Copy ſ, the long s symbol, to paste, with its dotted and stroked forms and the ß it became.
Long S Symbol
ſLatin small letter long sU+017FReady to copy
18 long s forms and relatives. Tap any value to copy it.
18 long s forms and relatives. A character and its name both copy the character. A code copies the code.
Character
Name
Code point
Alt code
Option keys
HTML
LaTeX
U+017F. An old form of the small s. Unicode notes that Roman types used it until the 18th century, and that Fraktur and Gaelic types still do. No key, no Alt code table and no HTML name: ſ writes it.
U+00DF. Began as two letters run together, and the first of the pair was the long s; German spelling still uses the result. Alt+225, Alt+0223, Option+S on the U.S. layout, ß in HTML, \ss in LaTeX.
U+222B. The integral sign, which was based on the long s: the letter stood for sum. Option+B on the U.S. layout, ∫ in HTML, \int in LaTeX.
U+1E9B. The dotted form, in current use in Gaelic types by the note in the standard.
U+FB05. Long s and t tied into one character, which Unicode records as the two letters joined.
A double s as old print set it at the end of a word: long first, round last, as in ſucceſs.
U+0283. Esh, a phonetic letter that descends from the long s; it writes the first sound of ship.
U+0066. The letter modern readers often take it for: in some typefaces the long s has a nub like an f's midway up, on the left side only.
U+1E9C. Crossed by a slanted stroke. Its notes: medievalist use for several abbreviations, and Latvian spelling before 1921.
U+1E9D. A short bar near the top. Added in Unicode 5.1 (2008).
U+1DE5 sets a miniature of the character on top of whatever precedes it; shown here on an a.
In the middle of a word both were long, as in poſſeſſion.
U+1E9E. The capital Eszett, a newcomer of the same version as the stroked forms. \SS in LaTeX.
U+01A9. The capital of esh, noted for African languages.
U+0192. Has a tail below the line and a full crossbar, which makes it an f; the standard also calls it script f. Alt+159, Alt+0131, Option+F on the U.S. layout, ƒ in HTML, \textflorin in LaTeX.
U+1DF95. Sursolidum by its other name: old math books used it for the fifth power of the unknown. Added in Unicode 18.0 (2026).
U+1DF96. A second form listed under the same old name.
U+1D6A6. The italic twin among the math alphabets, from the same version.
The long s symbol is ſ, U+017F: an archaic form of the lower-case letter s, seen mostly in works from the late 8th century to the early 19th. It is also known as the medial or initial s.
Read the full guide
Long s Unicode and Alt code
The long s is U+017F in Unicode. Neither Alt code table has it. Programs that read numbers above 255 as Unicode take Alt+383; programs that keep the old behavior return ⌂. No HTML name exists, so a web page writes ſ.
What grew out of it
The German ß began as a ligature whose first half is the long s. In math the integral sign ∫ was based on it: Leibniz, who introduced the sign in 1675, thought of the integral as a sum. The phonetic letter ʃ, esh, descends from it too.
Readers often take ſ for an f: its nub, where it has one, is on the left only.
The long s symbol in math is the integral, ∫: ∫ in HTML, \int in LaTeX.
Printers in the United States dropped the long s from 1795 to 1810.
Questions and answers
What is the Alt code for the long s?
It has none in either Alt code table. Alt+383, its Unicode number in decimal, types ſ in programs that read such numbers as Unicode; anywhere else the character is one to copy and paste.
What is the Unicode for the long s?
U+017F, named Latin small letter long s, in the Latin Extended-A block since version 1.1 of 1993. The dotted ẛ is U+1E9B and the ligature ſt is U+FB05.
Is the long s a lower-case letter?
Yes: it is a form of the small s, and Unicode names it Latin small letter long s. Old print used it at the start and in the middle of words, and the round s at the end.
Is the integral sign a long s?
It began as one. The integral symbol ∫ was based on the long s character, chosen because the integral was thought of as a sum. Unicode gives it a code point of its own, U+222B.
All 18 long s forms and relatives
Start here 8
∫IntegralU+222B. The integral sign, which was based on the long s: the letter stood for sum. Option+B on the U.S. layout, ∫ in HTML, \int in LaTeX.
ʃLatin small letter eshU+0283. Esh, a phonetic letter that descends from the long s; it writes the first sound of ship.
fLatin small letter FU+0066. The letter modern readers often take it for: in some typefaces the long s has a nub like an f's midway up, on the left side only.
ſLatin small letter long sU+017F. An old form of the small s. Unicode notes that Roman types used it until the 18th century, and that Fraktur and Gaelic types still do. No key, no Alt code table and no HTML name: ſ writes it.
ẛLatin small letter long s with dot aboveU+1E9B. The dotted form, in current use in Gaelic types by the note in the standard.
ßLatin small letter sharp sU+00DF. Began as two letters run together, and the first of the pair was the long s; German spelling still uses the result. Alt+225, Alt+0223, Option+S on the U.S. layout, ß in HTML, \ss in LaTeX.
ſtLatin small ligature long s tU+FB05. Long s and t tied into one character, which Unicode records as the two letters joined.
ſsLong s and round sA double s as old print set it at the end of a word: long first, round last, as in ſucceſs.
Show all 18 long s forms and relatives (10 more)
Long s 3
aᷥA with a long s aboveU+1DE5 sets a miniature of the character on top of whatever precedes it; shown here on an a.
ẜLatin small letter long s with diagonal strokeU+1E9C. Crossed by a slanted stroke. Its notes: medievalist use for several abbreviations, and Latvian spelling before 1921.
ẝLatin small letter long s with high strokeU+1E9D. A short bar near the top. Added in Unicode 5.1 (2008).
Old spellings 1
ſſDouble long sIn the middle of a word both were long, as in poſſeſſion.
Grown out of it 2
ƩLatin capital letter eshU+01A9. The capital of esh, noted for African languages.
ẞLatin capital letter sharp sU+1E9E. The capital Eszett, a newcomer of the same version as the stroked forms. \SS in LaTeX.
Not a long s 1
ƒLatin small letter f with hookU+0192. Has a tail below the line and a full crossbar, which makes it an f; the standard also calls it script f. Alt+159, Alt+0131, Option+F on the U.S. layout, ƒ in HTML, \textflorin in LaTeX.
Newest, may be an empty box 3
Latin small letter long s with top loopU+1DF96. A second form listed under the same old name.
Latin small ligature long s with descender sU+1DF95. Sursolidum by its other name: old math books used it for the fifth power of the unknown. Added in Unicode 18.0 (2026).
Mathematical italic small ligature long s with descender sU+1D6A6. The italic twin among the math alphabets, from the same version.