Keyboard Symbols Table
| Symbol | Unicode name | Code point | Key it marks | Windows / Linux counterpart |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ⌘ | Place of interest sign | U+2318 | Command (Mac) | Ctrl (for most shortcuts) |
| ⌥ | Option key | U+2325 | Option / Alt (Mac) | Alt |
| ⇧ | Upwards white arrow | U+21E7 | Shift | Shift |
| ⌃ | Up arrowhead | U+2303 | Control (Mac) | Ctrl (Unix-style uses) |
| ⌘⇧ | (combination) | U+2318 U+21E7 | Command + Shift | Ctrl + Shift |
| ⎋ | Broken circle with northwest arrow | U+238B | Escape | Esc |
| ⏎ | Downwards arrow with corner leftwards | U+23CE | Return / Enter | Enter |
| ⌫ | Erase to the left | U+232B | Delete (backspace position) | Backspace |
| ⇥ | Rightwards arrow to bar | U+21E5 | Tab (forward) | Tab |
| ⇤ | Leftwards arrow to bar | U+21E4 | Shift-Tab (back-tab) | Shift+Tab |
| ⌖ | Keyboard | U+2328 | Keyboard settings / generic | (settings glyph) |
| ⏥ | Eject symbol | U+23CF | Eject (optical/media) | (media key) |
The symbols on modern keyboards are a second alphabet: the looped square ⌘ that Apple borrowed from a Swedish campground sign, the Option switch ⌥, the outlined arrow ⇧ for Shift, the circumflex-for-a-key ⌃, the escape flag ⎋ - each one an official Unicode character with a name and a code point, and each one invisible to anyone who has never been told what it means. The table decodes the whole set, because the symbols refuse to say their own names.
The modifier translation is the practical half: Mac's ⌘ Command sits where Windows puts Ctrl, Mac's ⌥ Option takes the Alt position, and every shortcut you know translates row by row - Ctrl+C becomes ⌘C, Alt+Tab becomes ⌘Tab with a wrinkle. Knowing the symbol names also unlocks search: typing 'place of interest sign U+2318' finds the Command symbol faster than describing 'the thing that looks like a castle on a flag'.
How to use
- Read the code points as addresses: each row carries the symbol's Unicode name and code point (⌘ is PLACE OF INTEREST SIGN U+2318, ⇧ is UPWARDS WHITE ARROW U+21E7), which is what font designers, documentation writers and shortcut references actually key on - and what you can paste into any character map to reproduce the glyph exactly.
- Translate platforms by position, not by name: the table's cross-platform column maps each Mac symbol to its Windows and Linux equivalent (⌘ Command to Ctrl for most shortcuts, ⌥ Option to Alt, ⌃ Control to the key Windows calls Win or Super). Following the keys' positions keeps muscle memory intact across machines; following the labels produces the wrong shortcut.
- Type the symbols when you need them in documents: copy from this table, or on Mac use the Character Viewer (Ctrl+Cmd+Space), on Windows use Win+. or the character map, and in HTML paste the code point as ⌘. The symbols render in almost every modern font, but old Windows fonts can drop them - the table's glyphs are the test.
Frequently asked questions
What does the ⌘ symbol on a Mac keyboard mean?
It is the Command modifier, named and drawn after the place-of-interest sign (U+2318) used on Swedish campsite maps to mark a sight worth seeing - Apple's designer Susan Kare picked the glyph in 1983 when the original plan to use the Apple logo in shortcuts was vetoed. In practice it is the Mac's primary shortcut modifier: ⌘C copies, ⌘V pastes, ⌘S saves - the role Windows assigns to Ctrl.
What is the difference between ⌃ and ⌘ on a Mac?
Three different modifiers share the left-hand cluster: ⌃ Control (U+2303) is the Unix-style control key - mostly used for terminal bindings and text navigation; ⌥ Option (U+2325) types alternate characters and holds secondary shortcut roles; ⌘ Command (U+2318) drives the mainstream shortcuts. The table gives all three their own rows because they are pressed in combination (⌃⌥⌘ plus a letter is a real thing) and each does a different job.
How do I type ⌘, ⌥ or ⇧ on Windows?
The symbols are Unicode characters, not keys: copy them from this table, use Windows' emoji panel (Win+period) by name, or type the code point in Word with 2318 then Alt+X. Windows keyboards do not label their modifiers with these glyphs - they use words (Ctrl, Alt, Shift) - so the symbols appear only when you, the document, quote Mac shortcuts.
What is the symbol that looks like an escape flag?
⎋ (U+238B, BROKEN CIRCLE WITH NORTHWEST ARROW) is the Escape symbol, standard on ISO keyboards and in Apple documentation. Its circle-with-a-gap-and-arrow drawing encodes the key's job - breaking out of the current mode - and the same Unicode block carries the other control glyphs the table lists: ⏎ Return (U+23CE), ⌫ Delete (U+232B), ⇥ Tab (U+21E5) and the rarely seen ⏏ Eject (U+23CF).
Why does Apple use these strange symbols instead of words?
Two reasons the company has stated over the years: symbols are language-independent - one glyph sells in every market without translation - and they are compact enough to fit inside menu items (⌘⇧S reads at a glance where 'Command Shift S' does not). The specific glyphs come from Unicode's Miscellaneous Technical block, which is why the table can name every one of them precisely - they are characters first and keycap art second.
Is ⇧ the same as Shift on every keyboard?
The glyph is (U+21E7, an outlined upward arrow, chosen because Shift's original job was producing uppercase letters). Windows and Linux keyboards print the word or a solid unoutlined arrow instead, and typewriters used the literal shift mechanism the key is named for - physically lifting the basket. So the symbol is standard, the drawing style is platform fashion, and the function - uppercase and the upper shortcut layer - is universal across the table.