Instead of typing “paragraph”, add panache to your document and save space, too, with the dashing pilcrow character. Find out here how to type the paragraph symbol ( ¶ ) using a PC keyboard on Windows.
First, “William Falkner” Is Printed
In 1918, “William Falkner” goes into print—and, at the same time, he does not.
For as an early print of a short story is handed to the aspiring author, William Falkner finds his name printed on the title page as “William Faulkner”.
“Either way suits me,” said Falkner and, the story goes, became Faulkner henceforth.
Now, about to publish (or at least write) the next great short story? Let’s add a paragraph, and a character, too:
How to Type the Paragraph Symbol ( ¶ ) on a Windows PC Keyboard
On a Mac? How to Make the Paragraph Symbol ( ¶ ) on a Mac
Looking for ‘§’? How to Type the Section Symbol ( § ) on Windows
Use the Windows Emoji Keyboard to Enter the Paragraph Symbol
Time needed: 1 minute
To input the paragraph sign (pilcrow) character on Windows using the emoji panel:
- Press Windows . (period) to bring up the Windows emoji panel.
- Open the Symbols category.
Windows 10: Open the Ω tab.
- Choose General punctuation.
Windows 10: Go to the < (General punctuation) section.
- Click or tap ¶ to insert the paragraph sign.
What next: Always insert a non-breaking space after the paragraph sign followed by the reference; this makes sure the paragraph sign does not appear disjointed from the number on different lines.
Reverse pilcrow: You can also find the (vertically) inverted paragraph sign ( ⁋ ) on the emoji pane’s same page.
Curvaceous: In addition to the regular and the inverted pilcrow, Unicode knows a curved paragraph symbol, which you cannot enter using the emoji pane or touch keyboard, only Character Map works; see below.
Using the Touch Keyboard
You can also access the symbols panel using the full touch keyboard:
- Click or tap the Touch keyboard button in the Windows taskbar.
- Now tap or click &123 on the keyboard.
No &123 button: If you see the on-screen keyboard—which lacks the &123 button—, click the keyboard options button and choose the first keyboard in the top row (the touch keyboard). - Now click or tap Ω.
- Open the < section.
- Tap or click ¶ or ⁋ to insert it.
Alternative: The normal paragraph sign is also directly on the &123 section: tap the encircled greater than sign (>), then tap the pilcrow to insert.
Use the US-International Keyboard to Enter the Paragraph Sign (Always Easy)
To insert the paragraph sign directly using the keyboard, you can use the United States International layout:
- Enable and switch to the United States-International keyboard layout for Windows.
- Press Alt Gr ; to insert the paragraph sign ¶.
Use Character Map for the Paragraph Symbol
To insert the paragraph sign or the reverse pilcrow in any text using Windows Character Map:
- Open Character Map.
Here’s how: Press Windows to open the Start menu, then typecharacter map
and select Character Map from search results. - Pick Times New Roman as the font.
Other fonts: Other typefaces work as well, of course, if they contain the desired character; Times New Roman on Windows comes with both regular and reverse paragraph signs. - Type
pilcrow
under Search for :. - Double-click the paragraph sign or the reverse pilcrow to insert
Using the Windows Alt Code for the Paragraph Symbol (Requires a Numeric Keypad)
To enter the paragraph symbol with the numeric keyboard and the Windows Alt code:
- Turn on NumLock.
- Press and hold the Alt key.
- Now type
0182
on the numeric keypad.
NumLock required: Using the number keys above the letters on the keyboard does not work. - Release the Alt key.
Typing the Paragraph Signs in MS Office
In Word and other applications in the MS Office suite, you can also enter the paragraph sign using the ribbon and keyboard shortcuts.
How to Type the Paragraph Symbol ( ¶ ) on a Windows PC Keyboard: FAQ
Can I copy and paste the paragraph signs?
Yes.
Use the following table to copy the various paragraph symbols for pasting anywhere:
Paragraph sign: ¶ | |
Inverted paragraph sign: ⁋ | |
Curved paragraph symbol: ❡ |
How do I enter the paragraph sign in LaTeX?
To produce the paragraph sign in LaTeX, enter \P
or \textparagraph
. The two are equivalent.
In addition to the paragraph symbol, you can also set a single-stemmed pilcrow with \textpilcrow
.
Example
See \P{} 15 of this contract for a definition.
The \LaTeX{} pilcrow (\textpilcrow{}) hints at the capitulum sign.
This produces the following output:
(How to type the paragraph symbol ( ¶ ) on a PC tested with Windows 11 Version 22H2–23H2 and Windows 10 Version 21H1; first published September 2021, last updated August 2024)