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ASCII heart symbol

The heart symbol ♥ is not in basic ASCII. Type it with Alt+3, Unicode U+2665, or HTML ♥. Table of Unicode heart symbols and how to insert each.

Heart symbol code specification

Version 1.0.0 · Last reviewed 2026-07-28

Definition
The heart symbol ♥ is not in 7-bit ASCII. It appears in CP437 (Alt+3) and Unicode (U+2665) with related heart code points.
What it calculates
Documents that ♥ is outside 7-bit ASCII, and lists CP437 Alt+3 plus common Unicode heart code points and HTML entities.
Inputs
  • Reference lookup for heart symbols (♥ and Unicode variants)
Outputs
  • CP437 / Alt+3 → ♥
  • Unicode U+2665 ♥ · HTML ♥
  • Related hearts: U+2764 ❤, U+2765 ❥, U+2766 ❦, U+2767 ❧
Formula
♥ ∉ ASCII(0–127); CP437 Alt+3; Unicode U+2665 → ♥

Basic ASCII (codes 0–127) does not include a heart symbol. The black heart comes from extended DOS code page 437 (Alt+3) and Unicode (U+2665).

Alt code (Windows)

Symbol Alt code Notes
Alt+3 Code page 437 (legacy DOS set)

Hold Alt, type 3 on the numeric keypad, release Alt.

Unicode heart symbols

Symbol Unicode Escape sequence HTML code Description
U+2665 \u2665 ♥ Black heart suit
U+2764 \u2764 ❤ Heavy black heart
U+2765 \u2765; ❥ Rotated heavy black heart bullet
U+2766 \u2766 ❦ Floriated heart
U+2767 \u2767 ❧ Rotated floriated heart

How to type

Platform Method Result
Windows Alt+3 (numpad)
Windows 10/11 Win + . → Symbols → Hearts ❤ ♥ etc.
Mac Ctrl+Cmd+Space → search "heart"
HTML ♥ or ❤ ♥ or ❤
Linux Ctrl+Shift+U, 2665, Enter

FAQ

Is there an ASCII code for a heart?

Not in standard 7-bit ASCII (0–127). Alt+3 accesses the legacy DOS character set; Unicode U+2665 is the modern standard.

What is the Unicode for ♥?

U+2665 (BLACK HEART SUIT). HTML: ♥.

What is the difference between ♥ and ❤?

♥ (U+2665) is the card-suit heart. ❤ (U+2764) is the emoji-style heavy black heart — slightly different glyph in most fonts.

How do I insert a heart in HTML?

Use ♥ for ♥ or ❤ for ❤. Emoji picker characters may also work in modern browsers.

Does Alt+3 work on all Windows versions?

It works on Windows with a numeric keypad using the legacy code page. For consistent results across platforms, prefer Unicode U+2764 or U+2665.

Assumptions
  • Basic ASCII has no heart glyph.
  • Windows Alt+3 follows IBM Code Page 437.
  • Prefer Unicode code points in modern text and HTML.
Units
  • Alt code (CP437)
  • Unicode U+nnnn
  • HTML numeric entity
Boundary conditions
  • Not expressible in 7-bit ASCII alone.
  • Alt+3 requires a numeric keypad and CP437-aware environment.
Example
Alt+3 → ♥; U+2665 → ♥
Validation cases
  • Alt+3 (CP437) → ♥
  • U+2665 → ♥ / ♥
  • U+2764 → ❤ / ❤
Sources
  • IBM Code Page 437 (Alt+3 ♥)
  • Unicode Standard (miscellaneous symbols / dingbats)
Last reviewed
2026-07-28
Calculation version
1.0.0