Infinity Symbols

Two infinity signs with different jobs

∞ is INFINITY (U+221E) from the Mathematical Operators block, and for centuries it has meant “without bound”. It looks like a figure eight lying on its side, a shape called a lemniscate. The English mathematician John Wallis introduced it in 1655, and it has been standard in analysis ever since: limits that run to ∞, series that sum to ∞, the extended real line. In text it is just a sign, found in every mainstream font.

♾ is a different character with an odd name. Its official name is PERMANENT PAPER SIGN (U+267E), added to Unicode to mark paper that meets archival standards. A later decision gave it a second life as the infinity emoji. Phones therefore draw it as a coloured infinity, and some fonts still show it as a small black one. If you want infinity in the meaning of “forever”, either works. If you want it in a formula, use ∞.

Rarer variants

The Miscellaneous Mathematical Symbols-B block contains three modified infinities. ⧜ is INCOMPLETE INFINITY (U+29DC), ⧝ is TIE OVER INFINITY (U+29DD), and ⧞ is INFINITY NEGATED WITH VERTICAL BAR (U+29DE). They are used in specialist maths, and font coverage is thin, so many systems show them as boxes. They are on this page because people looking for infinity signs find them, but they are not recommended for decoration. ꝏ (LATIN SMALL LETTER OO, U+A74F) is a medieval scribal ligature. It looks a little like a tiny infinity, but it is a letter, and it may be missing from many fonts.

Companions in maths

The second group lists signs that appear near ∞ in calculus and analysis. ≈ is ALMOST EQUAL TO, ≠ is NOT EQUAL TO, ≡ is IDENTICAL TO, and ∝ is PROPORTIONAL TO. ∫ is INTEGRAL, ∑ is N-ARY SUMMATION, √ is SQUARE ROOT, and π is GREEK SMALL LETTER PI. For example, an integral from zero to ∞, or a sum ∑ that runs to ∞, uses both. Note that ∑ (U+2211) is the summation operator; the Greek capital sigma Σ is a different character, and screen readers and search treat them differently.

Loops and cycles

↺ and ↻ are open circle arrows, and ⟲ and ⟳ are gapped circle arrows. They suggest repeating, refreshing or a loop. 🔁 and ♻ are emoji, one for repeat and one for recycling. Placing ⟲ ∞ ⟳ together is a way of saying “repeats forever”. These are text characters except for the last two, which phones draw in colour.

Text and emoji presentation

∞ has no emoji form on most systems and stays in your text colour. ♾ has both: on phones it usually turns into a coloured infinity. To ask for a form, append U+FE0E for text or U+FE0F for emoji, but apps may ignore it. For a plain infinity that stays plain, use ∞.

Where infinity shows up in names and bios

∞ is popular in couple names, friendship tags and quotes about forever: the phrase ♡∞♡ or a name followed by ∞ is common. It is a normal Unicode symbol and generally accepted in bios and display names, but each platform sets its own rules and may change them. The Instagram fonts page records what we have documented. For game names, rules vary and are not verified here. Test in the field.

For frames, the multi-character items in the last group use ∞ with hearts and arrows. Their labels are plain descriptions, not Unicode names. The heart symbols and arrow symbols pages have the neighbours.

Infinity in writing and code

In a maths paper, use ∞ and not the digit 8 sideways or the letters oo. In HTML, write ∞ or ∞. In LaTeX, write \infty in math mode. In Word, type 221E and press Alt then X, or use Insert, Symbol. In programming, floating-point infinity has its own text such as inf or Infinity, unrelated to the character.

How to type infinity

1. Windows Alt code. Hold Alt and type 236 on the numeric keypad with Num Lock on. This comes from the DOS character set and works in many classic programs, but not all modern ones.
2. Word on Windows. Type 221E and press Alt then X.
3. Mac. Press Option and 5 on a US keyboard layout. Other layouts differ, so use the Character Viewer (Control, Command, Space) if it does not work.
4. iPhone and Android. The emoji keyboard has ♾️. For plain ∞, copy from this page, or use the maths symbols page of your keyboard.
5. Text replacement. Set a shortcut such as “inf” that expands to ∞.

Accessibility

Screen readers read ∞ as “infinity” and ♾ as “permanent paper sign” or “infinity”, depending on the reader and the presentation. This is a real risk: someone listening might hear “permanent paper sign” in a bio. If the meaning matters, use ∞. In maths, markup such as MathML or LaTeX output with proper labels is better than a typed character. The fancy text accessibility guide covers more, and the boxes guide explains why rarer variants may show as boxes.