Inverted Question Mark
U+00BFLatin-1 Supplement
Also known as upside-down question markopening question markSpanish question mark
Copy and paste ¿. The Inverted Question Mark character has Unicode code point U+00BF and decimal HTML code ¿.
Symbol codes
- Unicode
U+00BF- Alt Code
Alt+0191- HTML Code
¿- CSS Code
\BF- HTML Entity
¿- HEX Code
¿
Technical properties
Unicode 18.0.0
- Code point
- U+00BF
- Decimal
- 191
- Unicode name
- INVERTED QUESTION MARK
- Block
- Latin-1 Supplement · U+0080–U+00FF
- General category
- Other Punctuation (Po)
- Script
- Common
- Introduced
- Unicode 1.1
- JavaScript
- "\u00BF"
Appears in
About Inverted Question Mark
The inverted question mark is opening punctuation placed at the start of a direct question or interrogative clause in Spanish.
¿ is encoded in Unicode as code point U+00BF (decimal 191). Its official Unicode name is INVERTED QUESTION MARK.
It belongs to the Latin-1 Supplement block (U+0080–U+00FF), its General Category is Other Punctuation (Po), and it was added in Unicode 1.1, released in 1993. Its script value is Common: it is shared across writing systems rather than belonging to one.
Common uses
- Opening a question in Spanish
- Marking where an interrogative clause begins inside a longer sentence
Examples
- Spanish question
- ¿Cómo estás?
Sources: Unicode Character Database 18.0.0, the HTML Standard’s list of named character references, and Unicode’s code page mappings.
How to type or insert Inverted Question Mark
- Any device
- Select Copy symbol, then paste with Ctrl+V, or ⌘+V on a Mac.
- Windows Alt code
- With Num Lock on, hold Alt, type 0191 on the numeric keypad, then release Alt.
- Microsoft Word
- Type
00BF, then press Alt+X. - Mac keyboard
- Option+Shift+/ on the U.S. keyboard layout.
- macOS Character Viewer
- Press Control+⌘+Space and search for “inverted question mark”.
- iPhone keyboard
- On the numbers and symbols keyboard, touch and hold ?, then slide to ¿.
- Linux (GTK and IBus)
- Press Ctrl+Shift+U, type
00bf, then press Space. - HTML
¿or¿. In a UTF-8 page you can also paste the character itself.- CSS
content: "\BF";in a::beforeor::afterrule.- JavaScript
"\u00BF"
Common questions about Inverted Question Mark
What is the Inverted Question Mark?
The inverted question mark is opening punctuation placed at the start of a direct question or interrogative clause in Spanish. In Unicode it is U+00BF, officially named INVERTED QUESTION MARK. It is also known as upside-down question mark, opening question mark, and Spanish question mark.
When do you use ¿ in Spanish?
Spanish opens every direct question with ¿ and closes it with ?, as in ¿Dónde estás? When only part of a sentence is a question, the ¿ goes where the question starts: Si vienes, ¿me llamas?
How do I copy and paste the Inverted Question Mark?
Select Copy symbol at the top of this page, then paste with Ctrl+V on Windows and Linux or ⌘+V on a Mac. On a phone, tap Copy symbol, then touch and hold where you want it and choose Paste. ¿ pastes as ordinary text, so it works in documents, messages, and code.
How do I type the Inverted Question Mark on Windows?
Turn on Num Lock, hold Alt, type 0191 on the numeric keypad, then release Alt. In Microsoft Word, type 00BF and press Alt+X to turn the code into ¿. In any app, open Character Map from the Start menu, search for “inverted question mark”, then select and copy the character.
How do I type the Inverted Question Mark on a Mac?
Press Option+Shift+/ (U.S. keyboard layout). Press Control+⌘+Space to open the Character Viewer, search for “inverted question mark”, and double-click the result to insert it.
How do I type the Inverted Question Mark on an iPhone or Android phone?
On an iPhone, open the numbers and symbols keyboard, touch and hold ?, then slide to ¿. The simplest way is to copy it from this page and paste it where you need it. If you use it often, save it as a text shortcut: on iPhone, go to Settings > General > Keyboard > Text Replacement; with Gboard on Android, go to Gboard settings > Dictionary > Personal dictionary.
Can I use the Inverted Question Mark in Word, Google Docs, and social media?
Yes. ¿ is a standard Unicode character, so you can paste it into Microsoft Word, Google Docs, emails, and posts or bios on Instagram, X, Facebook, and TikTok. In Google Docs you can also choose Insert > Special characters and search for “inverted question mark”. In Word, choose Insert > Symbol > More Symbols, set from to Unicode (hex), and enter 00BF as the character code.
Is the Inverted Question Mark an emoji?
No. ¿ is a text symbol, not an emoji. It takes the color and size of the surrounding text, and its exact shape depends on the font.
Why does the Inverted Question Mark show as a box or question mark?
An empty box or a question mark means the font on that device has no glyph for ¿. The character is still there: it appears correctly wherever a font covers Unicode’s Latin-1 Supplement block, and free font families such as Google Noto cover nearly all of Unicode.
What are the HTML and CSS codes for the Inverted Question Mark?
In HTML, write ¿ (decimal) or ¿ (hexadecimal), or the named entity ¿. In CSS, use content: "\BF"; in a ::before or ::after rule, and in JavaScript "\u00BF". See all HTML codes.