How to Type a Heart Symbol (♥ ❤ ♡) in Word, Google Docs and Excel

The heart is the most typed symbol that is not on the keyboard. In Office and Google Docs there are several ways to add one, and a choice to make first: the text heart ♥, which takes any color and prints cleanly, or the emoji heart ❤️, which is always red and drawn as a picture. This guide covers both, in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Google Docs.

Quick answer

Word on Windows

Alt+3

1. Turn on Num Lock.
2. Hold Alt and press 3 on the numeric keypad.
3. Release Alt. A ♥ appears.

Alt+3 is one of the oldest Alt codes, from the original IBM PC character set, which is why it is a single digit. It needs a real numpad; the number row does not work.

Alt+X codes

Type the code, then press Alt + X:

Insert → Symbol

Go to Insert → Symbol → More Symbols, set the font to Segoe UI Symbol, and type 2665 in the Character code box. Click Insert, or assign a Shortcut Key to it first if you use hearts often.

AutoCorrect <3

Word does not turn <3 into a heart on its own. Add it once: File → Options → Proofing → AutoCorrect Options, put <3 in Replace and ♥ in With, click Add. From then on <3 followed by a space becomes ♥ in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook on that computer.

Word on Mac

Press Control + Command + Space to open the Character Viewer, type “heart” and double-click the one you want. Text hearts (♥ ♡ ❤) and emoji hearts (❤️ 💙 🖤) are listed together, so check the name. There is no Option shortcut for a heart on the Mac keyboard.

Google Docs

1. Click Insert → Special characters.
2. Type “heart” in the search box, or draw a heart shape in the sketch area.
3. Click the symbol to insert it.

Alt+3 also works in Docs on Windows because the operating system handles it. On a Chromebook, press Ctrl + Shift + U, type 2665, then press Space.

Excel and Google Sheets

Alt+3 works inside a cell on Windows, and you can paste a heart anywhere. For formulas, =UNICHAR(9829) returns ♥ in Excel and =CHAR(9829) does the same in Sheets. A rating column can repeat it: =REPT(UNICHAR(9829),B2) shows as many hearts as the number in B2.

PowerPoint and Outlook

In both, Alt+3, the Win + . panel and paste all work. PowerPoint’s Insert → Icons also has heart shapes as vector icons you can recolor and resize without blurring, which suits large decorative hearts on slides.

Text heart or emoji heart?

• ♥ ♡ ❤ (text): take the font color, scale with the text, print reliably, and look the same on every device. Best for documents, headings and print.
• ❤️ 💕 🖤 (emoji): fixed colors, drawn as pictures, and slightly different on Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android. Best for messages and social posts.

The heavy heart ❤ is a special case: on its own it is a text character, but followed by the invisible variation selector U+FE0F it becomes the red emoji ❤️. If Word shows a red picture when you wanted a plain heart, delete it and insert ♥ with Alt+3 or Alt+X instead.

Every heart symbol

Unicode has dozens of hearts, from suits to sparkling and revolving emoji. The heart symbols collection lists all of them with Alt codes, HTML entities and one-click copy.

Troubleshooting

• A box appears. The font lacks the glyph. Select it and switch to Segoe UI Symbol (Windows) or Apple Symbols (Mac).
• Alt+3 types nothing or opens a menu. Num Lock is off, or you used the number row. Laptops without a numpad should use Alt+X or Win + . instead.
• The heart is the wrong size. Text hearts follow the font size; increase it like any character. The emoji heart also scales, but only in whole steps on some versions of Office.
• Copying the heart into an email loses its color. Color applied to a text heart is formatting and may be stripped by plain-text mail. Use the emoji heart when color must survive.

Frequently asked questions