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Arrow Symbols → ← ↑ ↓ — Every Arrow Symbol Explained

·8 min read

Arrows are everywhere. In math textbooks, on road signs, in your phone's UI, in flowcharts, in text messages. But when you actually need to type one? That's when you realize your keyboard doesn't have an arrow key that produces an arrow character. The arrow keys on your keyboard move your cursor — they don't insert a → into your text.

So how do you actually get arrow symbols into your documents, social media posts, or code? And what do the different types of arrows even mean? I've been way too deep into Unicode tables, so let me save you the trouble.

Quick Copy-Paste Arrow Symbols

Let's start with what most people came here for. Here are the most commonly used arrow symbols, ready to copy:

For a full collection you can browse and copy from, check out our arrow symbols page. We also have dedicated pages for up arrows and down arrows.

What Do Different Arrow Symbols Mean?

Not all arrows are created equal. A single arrow (→) means something different from a double arrow (⇒), and a squiggly arrow (↝) is its own thing entirely. Here's the breakdown.

Single Arrows: → ← ↑ ↓

These are your basic directional arrows. They point in a direction. That's it. In everyday text, people use them to mean "leads to" or "next" or just to point at something. In math, → can indicate a function mapping or a limit. In chemistry, it shows a reaction going one way.

Double Arrows: ⇒ ⇐ ⇔

In logic and math, ⇒ means "implies." If A ⇒ B, then A being true means B must also be true. The double-headed version ⇔ means "if and only if" — both directions. These show up constantly in proofs and formal reasoning. Outside of math, people sometimes use ⇒ as a fancier version of →. Technically wrong, but nobody's going to call the Unicode police on you.

Diagonal Arrows: ↗ ↘ ↙ ↖

These point at 45-degree angles. You'll see them in charts (↗ means trending upward), weather apps, and navigation. Stock market apps love ↗ for gains and ↘ for losses. Simple and effective.

Curved and Looping Arrows: ↩ ↪ ⟳ ⟲

Curved arrows usually mean "return" or "undo." The ↩ symbol is literally the undo icon on most platforms. ⟳ means refresh or rotate clockwise. These are so embedded in UI design that most people recognize them instantly without thinking about it.

Specialty Arrows

Then there are the weird ones. ↣ (arrow with tail), ↠ (two-headed arrow), ⇝ (squiggly arrow), ⤴ (arrow curving upward). Most of these have specific uses in mathematics or technical documentation. The squiggly arrow, for instance, sometimes represents a weak convergence in analysis. But honestly, most people just pick whichever arrow looks coolest for their bio or username.

How to Type Arrow Symbols on Your Keyboard

Windows Alt Codes

Hold Alt and type these on your number pad (make sure Num Lock is on):

That's the classic set. For anything beyond these four, Alt codes get complicated — you'd need to use Alt + full Unicode decimal values like Alt + 8658 for ⇒. At that point, just copy-paste. Seriously.

Mac

macOS doesn't have direct keyboard shortcuts for most arrows. Your best bet is the Character Viewer: press Control + Command + Space, then search for "arrow." You'll get the full Unicode set. I wish Apple made this easier, but here we are.

HTML Entities

If you're writing HTML, you've got named entities for the basics:

These are way easier to remember than numeric codes. If you do any web development, burn these into your memory.

Arrows in Programming and Technical Writing

Programmers use arrow-like constructs constantly. In JavaScript and many other languages, => is the "fat arrow" for arrow functions. In Haskell, -> defines function types. In Python, -> is used for return type hints.

But these are all ASCII approximations — two characters pretending to be one arrow. When writing documentation or comments where you want an actual arrow character, the Unicode symbols look way cleaner. Compare input -> output with input → output. The second one just looks better. It's a small thing, but small things add up.

Using Arrows in Social Media and Design

Arrows are popular in Instagram bios, Twitter/X posts, and Pinterest pins. They work as visual separators, pointers to links, or just decoration. Some popular patterns:

If you're building an aesthetic bio, arrows pair nicely with star symbols and bullet points. Mix a few different types and see what fits your vibe.

Arrows in Math and Science

This is where arrows get serious. In mathematics alone, there are dozens of arrow types with specific meanings:

In chemistry, arrows show reaction direction. A single arrow (→) means the reaction goes one way. A double arrow (⇌) means it's reversible, reaching equilibrium. The length of the arrows can even indicate which direction is favored. If you've ever taken organic chemistry, you've seen curved arrows showing electron movement. Those are harder to do in plain text, but some people get creative with combinations.

Physics uses arrows for vectors constantly. The notation a⃗ (a with an arrow on top) represents a vector quantity. In plain text, people usually write a in bold or use â instead, since the combining arrow above (⃗) doesn't render well everywhere.

The Unicode Arrow Blocks

If you're curious about how arrows are organized in Unicode, there are several dedicated blocks:

All told, Unicode contains over 300 arrow characters. That's... a lot of arrows. Most people will never need more than about 10 of them. But it's nice to know they exist.

Common Issues with Arrow Symbols

The biggest problem with arrow symbols is rendering. Not every font supports every Unicode arrow. If you paste a fancy arrow and it shows up as a □ or a ?, the recipient's device doesn't have a font that includes that character. Stick to the basic arrows (→ ← ↑ ↓) if compatibility matters.

Another issue: some platforms strip or convert Unicode characters. Older email clients are notorious for this. If you're sending arrows in an email, test it first.

And one more thing — screen readers. Arrows do get read aloud, usually as "rightwards arrow" or similar. If you're using arrows decoratively (like as bullet points), that can be annoying for people using assistive technology. Something to keep in mind.

Wrapping Up

Arrow symbols are one of those things that seem simple until you actually need a specific one. The basic four (→ ← ↑ ↓) cover 90% of use cases. For everything else, there's our arrows collection where you can browse and copy whatever you need.

Whether you're writing a math paper, decorating your Instagram bio, or just trying to point someone in the right direction in a text message, there's an arrow for that. Probably several arrows for that, actually. Unicode went a little overboard. But hey, better too many options than not enough.

Related Symbol Collections