Modifier Letter Circumflex Accent
Block: Spacing Modifier Letters
- Symbol
- ˆ
- Unicode
U+02C6- Unicode name
- MODIFIER LETTER CIRCUMFLEX ACCENT
- Block
- Spacing Modifier Letters
- Script
- Common
- Category
- Letter, Modifier
- Type
- Unicode character
Modifier Letter Circumflex Accent (ˆ) is encoded as U+02C6 and has the formal Unicode name MODIFIER LETTER CIRCUMFLEX ACCENT. Unicode classifies it as Letter, Modifier in the Spacing Modifier Letters block. A spacing modifier-letter form of the circumflex accent. The code point is the stable identifier when fonts, copy-and-paste, or surrounding context make the glyph ambiguous.
The Practical Role of ˆ
A spacing modifier-letter form of the circumflex accent.
If your character differs from this one, try what is this ˆ symbol? to find the exact mark from pasted text, Unicode, or visual clues.
When the Exact ˆ Character Matters
Use ˆ when the text is intended to contain Modifier Letter Circumflex Accent (U+02C6).
This is a character-identity rule rather than a style preference. Search, normalization, parsing, sorting, and copy-and-paste workflows can distinguish code points even when a reader cannot immediately see the difference.
How Context Narrows the Meaning of ˆ
ˆ is encoded as U+02C6 and classified as Letter, Modifier.
The Unicode identity and the surrounding document answer different questions: the code point tells you which character is present, while the surrounding formula, interface, document, or notation system determines the local interpretation. Keeping those layers separate prevents a visual guess from being treated as a character definition.
Code-Point and UTF-8 Forms for ˆ
U+02C6 = decimal 710 = HTML ˆ / ˆ. A Unicode escape-style form is u02C6. Its UTF-8 bytes are CB 86.
Use these identifiers in markup, source code, exports, or character diagnostics when the glyph alone is not enough.
Why ˆ Is Not the Same as Nearby Look-Alikes
This character is linked with nearby or confusable records including ^ Circumflex Accent / Caret (U+005E), ∧ Logical And (U+2227), and ⌃ Up Arrowhead (U+2303). The relationship is useful for identification, but it does not make those characters interchangeable.
Fonts can reduce or exaggerate visual differences, so use each character's Unicode value and name when the distinction matters. Replacing one code point with another can change meaning, search behavior, parsing, sorting, or typography even when the glyphs appear close on screen.