it signals specialist dozenal notation.
Its turned shape recalls 2, but its dozenal value is ten.
What it means when someone sends it to you
3 readingsInside a base-twelve number
The value ten in that number.
↊ followed by ↋
Pitman's two digits for ten and eleven, in order.
Sent alone in casual chat
Its technical numeral use is the clearest reading; personal intent depends on the conversation.
Don't confuse it with
4Questions people ask
1Why does ↊ sometimes show as a box?
The font may not include its glyph. As of 2026, the Dozenal Society of America describes browser and mobile font support as uneven.
How to type ↊
Windows (Word)
Alt+XType 218A, 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 “turned digit two”.
Linux
Ctrl+Shift+UType 218a, then Enter or Space.
HTML
↊CSS
\218ACodes and encoding1 code points
HTML decimal
↊
HTML hex
↊
CSS content
content: "\218A";
Each escape is closed by the next backslash; a trailing space is needed before a literal hex digit.
URL encoded
%E2%86%8A
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.