LaTeX Special Characters - Complete Guide to Symbols & Accents
Master special characters in LaTeX including reserved characters (#, $, %, &, ~, ^, \), accents (é, ñ, ü, ô), punctuation (– —, «», ¿, ¡), currency symbols (€, £, ¥), and copyright/trademark symbols (©, ®, ™).
Introduction to Special Characters in LaTeX
LaTeX uses certain characters for special purposes (like $ for math mode or % for comments). To display these characters literally in your document, you need to escape them with specific commands. Additionally, LaTeX provides extensive support for accented characters, international symbols, and typographic marks.
- Reserved characters: Have special meaning in LaTeX and must be escaped
- Accents: Added to letters using backslash commands or packages
- Text mode vs math mode: Some symbols work only in specific modes
- UTF-8 encoding: Modern LaTeX (with inputenc package) supports direct Unicode input
Reserved Characters (Must Be Escaped)
These 10 characters have special meaning in LaTeX and must be preceded by a backslash to appear literally:
| Character | LaTeX Command | Special Purpose | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| # | \# |
Macro parameter | Section \#3 |
| $ | \$ |
Math mode delimiter | Price: \$50 |
| % | \% |
Comment character | 95\% success |
| & | \& |
Table column separator | Smith \& Jones |
| ~ | \textasciitilde or \~{} |
Non-breaking space | URL: example\textasciitilde{}user |
| ^ | \textasciicircum or \^{} |
Superscript in math | Power\textasciicircum{}2 |
| _ | \_ |
Subscript in math | variable\_name |
| { | \{ |
Begin group | Set \{1,2,3\} |
| } | \} |
End group | \{a,b,c\} |
| \ | \textbackslash or \backslash (math) |
Command prefix | C:\textbackslash{}Users |
Example: Reserved Characters
\documentclass{article}
\begin{document}
Price: \$19.99 with 20\% discount
Email: user@example.com \& backup@example.com
Path: C:\textbackslash{}Program Files\textbackslash{}App
Variable names: var\_1, var\_2, var\_3
Set notation: \{1, 2, 3, 4, 5\}
\end{document}Accents and Diacritics
LaTeX supports various accent marks for international characters. Accents can be placed over any letter using commands:
Common Accents
| Accent | Command | Example | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acute | \' |
\'e, \'a |
é, á |
| Grave | \` |
\`e, \`a |
è, à |
| Circumflex | \^ |
\^e, \^o |
ê, ô |
| Umlaut/Dieresis | \" |
\"u, \"o |
ü, ö |
| Tilde | \~ |
\~n, \~a |
ñ, ã |
| Macron | \= |
\=o |
ō |
| Dot above | \.> |
\.z |
ż |
| Ring above | \r |
\r{a} |
å |
| Breve | \u |
\u{a} |
ă |
| Caron | \v |
\v{s}, \v{c} |
š, č |
| Cedilla | \c |
\c{c} |
ç |
| Ogonek | \k |
\k{a} |
ą |
Example: Accented Characters
\documentclass{article}
\usepackage[utf8]{inputenc} % For direct UTF-8 input
\begin{document}
% Method 1: Using commands
Caf\'e, na\"ive, r\'esum\'e
Spanish: Se\~nor, ni\~no
German: M\"unchen, K\"oln, Schr\"odinger
French: \'Ecole, \`a bient\^ot
% Method 2: Direct UTF-8 (with inputenc)
Café, naïve, résumé
Señor, niño
München, Köln
École, à bientôt
\end{document}\usepackage[utf8]{inputenc}, you can type accented characters directly on your keyboard (é, ñ, ü) instead of using commands. This is the recommended method for modern LaTeX documents.
Special Punctuation
LaTeX provides proper typographic punctuation marks:
Dashes and Hyphens
| Symbol | LaTeX | Name | Use |
|---|---|---|---|
| - | - |
Hyphen | Word breaks: well-known |
| – | -- |
En dash | Ranges: pages 1–10 |
| — | --- |
Em dash | Emphasis—like this |
| − | $-$ |
Minus sign | Math: $-5$ |
Other Punctuation
| Symbol | LaTeX Command | Name/Use |
|---|---|---|
| ¿ | ?` |
Inverted question mark (Spanish) |
| ¡ | !` |
Inverted exclamation (Spanish) |
| § | \S |
Section mark |
| ¶ | \P |
Paragraph mark |
| † | \dag or \dagger |
Dagger (footnote) |
| ‡ | \ddag or \ddagger |
Double dagger |
| ... | \ldots or \dots |
Ellipsis |
| · | \textperiodcentered or \cdot (math) |
Middle dot |
| • | \textbullet |
Bullet point |
Example: Punctuation
Hyphens: well-known, twenty-first
Ranges: pages 10--25, years 1990--2000
Em dash---used for breaks---like this
Spanish: ?`Cómo estás? !`Hola!
References: See \S~3.2 for details
Ellipsis: One, two, three\ldotsCurrency Symbols
Common currency symbols in LaTeX:
| Symbol | LaTeX Command | Currency | Package Required |
|---|---|---|---|
| $ | \$ |
US Dollar | None |
| £ | \pounds or \textsterling |
British Pound | None |
| € | \texteuro |
Euro | textcomp |
| ¥ | \textyen |
Japanese Yen | textcomp |
| ¢ | \textcent |
Cent | textcomp |
| ₹ | \rupee |
Indian Rupee | tfrupee |
| ₽ | Direct UTF-8 or specialized package | Russian Ruble | fontspec (XeLaTeX/LuaLaTeX) |
Example: Currency Symbols
\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{textcomp} % For euro, yen, cent
\begin{document}
Price: \$99.99 USD
British: \pounds{}50.00
European: \texteuro{}75.50
Japanese: \textyen{}10,000
Small change: 50\textcent
\end{document}Copyright and Legal Symbols
Symbols for intellectual property and legal notices:
| Symbol | LaTeX Command | Name |
|---|---|---|
| © | \copyright or \textcopyright |
Copyright |
| ® | \textregistered |
Registered trademark |
| ™ | \texttrademark |
Trademark |
| ℠ | \textservicemark |
Service mark |
Example: Legal Symbols
\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{textcomp}
\begin{document}
\copyright{} 2026 Company Name. All rights reserved.
LaTeX\texttrademark{} is a typesetting system.
Windows\textregistered{} operating system.
\end{document}Quotation Marks
Proper typographic quotation marks in LaTeX:
| Style | LaTeX | Result | Use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single quotes | `text' |
'text' | English single quotes |
| Double quotes | ``text'' |
"text" | English double quotes |
| French guillemets | \guillemotleft text\guillemotright |
«text» | French quotes |
| German quotes | \glqq text\grqq |
„text" | German quotes (with babel) |
Example: Quotation Marks
% WRONG: "quoted text" - produces straight quotes
% CORRECT:
He said, ``Hello, world!''
Single quotes: `word'
Nested quotes: ``She said, `go ahead,' to me.''
French style: \guillemotleft Bonjour\guillemotright" for quotation marks. Always use backticks ` for opening quotes and apostrophes ' for closing quotes. Double them for double quotes: ``text''
Spacing Characters
Special spacing and non-printing characters:
| Command | Description | Use Case |
|---|---|---|
~ |
Non-breaking space | Mr.~Smith, Figure~5 |
\, |
Thin space | Math spacing: $10\,000$ |
\ (backslash-space) |
Normal space after command | After commands: \LaTeX\ is great |
\quad |
1em space | Large spacing in equations |
\qquad |
2em space | Extra large spacing |
\! |
Negative thin space | Fine-tune math spacing |
\phantom{text} |
Invisible placeholder | Alignment without printing |
Example: Spacing
% Non-breaking space (prevents line break)
Dr.~Smith, Chapter~3, Figure~\ref{fig:example}
% Large numbers with thin space
Population: 7\,800\,000\,000
% Space after command
\LaTeX\ is a typesetting system. \TeX\ too.
% Math spacing
$f(x) \quad \text{where} \quad x > 0$International and Special Characters
Characters specific to various languages:
| Symbol | LaTeX Command | Language/Use |
|---|---|---|
| æ, Æ | \ae, \AE |
Scandinavian/Latin ligature |
| œ, Œ | \oe, \OE |
French ligature |
| å, Å | \aa, \AA |
Scandinavian |
| ø, Ø | \o, \O |
Norwegian/Danish |
| ß | \ss or \beta (math) |
German sharp S |
| ł, Ł | \l, \L |
Polish crossed L |
| ı | \i |
Dotless i (Turkish) |
| ȷ | \j |
Dotless j |
Example: International Characters
% Scandinavian
Bj\o rk, \AA rhus, Malm\"o
% German
Stra\ss e, Gew\"urztraminer
% French
\oe uvre, c\oe ur
% Latin
curriculum vit\aeFrequently Asked Questions
How do I type special characters like #, $, % in LaTeX?
Escape them with a backslash: \#, \$, \%, \&. These characters are reserved in LaTeX and have special meanings, so they must be escaped to appear literally in your document.
How do I type accented characters like é, ñ, ü?
Two methods: 1) Use commands: \'e, \~n, \"u, or 2) Type directly with \usepackage[utf8]{inputenc} in your preamble (recommended for modern LaTeX).
What's the correct way to make quotation marks in LaTeX?
Use backticks and apostrophes, NOT straight quotes. Single quotes: `text'. Double quotes: ``text''. Never use "text" which produces straight quotes.
How do I make an em dash (—) in LaTeX?
Type three hyphens: ---. For en dash (–), use two hyphens: --. For hyphen (-), use a single hyphen: -. Each has different typographic uses.
How do I type the Euro symbol (€)?
Use \texteuro with the textcomp package: \usepackage{textcomp} in preamble, then \texteuro{}50 in your document.
How do I add a copyright symbol (©)?
Use \copyright or \textcopyright. Both produce ©. For trademark: \texttrademark (™), registered trademark: \textregistered (®).
How do I type a tilde (~) character?
Use \textasciitilde or \~{}. The bare ~ creates a non-breaking space in LaTeX, not a visible tilde character.
What's the difference between - -- and --- in LaTeX?
- is a hyphen (for words like well-known), -- is an en dash (for ranges like pages 1–10), and --- is an em dash (for emphasis—like this).
Can I use Unicode characters directly in LaTeX?
Yes, with \usepackage[utf8]{inputenc} for pdfLaTeX, or use XeLaTeX/LuaLaTeX which support Unicode natively. This lets you type most international characters directly.
How do I prevent line breaks between words?
Use a non-breaking space with tilde: Dr.~Smith, Figure~3. This prevents LaTeX from breaking the line between the two words, keeping them together.