Square Root Symbol Copy and Paste

Copy √ in one tap, or pick from 29 rows: roots under a bar, √2, ±√, ∛ and ∜.

√Square rootU+221AReady to copy

29 root characters and strings. Tap any value to copy it.

29 root characters and strings. A character and its name both copy the character. A code copies the code.
CharacterNameCode pointAlt codeOption keysHTMLLaTeX
U+221A. The square root sign, which Unicode also calls radical sign. Alt+251 on a number pad, √ in HTML. The character has no bar on top: \sqrt{x} in LaTeX draws one, and \surd prints the bare sign. In Unicode since version 1.1 (1993).
Made of U+221A and U+203E. The sign followed by U+203E Overline, so the bar starts where the sign ends. Whether the two touch depends on the font.
Made of U+221A, U+0078 and U+0305. The x is followed by U+0305 Combining overline, which Unicode also calls vinculum. Paste that mark after every character that belongs under the bar.
Made of U+221A, U+0028 and U+0029. For plain text, where brackets do the job of the bar. Type the radicand, the part being rooted, between them.
Made of U+221A and U+0032. About 1.41421, the diagonal of a square with sides of 1, and probably the first number known to be irrational. The A series of paper sizes is built on it.
Made of U+00B1 and U+221A. Every positive number has two square roots, and √ alone means the positive one. The ± brings the other back. ± is Alt+241 on a number pad.
Made of U+221A, U+2212 and U+0031. The imaginary unit: by convention the principal square root of −1 is i. Written with U+2212 Minus sign, not a hyphen.
U+23B7. The foot of a tall root sign. Unicode files it under Terminal graphic characters: DEC terminals joined it to line pieces on the row above to draw the bar. Added in version 3.2 (2002).
U+221B. A root sign with a small 3 in its crook. No Alt code and no named HTML entity. In LaTeX it is \sqrt[3]{x}. The cube root page has the rest.
U+221C. A root sign with a small 4. \sqrt[4]{x} in LaTeX. The standard sign stops here: Unicode has no single character for a fifth root.

How it works

The square root symbol is √, Square root, U+221A, which Unicode also calls the radical sign. It has no bar on top, so the 29 rows add overlines, brackets and ready-made roots such as √2, then ∛, ∜ and the look-alikes.

Read the full guide

Putting the bar over the number

The bar is called a vinculum, and no root character carries one. For digits under a bar, paste U+0305 Combining overline after each digit: √2̅5̅. The spacing overline ‾ only lengthens the sign, as in √‾. In plain text, √(x + 1) lets brackets do the work. In LaTeX, \sqrt{x + 1} draws a bar of the right length.

Tips
  • ∛ and ∜, the cube root and fourth root symbols, are rows nine and ten. Unicode has no fifth root character.
  • In LaTeX, \sqrt{x} draws the bar, \surd prints the bare sign and \sqrt[3]{x} adds an index. All three work with no package.
  • Every positive number has two square roots, and √ alone means the positive one. For both, copy Plus or minus root, ±√.

Questions and answers

How do I type the square root symbol on a keyboard?

On Windows, switch Num Lock on, hold Alt and type 251 on the number pad. In Word, type 221A, then press Alt and X. On a Mac with the U.S. layout, press Option and V. On Linux, press Compose, then v, then slash.

Is the radical symbol the same as the square root symbol?

Yes. Unicode lists radical sign as the other name of √, U+221A, so there is one root symbol to copy and paste under both names. The only root sign with radical in its own name is ⎷, Radical symbol bottom, from old terminal graphics.

What is the HTML code for the square root symbol?

√ is the named entity, and √ or √ is the numeric form. HTML has no named entity for ∛ or ∜, so write ∛ and ∜ for those.

Why does the square root symbol have no line on top?

√ was first used in print in 1525, in Christoph Rudolff's Coss, with no bar. Descartes joined the sign to the bar in 1637. Unicode encodes the bare sign only, so the bar comes from overline characters or from LaTeX.

All 29 root characters and strings

Start here 10

  • Cube root U+221B. A root sign with a small 3 in its crook. No Alt code and no named HTML entity. In LaTeX it is \sqrt[3]{x}. The cube root page has the rest.
  • Fourth root U+221C. A root sign with a small 4. \sqrt[4]{x} in LaTeX. The standard sign stops here: Unicode has no single character for a fifth root.
  • Plus or minus root Made of U+00B1 and U+221A. Every positive number has two square roots, and √ alone means the positive one. The ± brings the other back. ± is Alt+241 on a number pad.
  • Radical symbol bottom U+23B7. The foot of a tall root sign. Unicode files it under Terminal graphic characters: DEC terminals joined it to line pieces on the row above to draw the bar. Added in version 3.2 (2002).
  • Square root U+221A. The square root sign, which Unicode also calls radical sign. Alt+251 on a number pad, √ in HTML. The character has no bar on top: \sqrt{x} in LaTeX draws one, and \surd prints the bare sign. In Unicode since version 1.1 (1993).
Show all 29 root characters and strings (24 more)

Start here, continued

  • Square root of 2 Made of U+221A and U+0032. About 1.41421, the diagonal of a square with sides of 1, and probably the first number known to be irrational. The A series of paper sizes is built on it.
  • Square root of minus one Made of U+221A, U+2212 and U+0031. The imaginary unit: by convention the principal square root of −1 is i. Written with U+2212 Minus sign, not a hyphen.
  • Square root of x, under a bar Made of U+221A, U+0078 and U+0305. The x is followed by U+0305 Combining overline, which Unicode also calls vinculum. Paste that mark after every character that belongs under the bar.
  • Square root with an overline Made of U+221A and U+203E. The sign followed by U+203E Overline, so the bar starts where the sign ends. Whether the two touch depends on the font.
  • Square root with brackets Made of U+221A, U+0028 and U+0029. For plain text, where brackets do the job of the bar. Type the radicand, the part being rooted, between them.

Root signs 2

  • Arabic-indic cube root U+0606. The cube root sign of Arabic text. Unicode files it under Radix symbols in the Arabic block and cross-references ∛. Added in version 5.1 (2008).
  • Arabic-indic fourth root U+0607. The fourth root sign of Arabic text, cross-referenced to ∜. The Arabic block has no square root of its own among its two radix symbols.

With a bar on top 5

  • Combining overline U+0305. Unicode's note: overscore, vinculum, connects on left and right. It lands on the character typed before it, so it goes after each digit under the root.
  • Macron U+00AF. Looks like a short overline, but Unicode's note says adjacent macrons do not join, unlike U+203E. Alt+0175 on a number pad, ¯ in HTML.
  • Overline U+203E. Unicode's note: spacing overscore. Type one after √ for each character of the radicand, and they join into one bar. ‾ in HTML.
  • Square root of 2, under a bar Made of U+221A, U+0032 and U+0305. The digit 2 with U+0305 Combining overline after it. Swap the 2 for your own digit and keep the mark.
  • Square root with a long overline Made of U+221A and U+203E. Two overlines for a longer radicand. Overlines join each other in a row, which the macron ¯ does not.

Ready-made roots 5

  • One over root 2 Made of U+0031, U+002F, U+221A and U+0032. About 0.70711, which is 1 divided by 1.41421. Typed with the plain slash.
  • Square root of 3 Made of U+221A and U+0033. About 1.73205. Like the root of any whole number that is not a perfect square, it is irrational.
  • Square root of 5 Made of U+221A and U+0035. About 2.23607, and irrational like √2 and √3, so its digits never repeat.
  • Square root of pi Made of U+221A and U+03C0. Root pi in one string. π alone is Alt+227 on a number pad and π in HTML.
  • Square root of x Made of U+221A and U+0078. The bare sign and a letter, the usual way to write it where no bar can be drawn. The same thing as an exponent is x to the power 1/2.

Look-alikes and the way back 4

  • Check mark U+2713. A tick, not a maths sign, though Unicode's entry for √ cross-references it. ✓ in HTML, \checkmark in LaTeX with the amssymb package.
  • Heavy check mark U+2714. The heavy tick. It has the Emoji property, so some apps draw it in colour, which no root sign does.
  • Long division U+27CC. The bracket of long division. Unicode's note: graphically extends over the dividend. Added in version 5.1 (2008).
  • Superscript two U+00B2. The way back: squaring undoes a square root. Unicode's note: squared. Alt+253 on a number pad, ² in HTML.

May be an empty box 3

  • Square root of square root U+1CEDD. New in version 18.0, released on 16 September 2026. Unicode files it under Radix signs for historical mathematics and cross-references √.
  • Square root of square root of square root U+1CEDE. By its name the square root taken three times, which is an eighth root. Added in Unicode 18.0 (2026).
  • Square root of square root of square root of square root U+1CEDF. The longest name on this page: the square root taken four times, a sixteenth root. Added in Unicode 18.0 (2026).

How this list was compiled: Names, and the code points they belong to, are checked against UnicodeData.txt, version 18.0.0 (https://www.unicode.org/Public/18.0.0/ucd/UnicodeData.txt), and printed in sentence case. Notes that say Unicode's note, Unicode files it or cross-references quote the headings, notes and cross-references of NamesList.txt of the same version (https://www.unicode.org/Public/18.0.0/ucd/NamesList.txt); the version a character was added in is from DerivedAge.txt (https://www.unicode.org/Public/18.0.0/ucd/DerivedAge.txt), block names are from Blocks.txt, the Emoji property is from https://www.unicode.org/Public/18.0.0/ucd/emoji/emoji-data.txt, and the years and the release date of version 18.0 are from https://www.unicode.org/history/publicationdates.html. The nine characters with ROOT or RADICAL in their names (leaving out the radicals of CJK, Kangxi, Yi and Jurchen writing, which are parts of written characters, and two food emoji) were found by searching UnicodeData.txt 18.0.0, which is the ground for saying there is no fifth root character. Alt codes are from the code page 437 table (https://www.unicode.org/Public/MAPPINGS/VENDORS/MICSFT/PC/CP437.TXT), where the square root is 0xFB, and the code page 1252 table (https://www.unicode.org/Public/MAPPINGS/VENDORS/MICSFT/WINDOWS/CP1252.TXT). Option keys were read from a U.S. keyboard layout; other layouts differ. HTML entity names are from https://html.spec.whatwg.org/entities.json, the HTML 4 name first where there is one, else the shortest. LaTeX macros are listed only when LaTeX's own fontdef.dtx (https://raw.githubusercontent.com/latex3/latex2e/develop/base/fontdef.dtx), ltmath.dtx or the amssymb and amsfonts sources (https://mirrors.ctan.org/fonts/amsfonts/source/) define them, matched to a code point through unicode-math-table.tex (https://github.com/latex3/unicode-math). What the signs mean, as the articles record it: the radical sign, its missing bar and the DEC terminals, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radical_symbol; the principal root, the radicand, the exponent 1/2, the imaginary unit and the values of root 3 and root 5, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Square_root; the value of root 2, its irrationality and the paper sizes, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Square_root_of_2. Decimal values are rounded to five places by this site, and 0.70711 is 1 divided by 1.41421356. The last group holds characters that one ordinary computer had no font for on the day this list was checked; your device may differ. What is listed: every root and radical character, the overline characters that stand in for the bar, this site's own strings of two to four characters, and labelled look-alikes. Left out: roots with an index built from superscripts (they are on the cube root page), and the dashed, wavy and double overlines. The Start here group, the made rows and the order are this site's own choice. All sources were checked on 2026-09-19. Licence: own work (facts from the Unicode Character Database, Unicode License v3, and from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0, restated in our own words; aliases and notes marked as Unicode's are quoted from NamesList.txt, Copyright © 1991-2026 Unicode, Inc., https://www.unicode.org/license.txt)