How to Type Heart Symbol on Keyboard ♥ ♡ ❤

You want to type a heart symbol. Sounds simple, but if you've ever stared at your keyboard wondering where the heart is hiding, you're not alone. There's no dedicated heart key on any standard keyboard, but there are about a dozen different ways to get one — depending on your device and what type of heart you're after.

I'll walk through every method: Windows Alt codes, Mac shortcuts, Chromebooks, Linux, phones, and the fastest option of all — just copying one directly. Let's go.

The Fastest Method: Copy and Paste

Before we get into keyboard tricks, let's start with what actually works 100% of the time on every device:

Just select the heart you want, copy it (Ctrl+C on Windows, Cmd+C on Mac), and paste it wherever you need it. This works in Word, Google Docs, Instagram, TikTok, emails — everywhere.

Windows: Alt Code Method

If you're on a Windows PC with a numeric keypad (the number block on the right side of full-size keyboards), you can type heart symbols directly:

Important: This only works with the numeric keypad (right side of the keyboard), not the number row at the top. Num Lock must be on. Laptop keyboards usually don't have a numpad, so this method won't work on most laptops.

Windows: Emoji Picker (Win + . )

This is honestly the easiest Windows method and works on every keyboard type:

1. Press Windows key + Period (.) or Windows key + Semicolon (;)
2. The emoji picker pops up
3. Type "heart" in the search box
4. Click the heart you want

You'll get emoji-style hearts (❤️ 💙 💜 etc.) through this method. If you want the text-style hearts like ♥ or ♡, copy-paste is your best bet. Or use our heart symbols page.

Mac: Keyboard Shortcuts

Mac has a few approaches for typing heart symbols:

Method 1: Character Viewer

1. Press Control + Command + Space
2. The character viewer opens
3. Search "heart"
4. Double-click any heart to insert it

Method 2: Option Key Combo

There's no single Option key shortcut that types a heart on Mac by default. But you can set one up via System Settings → Keyboard → Text Replacements. For example, set ;heart to auto-replace with ♥.

Method 3: Text Replacement

1. Go to System Settings → Keyboard → Text Replacements
2. Click the + button
3. Set "Replace" to something like <3
4. Set "With" to ♥ (copy this symbol)
5. Now every time you type <3, it becomes ♥

Chromebook

Chromebooks don't have Alt codes, but they do have an emoji picker:

1. Press Search + Shift + Space (or right-click in a text field → Emoji)
2. Search "heart"
3. Click to insert

For text hearts (♥ ♡), copy-paste from our heart symbols collection is the way to go.

Linux

On Linux, you can use the Unicode input method:

1. Press Ctrl + Shift + U
2. Type the Unicode hex code: 2665 for ♥ or 2661 for ♡
3. Press Enter or Space

This works in most Linux desktop environments including GNOME and KDE.

iPhone and iPad

On iOS, you have several options:

• Emoji keyboard: Tap the smiley face icon → search "heart" → pick from dozens of heart emojis
• Text replacement: Settings → General → Keyboard → Text Replacement → add a shortcut that expands to ♥
• Copy-paste: Visit our heart symbols page in Safari, tap a heart to copy, paste anywhere

Android

Similar to iPhone:

• Gboard emoji: Tap the emoji icon on Gboard → search "heart"
• Symbols tab: On Gboard, tap ?123 → then =\< → you'll find ♥ in the symbols
• Copy-paste: Use our website in Chrome, tap a heart to copy

Microsoft Word and Google Docs

Word

• Insert → Symbol → More Symbols → search for "heart"
• Or type 2665 then press Alt + X to convert it to ♥
• Or type 2661 then Alt + X for ♡

Google Docs

• Insert → Special characters → search "heart"
• Or just paste a heart copied from our site

HTML and CSS

Building a website and need hearts in your code? Here are the HTML entities:

All the Heart Symbols You'll Ever Need

There's actually way more heart symbols than most people realize. Beyond the basic ♥ and ❤️, Unicode includes dozens of variations:

Quick Reference Table

Wrapping Up

The heart symbol ♥ has been part of computer text since the original IBM PC character set in 1981 — it was literally one of the first 256 characters. And yet here we are, 45 years later, still needing to Google how to type it. The truth is that keyboards just weren't designed with symbols in mind.

If you only remember one thing from this article: Windows key + Period on Windows, Control + Command + Space on Mac. Those two shortcuts will get you hearts and pretty much any other symbol you need.

Or just bookmark our heart symbols page and copy whenever you need one. It's honestly the fastest method regardless of what device you're on.