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One Quarter Fraction Symbol (¼)

¼ is a quarter — 0.25, 25%. Recipes (¼ tsp), measurements and time ('a quarter past') all live here. Alt+0188 types it on Windows.

Vulgar Fraction One Quarter · U+00BC · Math Symbols

Click the symbol or the button to copy it, then paste it anywhere — documents, messages, bios and code.

One Quarter Fraction codes

Code	Value
Unicode code point	`U+00BC`
Unicode name	`Vulgar Fraction One Quarter`
HTML named entity	`¼`
HTML decimal	`¼`
HTML hex	`¼`
CSS content code	`\BC`
JavaScript / JSON	`\u00BC`
Windows Alt code	No standard Alt code — copy it from the card above

One Quarter Fraction variants (14)

14 related glyphs — click any tile to copy it. Tiles with a page open that symbol's own page.

½Vulgar Fraction One Half ¾Vulgar Fraction Three Quarters ⅓Vulgar Fraction One Third ⅔Vulgar Fraction Two Thirds ⅕Vulgar Fraction One Fifth⅖Vulgar Fraction Two Fifths⅗Vulgar Fraction Three Fifths⅘Vulgar Fraction Four Fifths⅛Vulgar Fraction One Eighth ⅜Vulgar Fraction Three Eighths ⅝Vulgar Fraction Five Eighths ⅞Vulgar Fraction Seven Eighths⅙Vulgar Fraction One Sixth⅚Vulgar Fraction Five Sixths

Meaning & usage

¼ is a quarter — 0.25, 25%. Recipes (¼ tsp), measurements and time ('a quarter past') all live here. Alt+0188 types it on Windows.

Single-character fractions like this one are called vulgar fractions: pre-composed glyphs that keep measures on one line and stop them splitting across line breaks. They come from metal type, where a tiny cast fraction saved the compositor from stacking small numerals. Modern fonts include the common set — halves, quarters, thirds, fifths and eighths — all gathered in this page's variants grid.

Examples in use

Measure out ¼ of the total
Combine with ½ and ¾ for a full recipe set

How to type the one quarter fraction

Windows

There is no Alt code or direct key for ¼. In Microsoft Word, type 00BC and press Alt+X to convert it. Everywhere else, click the Copy button at the top of this page and paste it (Ctrl+V) — that always works.

Mac

There is no Option-key shortcut for ¼ on a Mac. Open the Character Viewer with Control+Command+Space, search for "One Quarter Fraction", and double-click to insert — or copy it from this page.

iPhone & Android

Most phone keyboards have no built-in key for ¼. Open this page on your phone, tap Copy, then paste it into your message or bio. (On Android, Gboard's emoji search finds some symbols by name.)

Linux

Press Ctrl+Shift+U, type 00bc and press Enter (works in most GTK apps and terminals with IBus). Or copy it from this page.

Frequently asked questions

How do I type ¼ on a keyboard?

There is no standard Alt code for ¼. Copy it from this page and paste it — in Word you can also type BC then press Alt+X.

Why is it called a vulgar fraction?

'Vulgar' is the old Latin for 'common' — a vulgar fraction is an ordinary fraction written as one quantity over another, as opposed to a decimal.

Why does ¼ sometimes show as a box or question mark?

The box (called tofu) means the device or font viewing it has no drawing for U+00BC (Vulgar Fraction One Quarter). The character itself is fine — try a different font or a newer device, or use one of the variants on this page.

Is the One Quarter Fraction free to use?

Yes. ¼ is a standard Unicode text character published in the Unicode Character Database. You may use it in personal and commercial documents, designs and products without permission or payment.