A U.S. keyboard prints 32 symbols besides its letters and digits. This list of keyboard symbols names each one, @ the at sign and ^ the caret, with its key and whether Shift is held.
Read the full guide
Where all the keyboard symbols sit
Sixteen are on the number row: ` and ~ left of 1, then ! @ # $ % ^ & * ( ) above the digits, then - _ and = +. The lower sign of a key is typed plain and the upper one with Shift. The other sixteen sit right of the letters: [ { ] } \ | then ; : ' " then , < . > / ?.
Formal names of the characters
Unicode names several of these symbols differently from everyday speech: @ is Commercial at, ^ Circumflex accent, _ Low line, / Solidus, \ Reverse solidus, | Vertical line and . Full stop.
# has the most names: number sign, pound sign, hash, hashtag and octothorpe.
The straight ' and " of the keys are not the curly quotation marks, which are on Quote symbols.
The asterisk, *, which Unicode also lists under the name star. On a U.S. keyboard it shares the 8 key: hold Shift and press 8. Drawn stars such as ★ are on Star symbols.
What are the names of the special characters on a keyboard?
` backtick, ~ tilde, ! exclamation point, @ at sign, # number sign or hashtag, $ dollar sign, % percent sign, ^ caret, & ampersand, * asterisk, _ underscore, | pipe or vertical bar, \ backslash and / slash.
Can you copy and paste keyboard symbols?
Yes. Each one is a character of plain text, so a sign that a keyboard layout lacks can be pasted instead of typed. The Italian layout, for one, has neither ` nor ~.
All 38 symbols
Start here 10
&AmpersandU+0026. Called the ampersand, or and sign. Hold Shift and press the 7 key.
*AsteriskU+002A. Called the asterisk, or star. Hold Shift and press the 8 key.
^Circumflex accentU+005E. Called the caret. Used in plain text for raising to a power. Hold Shift and press the 6 key.
@Commercial atU+0040. Called the at sign. Hold Shift and press the 2 key.
`Grave accentU+0060. Called the backtick or backquote. Its own key, left of the 1 key, pressed with no Shift.
_Low lineU+005F. Called the underscore. Hold Shift and press the - key.
#Number signU+0023. Called the number sign, pound sign, hash, hashtag or octothorpe. Hold Shift and press the 3 key.
\Reverse solidusU+005C. Called the backslash. Its own key, pressed with no Shift.
~TildeU+007E. Called the tilde. Hold Shift and press the ` key.
|Vertical lineU+007C. Called the vertical bar, or pipe. Hold Shift and press the \ key.
Show all 38 symbols (28 more)
On the keys 22
'ApostropheU+0027. Called the apostrophe or single quote. Its own key, right of the ; key, pressed with no Shift.
:ColonU+003A. Called the colon. Hold Shift and press the ; key.
,CommaU+002C. Called the comma. Its own key, right of the M key, pressed with no Shift.
$Dollar signU+0024. Called the dollar sign. Hold Shift and press the 4 key.
=Equals signU+003D. Called the equals sign. Its own key, right of the - key, pressed with no Shift.
!Exclamation markU+0021. Called the exclamation point, or bang. Hold Shift and press the 1 key.
.Full stopU+002E. Called the period, dot or decimal point. Its own key, right of the , key, pressed with no Shift.
>Greater-than signU+003E. Called the greater-than sign, or right angle bracket. Hold Shift and press the . key.
-Hyphen-minusU+002D. Called the hyphen, dash or minus sign. Its own key, right of the 0 key, pressed with no Shift.
{Left curly bracketU+007B. Called the left brace or opening curly bracket. Hold Shift and press the [ key.
(Left parenthesisU+0028. Called the left or opening parenthesis. Hold Shift and press the 9 key.
[Left square bracketU+005B. Called the left or opening square bracket. Its own key, right of the P key, pressed with no Shift.
<Less-than signU+003C. Called the less-than sign, or left angle bracket. Hold Shift and press the , key.
%Percent signU+0025. Called the percent sign. Hold Shift and press the 5 key.
+Plus signU+002B. Called the plus sign. Hold Shift and press the = key.
?Question markU+003F. Called the question mark. Hold Shift and press the / key.
"Quotation markU+0022. Called the double quote. Hold Shift and press the ' key.
}Right curly bracketU+007D. Called the right brace or closing curly bracket. Hold Shift and press the ] key.
)Right parenthesisU+0029. Called the right or closing parenthesis. Hold Shift and press the 0 key.
]Right square bracketU+005D. Called the right or closing square bracket. Its own key, right of the [ key, pressed with no Shift.
;SemicolonU+003B. Called the semicolon. Its own key, right of the L key, pressed with no Shift.
/SolidusU+002F. Called the slash or forward slash. Its own key, right of the . key, pressed with no Shift.
Not on any key 6
•BulletU+2022. The bullet of a list. On no key of the U.S. layout: Alt+7 on a number pad, or Option+8.