Copy |, the vertical line symbol, or type it with Shift and backslash; double, broken and long forms follow.
Vertical Line Symbol
|Vertical lineU+007CReady to copy
31 vertical lines and look-alikes. Tap any value to copy it.
31 vertical lines and look-alikes. A character and its name both copy the character. A code copies the code.
Character
Name
Code point
Alt code
HTML
LaTeX
U+007C. The vertical line, also called vertical bar or pipe. The key is Shift and backslash on the U.S. layout. It is character 124 of ASCII, so Alt+124 types it; | names it in HTML.
U+2016. Two upright strokes in one character. Written in pairs around a matrix for its norm. ‖ in HTML, \Vert in LaTeX.
U+00A6. The bar with a gap in the middle. Early terminals and printers drew the plain bar this way; today it is a character of its own. Alt+0166, ¦ in HTML, \textbrokenbar in LaTeX.
U+2502. A box-drawing stroke, built to connect with the one above and the one below: the long vertical line when rows are stacked. Alt+179.
U+2503. The thick box-drawing upright, which connects from row to row the same way. Neither Alt code table has it.
U+2551. The box-drawing double upright, for the sides of a double-ruled frame. Alt+186.
U+FF5C. The bar centered in a full East Asian cell, with space on both sides.
Shift and backslash, twice: what people type when they mean ‖ or ∥.
U+FFE4. The gapped bar in a full East Asian cell.
U+2758. A slim ornament stroke, the first of a set of three weights. HTML knows it as ❘.
U+2759. Between ❘ and ❚ in thickness.
U+275A. The boldest of the three: a solid slab.
U+23D0. A segment for lengthening tall arrows, Unicode says; stacked, it makes an unbroken upright.
U+2575. Half a stroke: it runs from the middle of the cell to the top, a short vertical line.
U+2577. The other half, from the middle of the cell down to its floor.
U+FE31. An em dash stood on end for East Asian text in columns, which makes it a tall centered bar.
U+2AFE. A hollow bar: an outlined upright rectangle. Unicode also lists the name Dijkstra choice.
U+237F. A bar with a dot threaded on its middle; Unicode notes it as the symbol for End of Medium.
U+2225. The sign of geometry for lines that never meet: AB ∥ CD. LaTeX calls it \parallel and spaces it as a relation.
U+2980. Three uprights in one character, used as a bracket.
U+2AF4. Three uprights as an operator. Unicode also lists the name interleave.
The key on both sides of x: the absolute value of x.
U+2016 on both sides of x: the norm of x, its length or size.
The key between two letters: a divides b in number theory, or a given b in probability.
U+02C8. A phonetic tick, raised: the syllable after it carries the main stress.
U+02CC. The phonetic tick dropped to the baseline, for the weaker, secondary stress.
U+006C. The twelfth letter, lowercase. A look-alike that sorts and searches as a letter.
U+0049. The ninth letter as a capital: without serifs it is one plain stroke.
U+01C0. A letter for a click consonant. Unicode also lists the name pipe, yet the keyboard pipe is U+007C.
U+01C1. A second click letter, shaped like two bars; double pipe is its other name in Unicode.
U+0964. The danda, a punctuation mark of Devanagari text, which has a code point of its own.
The vertical line symbol is |, U+007C in Unicode, also called the vertical bar or the pipe. On the American keyboard it is Shift and the backslash key, and Alt+124 types it, its number in ASCII.
Read the full guide
One bar, two bars
In math a pair of bars is an absolute value, |x|, and a single straight bar reads divides or such that. Two vertical lines, ‖, stand for a norm, and ∥ says that two lines are parallel. In plain text the bar is used to separate items.
A long vertical line
The box-drawing │ is designed to connect with the character above and the one below, so one on each row of text makes a long vertical line. ┃ is the heavy form and ║ the double one.
∥ and ‖ are each 2 vertical lines in one character; || is two typed bars.
No emoji is a vertical line. ❚ is the boldest text one.
In HTML the bar has the special character name |.
Questions and answers
Where is the pipe symbol on the keyboard?
On the American (U.S.) layout it is on the backslash key: hold Shift and press it. The character is called pipe because command lines use it to pass the output of one program to the input of the next.
What is the math symbol with two vertical lines?
‖, the double vertical line, is written in pairs for a norm. ∥, a separate character, means is parallel to. Both are double vertical bar symbols; LaTeX writes them \Vert and \parallel.
What does a vertical line mean in math?
Around a number, |x| is its absolute value. Between two numbers, a | b reads a divides b. Inside set braces it reads such that, and in P(X|Y) it reads given.
How do I copy and paste a long vertical line?
Copy │, the box-drawing vertical, and paste one on each row: the strokes are made to connect into a single line. The plain | leaves a small gap between rows in most text.
What is the Unicode for the vertical bar?
U+007C, named Vertical line, which is also ASCII character 124. The double vertical line is U+2016, the broken bar U+00A6 and the box-drawing vertical U+2502.
All 31 vertical lines and look-alikes
Start here 8
║Box drawings double verticalU+2551. The box-drawing double upright, for the sides of a double-ruled frame. Alt+186.
┃Box drawings heavy verticalU+2503. The thick box-drawing upright, which connects from row to row the same way. Neither Alt code table has it.
│Box drawings light verticalU+2502. A box-drawing stroke, built to connect with the one above and the one below: the long vertical line when rows are stacked. Alt+179.
¦Broken barU+00A6. The bar with a gap in the middle. Early terminals and printers drew the plain bar this way; today it is a character of its own. Alt+0166, ¦ in HTML, \textbrokenbar in LaTeX.
‖Double vertical lineU+2016. Two upright strokes in one character. Written in pairs around a matrix for its norm. ‖ in HTML, \Vert in LaTeX.
｜Fullwidth vertical lineU+FF5C. The bar centered in a full East Asian cell, with space on both sides.
||Two vertical lines, typedShift and backslash, twice: what people type when they mean ‖ or ∥.
|Vertical lineU+007C. The vertical line, also called vertical bar or pipe. The key is Shift and backslash on the U.S. layout. It is character 124 of ASCII, so Alt+124 types it; | names it in HTML.
Show all 31 vertical lines and look-alikes (23 more)
Single bars 10
╷Box drawings light downU+2577. The other half, from the middle of the cell down to its floor.
╵Box drawings light upU+2575. Half a stroke: it runs from the middle of the cell to the top, a short vertical line.
￤Fullwidth broken barU+FFE4. The gapped bar in a full East Asian cell.
❚Heavy vertical barU+275A. The boldest of the three: a solid slab.
❘Light vertical barU+2758. A slim ornament stroke, the first of a set of three weights. HTML knows it as ❘.
❙Medium vertical barU+2759. Between ❘ and ❚ in thickness.
︱Presentation form for vertical em dashU+FE31. An em dash stood on end for East Asian text in columns, which makes it a tall centered bar.
⏐Vertical line extensionU+23D0. A segment for lengthening tall arrows, Unicode says; stacked, it makes an unbroken upright.
⍿Vertical line with middle dotU+237F. A bar with a dot threaded on its middle; Unicode notes it as the symbol for End of Medium.
⫾White vertical barU+2AFE. A hollow bar: an outlined upright rectangle. Unicode also lists the name Dijkstra choice.
Two and three bars 3
∥Parallel toU+2225. The sign of geometry for lines that never meet: AB ∥ CD. LaTeX calls it \parallel and spaces it as a relation.
⫴Triple vertical bar binary relationU+2AF4. Three uprights as an operator. Unicode also lists the name interleave.
⦀Triple vertical bar delimiterU+2980. Three uprights in one character, used as a bracket.
Math signs 3
a|ba divides bThe key between two letters: a divides b in number theory, or a given b in probability.
|x|Absolute value of xThe key on both sides of x: the absolute value of x.
‖x‖Norm of xU+2016 on both sides of x: the norm of x, its length or size.
Stress marks 2
ˌModifier letter low vertical lineU+02CC. The phonetic tick dropped to the baseline, for the weaker, secondary stress.
ˈModifier letter vertical lineU+02C8. A phonetic tick, raised: the syllable after it carries the main stress.
Not a vertical line 5
।Devanagari dandaU+0964. The danda, a punctuation mark of Devanagari text, which has a code point of its own.
ILatin capital letter iU+0049. The ninth letter as a capital: without serifs it is one plain stroke.
ǀLatin letter dental clickU+01C0. A letter for a click consonant. Unicode also lists the name pipe, yet the keyboard pipe is U+007C.
ǁLatin letter lateral clickU+01C1. A second click letter, shaped like two bars; double pipe is its other name in Unicode.
lLatin small letter LU+006C. The twelfth letter, lowercase. A look-alike that sorts and searches as a letter.