Left-Pointing Double Angle Quotation Mark «

The Left-Pointing Double Angle Quotation Mark character («) is a standard HTML entity defined in the HTML specification. In HTML source code, it can be written using the named entity reference «, the decimal numeric character reference «, or the hexadecimal numeric reference «. The character is assigned Unicode code point U+00AB in the Universal Character Set.

The left-pointing double angle quotation mark, also called a guillemet, is the standard opening quotation mark in French, German, Russian, and many other European languages. Guillemets point outward from the quoted text in French and inward in German. They are also widely used as decorative elements in UI design.

Punctuation and whitespace entities are among the most frequently used HTML entities in web development. They handle characters that either have special meaning in HTML syntax — such as angle brackets and ampersands — or represent typographic characters that improve the visual quality of text, like em dashes and curly quotes. Proper use of punctuation entities is essential for producing valid, well-formed HTML documents and achieving professional-looking typography on the web.

When deciding how to encode the Left-Pointing Double Angle Quotation Mark character in your HTML documents, the named entity « is generally the most readable choice for developers reviewing or maintaining source code. The decimal form « and hexadecimal form « are equally valid alternatives that work in contexts where named entities may not be supported, or when generating HTML output programmatically from server-side code. All three representations produce identical visual output in every modern web browser.

Use the left guillemet to open quotations in French, Spanish, Italian, Russian, and other languages that use angle quotation marks. In web design, guillemets are often used for navigation links (« Previous) and as decorative bracketing elements. Pair with » to close.