Dagger Symbol (†) — How to Type, Copy & Paste

Copy the Symbol

Both forms of the symbol ready to copy:

† — Dagger (U+2020) — Copy this: †

‡ — Double Dagger (U+2021) — Copy this: ‡

Highlight either symbol and copy it to your clipboard. Paste it anywhere you need it.

What Does the Dagger Symbol Mean?

The dagger symbol (†) is a reference mark with several meanings depending on context:

In publishing: It serves as a footnote marker, typically the second reference mark after the asterisk (*). When a page already has a footnote marked with *, the next one gets †.

In biographies: Placed after a person's name to indicate they are deceased, or next to a year to show it is a death date. For example: "John Smith (1940–†2020)"

In Christianity: The dagger shape resembles a cross, and † is sometimes used to represent a Christian cross in text.

In chess: A dagger annotation in chess notation indicates a blunder or bad move.

The double dagger (‡) is used as a third-level footnote marker when both * and † are already taken.

The dagger has been used in European typography since the medieval period, originally as a reference mark in religious texts.

How to Type on Windows

Several methods to type † on Windows:

Alt Code: Hold Alt and type 0134 on the numeric keypad. Release Alt to get †.

Character Map: Open Character Map from Start menu. Search for "dagger" and copy it.

Word/Office: Go to Insert > Symbol > More Symbols. Find † in the General Punctuation section.

Emoji Panel: Press Win + Period (.) and search for "dagger."

Double Dagger: Alt code for ‡ is 0135.

How to Type on Mac

Typing † on macOS is straightforward:

Keyboard Shortcut: Press Option + T to type †.

Double Dagger: Press Shift + Option + T to type ‡.

Character Viewer: Press Cmd + Ctrl + Space, search for "dagger," and double-click to insert.

How to Type on iPhone & Android

On mobile, the quickest way is to copy † from this page.

iPhone: Copy † from above. For faster access, add a text replacement shortcut in Settings > General > Keyboard > Text Replacement. Set "dg" to expand to †.

Android: Copy † from above. On Gboard, tap ?123 then =\< to access more symbols. Some keyboards include † in the extended symbols panel.

Uses of the Symbol

The dagger symbol shows up in a surprising number of fields:

Academic Publishing: Used as a second footnote marker after the asterisk (*). The sequence is typically * → † → ‡ → §.

Obituaries and Biographies: Marks death dates or indicates someone is deceased. Common in European academic and historical writing.

Chess: In chess annotation, † indicates a blunder. A double dagger ‡ marks a particularly terrible mistake.

Religion: Resembles a Christian cross and is sometimes used in religious texts or as shorthand for "cross" in formatting.

Mathematics: In some areas of math and physics, † denotes the Hermitian adjoint (conjugate transpose) of a matrix or operator.

Botany: Used in taxonomic descriptions to indicate a plant is of garden origin rather than wild.

The dagger is one of those quiet workhorse symbols — you may not notice it often, but it plays a crucial role in keeping organized footnotes, annotations, and references in professional writing.