How to Type a Heart Symbol (♥ ♡ ❤) on Any Keyboard

The heart symbol shows up in text messages, documents, and code in several different styles. The method you use to type one depends on your device and whether you want a simple black-and-white glyph or a full-color emoji.

Quick Answer

If you just need something quick and your app allows copy-paste, the fastest option is copying ♥, ♡, or ❤ directly from this page.

Windows: Alt Codes

Windows Alt codes work by holding Alt and typing a number sequence on the numeric keypad (not the top-row numbers).

1. Make sure Num Lock is on.
2. Hold down Alt.
3. Type 3 on the numpad for the classic solid heart: ♥
4. Release Alt.

This works system-wide in most Windows apps because Alt+3 is a legacy CP437 code baked into the OS input layer. Codes above 255 (like 10084 for ❤) generally do not work outside Word or WordPad.

Windows Emoji Panel

For the colorful emoji heart (❤️ or 🖤), press Windows key + period (.) or Windows key + semicolon (;) to open the emoji panel. Search “heart” and click the one you want.

Mac: Option Shortcuts and Character Viewer

Mac does not have a dedicated Option-key shortcut for the heart suit symbol, so the most reliable method is the built-in Character Viewer.

1. Press Control + Command + Space to open the emoji and symbol picker.
2. Type “heart” in the search box.
3. Double-click the symbol you want to insert it, choosing between emoji hearts (❤️, 🖤, 🤍) and text symbols (♥, ♡).

You can also copy any heart symbol from this page and paste it with Command + V.

iPhone and iPad

Emoji Keyboard (colored hearts)

1. Tap the globe or emoji icon on the keyboard.
2. Search or scroll to find ❤️, 🖤, 🤍, 💕, and other heart emoji.

Text Heart Symbol (♥ or ♡)

iOS does not have a built-in text-symbol picker for ♥ or ♡. The simplest method is to copy one from this page or a notes app where you’ve saved it, then paste it where needed.

Autocorrect Trick

Some apps and custom keyboards convert <3 into a heart emoji automatically, but this is not universal and depends on app settings rather than iOS itself.

Android

1. Open the keyboard and tap the emoji icon (usually a smiley face).
2. Search “heart” to find colored heart emoji.
3. For the plain text symbol ♥ or ♡, copy and paste it from this page or a saved note.

Microsoft Word

Word supports full Unicode input, which makes it the easiest place to get any heart variant exactly right.

Alt+X Method

1. Type the Unicode hex code: 2665 for ♥, 2661 for ♡, or 2764 for ❤.
2. Press Alt+X immediately after. Word converts the code into the symbol.

Insert Symbol Dialog

1. Go to Insert > Symbol > More Symbols.
2. Set the font to (normal text) or Segoe UI Symbol.
3. Search near character code 2665 for heart variants.
4. Click Insert.

Excel and Google Sheets

In spreadsheets, use a formula to insert the character by its Unicode or ASCII value.

• Excel: =UNICHAR(9829) returns ♥.
• Google Sheets: =CHAR(9829) returns ♥ directly, since Sheets’ CHAR function accepts Unicode code points.

Google Docs

1. Go to Insert > Special characters.
2. Type “heart” in the search box.
3. Click the symbol you want to insert it at the cursor.

This panel includes ♥, ♡, ❤, and several decorative heart variants like ❥.

HTML, CSS, and JavaScript

For web pages, use the named or numeric HTML entity:

<p>I &hearts; this page</p>
<p>&#9829; &#9825; &#10084;</p>

In CSS, you can insert a heart as generated content:

.like::before {
  content: "\2665";
}

In JavaScript strings, use the escape sequence:

const heart = "\u2665"; // ♥

Differences Between Heart Symbols

• ♥ (U+2665, Black Heart Suit): The classic solid heart from card-suit symbols. Works in almost any font.
• ♡ (U+2661, White Heart Suit): An outlined version of the same card-suit heart.
• ❤ (U+2764, Heavy Black Heart): A bolder, rounder heart often rendered as a color emoji on phones and in Word.
• ❥ (U+2765, Rotated Heart Bullet): A stylized, tilted heart used mostly in decorative or handwritten-style text.
• 🖤 (U+1F5A4, Black Heart Emoji): A full-color emoji version meant to represent a literal black heart, distinct from the plain text symbols above.

Choose ♥ or ♡ for plain text and documents where you want consistent rendering across fonts. Choose ❤️ or 🖤 when you want the colorful emoji look on modern apps and phones.

Troubleshooting

Alt+3 does nothing. You are likely using a laptop without a numeric keypad, or Num Lock is off. Enable Num Lock, or use the Fn key combination your laptop maps to a virtual numpad (varies by manufacturer). If that fails, use the Windows emoji panel (Win+.) instead.

Alt+X in Word inserts the wrong character. Make sure there is no extra space between the hex code and the cursor, and that you typed the correct hex value (2665 for ♥, not 2764).

The heart shows as a box or question mark. The current font does not include that glyph. Switch to a common Unicode-friendly font like Segoe UI, Arial, or Calibri.

CHAR formula in Excel returns a symbol-font character instead of a heart. Use UNICHAR(9829) instead of CHAR, since CHAR in Excel maps to the ANSI character set rather than Unicode.

Frequently asked questions