How to Type the Paragraph Symbol (¶) on Windows Keyboard

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

Using the Touch Keyboard

You can also access the symbols panel using the full touch keyboard:

1. Click or tap the Touch keyboard button in the Windows taskbar.
2. 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).
3. Now click or tap Ω.
4. Open the < section.
5. 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:

1. Enable and switch to the United States-International keyboard layout for Windows.
2. 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:

1. Open Character Map.
   Here’s how: Press Windows to open the Start menu, then type character map and select Character Map from search results.
2. 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.
3. Type pilcrow under Search for :.
4. 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:

1. Do turn on NumLock.
2. Press and hold the Alt key.
3. Now type 0182 on the numeric keypad.
   NumLock required: Using the number keys above the letters on the keyboard does not work.
4. 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: ¶	copy
Inverted paragraph sign: ⁋	copy
Curved paragraph symbol: ❡	copy

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 and Windows 10 Version 21H1; updated March 2024)