Fraction Symbols (½ ⅓ ¾): Every Unicode Fraction and How to Type Them

Fraction symbols such as ½, ⅓, and ¾ are single characters that show a numerator over a denominator, so 3/4 can be written as the one-character ¾ (equal to 0.75 or 75%) instead of three keystrokes. Unicode has eighteen of these "vulgar fractions," and you can type the common ones with Alt + 0189 (½), Alt + 0188 (¼), and Alt + 0190 (¾) on Windows, or with \frac{3}{4} in LaTeX.

This guide lists every fraction character to copy, shows how to type them on each platform, and explains how to build fractions Unicode does not include.

Copy and Paste Fraction Symbols

The Fraction Symbols Explained

A fraction has three parts: the numerator on top, the denominator below, and the bar or slash between them. A precomposed character such as ¾ packs all three into one glyph, which is why typographers call them vulgar (meaning "common") fractions, as opposed to decimal fractions.

The characters live in two places in Unicode. ¼, ½, and ¾ sit in the Latin-1 Supplement block (U+00BC–U+00BE) because they were already in older Western code pages, which is also why they alone have Windows Alt codes. The rest were added later to the Number Forms block (U+2150–U+215E) and depend on the font: most system fonts include them, but some older typefaces draw blank boxes.

There is no precomposed character for fractions such as 3/16 or 7/12. For those you have two options, described below: build the fraction from superscript and subscript digits with the fraction slash, or let a typesetting system such as Word's equation editor or LaTeX draw it.

Uses of Fraction Symbols

Cooking, Measurements, and Everyday Text

Recipes (½ cup, ¼ teaspoon), imperial measurements (⅜-inch drill bit, 5⅝ inches), and clothing sizes all rely on the compact characters, which keep tables aligned and stop "1 1/2" from reading as "eleven halves."

Mathematics and Science

A precomposed ½ is acceptable only in running text. Displayed mathematics uses a built fraction so that both parts can hold expressions: (x + 1)/2 cannot be written with a single glyph, and ⅓ hides the fact that the value is a repeating decimal.

Converting a Fraction to a Decimal or Percent

Divide the numerator by the denominator: 3/4 = 3 ÷ 4 = 0.75, and multiply by 100 for a percentage, 75%. Fractions whose denominator contains only the prime factors 2 and 5 terminate (⅝ = 0.625); any other denominator repeats (⅐ = 0.142857142857…). Going the other way, 0.375 = 375/1000 = 3/8 after dividing top and bottom by 125.

How to Type Fraction Symbols

Thirds and the rest follow the same pattern with their own code points (⅓ is 2153 Alt + X in Word and ⅓ in HTML); named entities exist for every fraction up to ⅞, and ⅐, ⅑, and ⅒ take the numeric forms ⅐, ⅑, and ⅒.

Windows: Hold Alt and type 0189 (½), 0188 (¼), or 0190 (¾) on the numeric keypad. The three-digit codes Alt + 171 (½) and Alt + 172 (¼) come from the old DOS code page 437 and also work, but there is no three-digit code for ¾. Thirds, fifths, and eighths have no Alt code at all: in Word type the hex value and press Alt + X, or open the Windows + . emoji panel and choose Symbols. Word also autocorrects 1/2, 1/4, and 3/4 into single characters as you type, and Google Docs does the same by default.

Mac: macOS has no Option-key shortcut for any fraction. Press Control + Command + Space for the Character Viewer, search "fraction," and double-click, or add a text replacement (1/2 to ½) in System Settings > Keyboard, which also syncs to iPhone and iPad.

iPhone and Android: On the iOS numeric keyboard, press and hold a digit: holding 1 shows ½ ⅓ ¼ ⅛ (plus the superscript ¹), holding 2 shows ⅔, holding 3 shows ¾ ⅜, holding 5 shows ⅝, and holding 7 shows ⅞. Gboard on Android offers the same long-press menus.

Excel and Google Sheets: Typing 3/4 into a cell turns it into a date, so prefix a zero (0 3/4) and apply the Fraction number format, or insert the character itself with =UNICHAR(190) (=CHAR(189) returns ½ on Windows).

Building Fractions Unicode Does Not Have

Any fraction can be assembled from superscript digits (⁰¹²³⁴⁵⁶⁷⁸⁹), the fraction slash ⁄ (U+2044), and subscript digits (₀₁₂₃₄₅₆₇₈₉): ³⁄₁₆, ⁷⁄₁₂, ¹⁵⁄₃₂. The fraction slash is not the ordinary /: fonts that support it pull the neighbouring digits together. Its HTML entity is ⁄, and in Word you can type 2044 followed by Alt + X.

Fractions in LaTeX

\frac{3}{4} is all you need in most documents: full-size in display math, automatically smaller inline, with \dfrac and \tfrac (amsmath) overriding that choice in either direction. For diagonal fractions in text, \nicefrac{3}{4} (nicefrac package) and the better-kerned \sfrac{3}{4} (xfrac package) print ³⁄₄ with small digits. The precomposed characters have text commands, \textonehalf, \textonequarter, and \textthreequarters, originally from textcomp and now in the LaTeX kernel. \genfrac builds a fraction with any delimiters and bar thickness, and \binom is the barless form used for binomial coefficients.

1\documentclass{article}
2\usepackage{amsmath}
3\usepackage{nicefrac}
4\usepackage{xfrac}
5\usepackage{textcomp}
6\begin{document}
7Inline: $\frac{3}{4}$, $\tfrac{3}{4}$, $\nicefrac{3}{4}$, $\sfrac{3}{4}$,
8and in text \textonehalf{}, \textonequarter{}, \textthreequarters{}.
9
10Display:
11\[ \frac{3}{4} = 0.75 = 75\%, \qquad \dfrac{1}{3} + \dfrac{1}{6} = \dfrac{1}{2} \]
12
13Nested and continued fractions:
14\[ \frac{\;\frac{1}{2}\;}{\frac{3}{4}} = \frac{2}{3}, \qquad
15   1 + \cfrac{1}{2 + \cfrac{1}{3}} \]
16
17Without a bar (genfrac) and binomial coefficients:
18\[ \genfrac{}{}{0pt}{}{n}{k}, \qquad \genfrac{(}{)}{0pt}{}{n}{k} = \binom{n}{k} = \frac{n!}{k!\,(n-k)!} \]
19\end{document}
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The arguments of \genfrac are the left delimiter, right delimiter, bar thickness (0pt for none), style, numerator, and denominator; \cfrac keeps every level of a continued fraction at display size.

Related Symbols

What Is 3/4 as a Decimal?

3 ÷ 4 = 0.75, which is 75%. As a single character it is ¾ (U+00BE), typed with Alt + 0190 on Windows or ¾ in HTML. One quarter more makes a whole, so 3/4 + 1/4 = 1.

How Do I Type ½ on a Keyboard?

On Windows, hold Alt and type 0189 on the numeric keypad. In Word, type 1/2 and let AutoCorrect replace it. On a Mac use the Character Viewer or a text replacement, and on iPhone hold the 1 key.

Is There a Fraction Symbol for 1/3?

Yes: ⅓ (U+2153) and its companion ⅔ (U+2154). They have no Windows Alt code, so use 2153 Alt + X in Word, the HTML entity ⅓, or hold the 1 key on a phone keyboard.

How Do I Write a Fraction Like 3/16 That Has No Symbol?

Combine superscript and subscript digits with the fraction slash: ³⁄₁₆. In Word or Google Docs you can instead format the numerator as superscript and the denominator as subscript, and in LaTeX \frac{3}{16} handles any pair.

Writing Fractions Cleanly in Your Documents

Precomposed characters are right for recipes, tables, and a quick ½ in prose; anything inside an equation deserves \frac, \tfrac, or \sfrac so the numerator and denominator can grow. Octree, the AI LaTeX editor at useoctree.com, rewrites a typed 3/4 as the right command for its context and previews the compiled fraction instantly. For every math symbol with its code point and LaTeX command, visit https://tools.useoctree.com/symbols/math.