Leftwards Arrow With Tail
Block: Arrows
- Symbol
- ↢
- Unicode
U+21A2- Unicode name
- LEFTWARDS ARROW WITH TAIL
- Block
- Arrows
- Category
- Symbol, Other
- Type
- Unicode symbol
Leftwards Arrow With Tail (↢) is encoded as U+21A2 and has the formal Unicode name LEFTWARDS ARROW WITH TAIL. Unicode classifies it as Symbol, Other in the Arrows block. Its name places it in the arrow/directional family, which gives the page a narrower identity than the glyph alone. Separately encoded named neighbors include ↣ Rightwards Arrow With Tail (U+21A3); those records should be compared by name and code point rather than merged because their shapes or terminology are related.
Unicode Identity First, Local Meaning Second
↢ is encoded as U+21A2 and classified as Symbol, Other. Its formal name narrows it to the arrow/directional family rather than leaving the mark as an unidentified shape.
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.
Have another unfamiliar character? Open what is this ↢ symbol? and identify it from the glyph itself, a Unicode value, or its appearance.
How ↢ Is Encoded
U+21A2 = decimal 8610 = HTML ↢ / ↢. A Unicode escape-style form is u21A2. Its UTF-8 bytes are E2 86 A2.
Use these identifiers in markup, source code, exports, or character diagnostics when the glyph alone is not enough.
Do Not Collapse Leftwards Arrow With Tail Into Nearby Named Variants
Unicode stores ↢ as U+21A2, while nearby records include ↣ Rightwards Arrow With Tail (U+21A3). These are separate encoded identities, not alternate font drawings of one character.
The comparison is useful because a shared word in the name, a mirrored direction, or a similar outline can make two symbols appear interchangeable. When the distinction matters, compare the complete Unicode name and code point before replacing one record with another.