HTML Character Sets
The HTML charset Attribute
To display an HTML page correctly, a web browser must know which character set to use.
The character set is specified in the <meta> tag:
<meta charset="UTF-8">
The HTML specification encourages web developers to use the UTF-8 character set.
UTF-8 covers almost all of the characters and symbols in the world!
Learn More:
The ASCII Character Set
ASCII was the first character encoding standard for the web.
It defined 128 different latin characters that could be used on the internet:
- English letters (a-z and A-Z)
- Numbers (0-9)
- Some special characters: ! $ + - ( ) @ < > . # ?
The ANSI Character Set
ANSI (Windows-1252) was the first Windows character set:
- Identical to ASCII for the first 127 characters
- Special characters from 128 to 159
- Identical to UTF-8 from 160 to 255
<meta charset="Windows-1252">
The ISO-8859-1 Character Set
The default character set for HTML 4 was ISO-8859-1.
It supported 256 characters:
- Identical to ASCII for the first 127 characters
- Does not use the characters from 128 to 159
- Identical to ANSI and UTF-8 from 160 to 255
HTML 4 Example
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=ISO-8859-1">
HTML 5 Example
<meta charset="ISO-8859-1">
The UTF-8 Character Set
- Identical to ASCII for the values from 0 to 127
- Does not use the characters from 128 to 159
- Identical to ANSI and 8859-1 from 160 to 255
- Continues from the value 256 to 10 000 characters
Unicode
The Unicode Consortium developed the UTF-8 and UTF-16 standards, because the ISO-8859 character-sets are limited, and not compatible in a multilingual environment.
The Unicode Standard covers (almost) all the characters, punctuations, and symbols in the world.
UTF-8 is Default in HTML
<meta charset="UTF-8">
Differences Between Character Sets
The following table displays the differences between the character sets described above:
| Numb | ASCII | ANSI | 8859 | UTF‑8 | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 32 | space | ||||
| 33 | ! | ! | ! | ! | exclamation mark |
| 34 | " | " | " | " | quotation mark |
| 35 | # | # | # | # | number sign |
| 36 | $ | $ | $ | $ | dollar sign |
| 37 | % | % | % | % | percent sign |
| 38 | & | & | & | & | ampersand |
| 39 | ' | ' | ' | ' | apostrophe |
| 40 | ( | ( | ( | ( | left parenthesis |
| 41 | ) | ) | ) | ) | right parenthesis |
| 42 | * | * | * | * | asterisk |
| 43 | + | + | + | + | plus sign |
| 44 | , | , | , | , | comma |
| 45 | - | - | - | - | hyphen-minus |
| 46 | . | . | . | . | full stop |
| 47 | / | / | / | / | solidus |
| 48 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | digit zero |
| 49 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | digit one |
| 50 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | digit two |
| 51 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | digit three |
| 52 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | digit four |
| 53 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | digit five |
| 54 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | digit six |
| 55 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | digit seven |
| 56 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | digit eight |
| 57 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | digit nine |
| 58 | : | : | : | : | colon |
| 59 | ; | ; | ; | ; | semicolon |
| 60 | < | < | < | < | less than |
| 61 | = | = | = | = | equals sign |
| 62 | > | > | > | > | greater than |
| 63 | ? | ? | ? | ? | question mark |
| 64 | @ | @ | @ | @ | commercial at |
| 65 | A | A | A | A | Latin A |
| 66 | B | B | B | B | Latin B |
| 67 | C | C | C | C | Latin C |
| 68 | D | D | D | D | Latin D |
| 69 | E | E | E | E | Latin E |
| 70 | F | F | F | F | Latin F |
| 71 | G | G | G | G | Latin G |
| 72 | H | H | H | H | Latin H |
| 73 | I | I | I | I | Latin I |
| 74 | J | J | J | J | Latin J |
| 75 | K | K | K | K | Latin K |
| 76 | L | L | L | L | Latin L |
| 77 | M | M | M | M | Latin M |
| 78 | N | N | N | N | Latin N |
| 79 | O | O | O | O | Latin O |
| 80 | P | P | P | P | Latin P |
| 81 | Q | Q | Q | Q | Latin Q |
| 82 | R | R | R | R | Latin R |
| 83 | S | S | S | S | Latin S |
| 84 | T | T | T | T | Latin T |
| 85 | U | U | U | U | Latin U |
| 86 | V | V | V | V | Latin V |
| 87 | W | W | W | W | Latin W |
| 88 | X | X | X | X | Latin X |
| 89 | Y | Y | Y | Y | Latin Y |
| 90 | Z | Z | Z | Z | Latin Z |
| 91 | [ | [ | [ | [ | left square bracket |
| 92 | \ | \ | \ | \ | reverse solidus |
| 93 | ] | ] | ] | ] | right square bracket |
| 94 | ^ | ^ | ^ | ^ | circumflex accent |
| 95 | _ | _ | _ | _ | low line |
| 96 | ` | ` | ` | ` | grave accent |
| 97 | a | a | a | a | Latin small a |
| 98 | b | b | b | b | Latin small b |
| 99 | c | c | c | c | Latin small c |
| 100 | d | d | d | d | Latin small d |
| 101 | e | e | e | e | Latin small e |
| 102 | f | f | f | f | Latin small f |
| 103 | g | g | g | g | Latin small g |
| 104 | h | h | h | h | Latin small h |
| 105 | i | i | i | i | Latin small i |
| 106 | j | j | j | j | Latin small j |
| 107 | k | k | k | k | Latin small k |
| 108 | l | l | l | l | Latin small l |
| 109 | m | m | m | m | Latin small m |
| 110 | n | n | n | n | Latin small n |
| 111 | o | o | o | o | Latin small o |
| 112 | p | p | p | p | Latin small p |
| 113 | q | q | q | q | Latin small q |
| 114 | r | r | r | r | Latin small r |
| 115 | s | s | s | s | Latin small s |
| 116 | t | t | t | t | Latin small t |
| 117 | u | u | u | u | Latin small u |
| 118 | v | v | v | v | Latin small v |
| 119 | w | w | w | w | Latin small w |
| 120 | x | x | x | x | Latin small x |
| 121 | y | y | y | y | Latin small y |
| 122 | z | z | z | z | Latin small z |
| 123 | { | { | { | { | left curly bracket |
| 124 | | | | | | | | | vertical line |
| 125 | } | } | } | } | right curly bracket |
| 126 | ~ | ~ | ~ | ~ | tilde |
| 127 | DEL | ||||
| 128 | € | euro sign | |||
| 129 | | | | NOT USED | |
| 130 | ‚ | single low-9 quotation mark | |||
| 131 | ƒ | Latin small f with hook | |||
| 132 | „ | double low-9 quotation mark | |||
| 133 | … | horizontal ellipsis | |||
| 134 | † | dagger | |||
| 135 | ‡ | double dagger | |||
| 136 | ˆ | modifier letter circumflex accent | |||
| 137 | ‰ | per mille sign | |||
| 138 | Š | Latin S with caron | |||
| 139 | ‹ | single left-pointing angle quotation mark | |||
| 140 | Π| Latin capital ligature OE | |||
| 141 | | | | NOT USED | |
| 142 | Ž | Latin Z with caron | |||
| 143 | | | | NOT USED | |
| 144 | | | | NOT USED | |
| 145 | ‘ | left single quotation mark | |||
| 146 | ’ | right single quotation mark | |||
| 147 | “ | left double quotation mark | |||
| 148 | ” | right double quotation mark | |||
| 149 | • | bullet | |||
| 150 | – | en dash | |||
| 151 | — | em dash | |||
| 152 | ˜ | small tilde | |||
| 153 | ™ | trade mark sign | |||
| 154 | š | Latin small s with caron | |||
| 155 | › | single right-pointing angle quotation mark | |||
| 156 | œ | Latin small ligature oe | |||
| 157 | | | | NOT USED | |
| 158 | ž | Latin small z with caron | |||
| 159 | Ÿ | Latin Y with diaeresis | |||
| 160 | no-break space | ||||
| 161 | ¡ | ¡ | ¡ | inverted exclamation mark | |
| 162 | ¢ | ¢ | ¢ | cent sign | |
| 163 | £ | £ | £ | pound sign | |
| 164 | ¤ | ¤ | ¤ | currency sign | |
| 165 | ¥ | ¥ | ¥ | yen sign | |
| 166 | ¦ | ¦ | ¦ | broken bar | |
| 167 | § | § | § | section sign | |
| 168 | ¨ | ¨ | ¨ | diaeresis | |
| 169 | © | © | © | copyright sign | |
| 170 | ª | ª | ª | feminine ordinal indicator | |
| 171 | « | « | « | left-pointing double angle quotation mark | |
| 172 | ¬ | ¬ | ¬ | not sign | |
| 173 | | | | soft hyphen | |
| 174 | ® | ® | ® | registered sign | |
| 175 | ¯ | ¯ | ¯ | macron | |
| 176 | ° | ° | ° | degree sign | |
| 177 | ± | ± | ± | plus-minus sign | |
| 178 | ² | ² | ² | superscript two | |
| 179 | ³ | ³ | ³ | superscript three | |
| 180 | ´ | ´ | ´ | acute accent | |
| 181 | µ | µ | µ | micro sign | |
| 182 | ¶ | ¶ | ¶ | pilcrow sign | |
| 183 | · | · | · | middle dot | |
| 184 | ¸ | ¸ | ¸ | cedilla | |
| 185 | ¹ | ¹ | ¹ | superscript one | |
| 186 | º | º | º | masculine ordinal indicator | |
| 187 | » | » | » | right-pointing double angle quotation mark | |
| 188 | ¼ | ¼ | ¼ | vulgar fraction one quarter | |
| 189 | ½ | ½ | ½ | vulgar fraction one half | |
| 190 | ¾ | ¾ | ¾ | vulgar fraction three quarters | |
| 191 | ¿ | ¿ | ¿ | inverted question mark | |
| 192 | À | À | À | Latin A with grave | |
| 193 | Á | Á | Á | Latin A with acute | |
| 194 | Â | Â | Â | Latin A with circumflex | |
| 195 | Ã | Ã | Ã | Latin A with tilde | |
| 196 | Ä | Ä | Ä | Latin A with diaeresis | |
| 197 | Å | Å | Å | Latin A with ring above | |
| 198 | Æ | Æ | Æ | Latin AE | |
| 199 | Ç | Ç | Ç | Latin C with cedilla | |
| 200 | È | È | È | Latin E with grave | |
| 201 | É | É | É | Latin E with acute | |
| 202 | Ê | Ê | Ê | Latin E with circumflex | |
| 203 | Ë | Ë | Ë | Latin E with diaeresis | |
| 204 | Ì | Ì | Ì | Latin I with grave | |
| 205 | Í | Í | Í | Latin I with acute | |
| 206 | Î | Î | Î | Latin I with circumflex | |
| 207 | Ï | Ï | Ï | Latin I with diaeresis | |
| 208 | Ð | Ð | Ð | Latin Eth | |
| 209 | Ñ | Ñ | Ñ | Latin N with tilde | |
| 210 | Ò | Ò | Ò | Latin O with grave | |
| 211 | Ó | Ó | Ó | Latin O with acute | |
| 212 | Ô | Ô | Ô | Latin O with circumflex | |
| 213 | Õ | Õ | Õ | Latin O with tilde | |
| 214 | Ö | Ö | Ö | Latin O with diaeresis | |
| 215 | × | × | × | multiplication sign | |
| 216 | Ø | Ø | Ø | Latin O with stroke | |
| 217 | Ù | Ù | Ù | Latin U with grave | |
| 218 | Ú | Ú | Ú | Latin U with acute | |
| 219 | Û | Û | Û | Latin U with circumflex | |
| 220 | Ü | Ü | Ü | Latin U with diaeresis | |
| 221 | Ý | Ý | Ý | Latin Y with acute | |
| 222 | Þ | Þ | Þ | Latin Thorn | |
| 223 | ß | ß | ß | Latin small sharp s | |
| 224 | à | à | à | Latin small a with grave | |
| 225 | á | á | á | Latin small a with acute | |
| 226 | â | â | â | Latin small a with circumflex | |
| 227 | ã | ã | ã | Latin small a with tilde | |
| 228 | ä | ä | ä | Latin small a with diaeresis | |
| 229 | å | å | å | Latin small a with ring above | |
| 230 | æ | æ | æ | Latin small ae | |
| 231 | ç | ç | ç | Latin small c with cedilla | |
| 232 | è | è | è | Latin small e with grave | |
| 233 | é | é | é | Latin small e with acute | |
| 234 | ê | ê | ê | Latin small e with circumflex | |
| 235 | ë | ë | ë | Latin small e with diaeresis | |
| 236 | ì | ì | ì | Latin small i with grave | |
| 237 | í | í | í | Latin small i with acute | |
| 238 | î | î | î | Latin small i with circumflex | |
| 239 | ï | ï | ï | Latin small i with diaeresis | |
| 240 | ð | ð | ð | Latin small eth | |
| 241 | ñ | ñ | ñ | Latin small n with tilde | |
| 242 | ò | ò | ò | Latin small o with grave | |
| 243 | ó | ó | ó | Latin small o with acute | |
| 244 | ô | ô | ô | Latin small o with circumflex | |
| 245 | õ | õ | õ | Latin small o with tilde | |
| 246 | ö | ö | ö | Latin small o with diaeresis | |
| 247 | ÷ | ÷ | ÷ | division sign | |
| 248 | ø | ø | ø | Latin small o with stroke | |
| 249 | ù | ù | ù | Latin small u with grave | |
| 250 | ú | ú | ú | Latin small u with acute | |
| 251 | û | û | û | Latin small with circumflex | |
| 252 | ü | ü | ü | Latin small u with diaeresis | |
| 253 | ý | ý | ý | Latin small y with acute | |
| 254 | þ | þ | þ | Latin small thorn | |
| 255 | ÿ | ÿ | ÿ | Latin small y with diaeresis |
