Alpha Symbol Α α — Copy, Paste and Type It

Q: How do I type the alpha symbol on a keyboard?

On Windows, press Win + . → Symbols → Greek, or in Microsoft Word type 03B1 and press Alt + X; the classic Alt code Alt + 224 types α. On a Mac, switch to the Greek keyboard and press A (Shift + A for the capital). Or simply copy it from the top of this page.

Q: What is the LaTeX command for alpha?

Use \alpha for lowercase α, inside math mode. There is no \Alpha command for the capital: it looks identical to the Latin A, so you type A.

Q: What is the Unicode and HTML code for alpha?

Lowercase α is U+03B1, written in HTML as α or α. Capital Α is U+0391, written Α or Α.

The alpha symbol is the 1st letter of the Greek alphabet, written α in lowercase and Α in uppercase. It is pronounced /ˈælfə/ (“AL-fuh”). Click a symbol to copy it.

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Copy the alpha symbol

Greek small letter alpha U+03B1 · The lowercase letter

Greek capital letter Alpha U+0391 · The uppercase letter

Proportional to U+221D · The math operator "varies as". Often mistaken for alpha — it is not a letter.

Latin small letter alpha U+0251 · The IPA symbol for the open back vowel, as in "father".

Dashed boxes are look-alikes that are not the Greek letter — listed so you can tell them apart.

α is not ∝ — and capital Alpha is just “A”

Two characters regularly get confused with alpha:

∝ (U+221D, proportional to) is a math operator meaning “varies as”. Its left side is open, it sits on the baseline like an operator, and in LaTeX it is \propto, not \alpha. If you are writing “y ∝ x”, you want this one.
ɑ (U+0251, Latin alpha) is the phonetic symbol used in dictionaries for the vowel in “father”. It belongs to the Latin script, so use it only in IPA transcriptions.

Capital Alpha (Α, U+0391) is visually identical to the Latin capital A. LaTeX has no \Alpha command — you simply type A. Use the Greek code point only when the text is actually Greek; in formulas, names of variables and ordinary English text, a Latin A renders exactly the same and avoids mixed-script problems in search and spell-check.

On Windows, the classic Alt code Alt + 224 types the real Greek α (U+03B1) in almost every program — alpha is one of the few Greek letters that survived in the old DOS code page.

Not sure which Greek letter you need? See all 24 Greek symbols with codes.

Alpha codes — Unicode, HTML, LaTeX and Alt codes

Char	Unicode	HTML entity	HTML decimal	HTML hex	CSS	JavaScript	LaTeX	Windows	Mac
α	`U+03B1`	`α`	`α`	`α`	`\03B1`	`\u03B1`	`\alpha`	`Alt + 224`	Greek keyboard `A`
Α	`U+0391`	`Α`	`Α`	`Α`	`\0391`	`\u0391`	`A (no \Alpha command)`	`0391` then `Alt + X` (Word)	Greek keyboard `Shift + A`
∝	`U+221D`	`&prop;`	`∝`	`∝`	`\221D`	`\u221D`	`\propto`	`221D` then `Alt + X` (Word)	Character Viewer
ɑ	`U+0251`	`—`	`ɑ`	`ɑ`	`\0251`	`\u0251`	`—`	`0251` then `Alt + X` (Word)	Character Viewer

Need the characters without any explanation? Open the Greek letters copy-paste sheet.

How to type the alpha symbol

Windows

Fastest: press Win + . to open the emoji panel, choose the Symbols tab (Ω), then Greek.
Alt code: hold Alt and type 224 for α on the numeric keypad with Num Lock on.
Microsoft Word: type 03B1 and press Alt + X for α; 0391 then Alt + X for Α. Word converts it in place.

Mac

Add the Greek keyboard in System Settings → Keyboard → Input Sources, then A types α and Shift + A types Α.
Or open the Character Viewer with Ctrl + Cmd + Space and search “alpha”.

iPhone and Android

iOS: Settings → General → Keyboard → Keyboards → Add New Keyboard → Greek. Tap the globe key to switch.
Android (Gboard): Settings → Languages → Add keyboard → Greek.
Or copy the character from the top of this page.

LaTeX

\alpha — lowercase α in math mode
A or \mathrm{A} — capital Α (there is no \Alpha)
\propto — ∝ (proportional to)

HTML, CSS and code

HTML: α or α or α
CSS: content: "\03B1";
JavaScript / JSON: "\u03B1" — Python: "\u03b1"
In source code, prefer the escape over the pasted glyph — it survives every file encoding.

Full typing guide for every platform, including Linux and Google Docs → how to type Greek letters.

What does alpha mean?

Mathematics

α — an angle, usually the first of α, β, γ in a triangle
α — a root or coefficient of a polynomial

Statistics

α — the significance level of a test, the Type I error rate (e.g. α = 0.05)
Cronbach’s α — internal-consistency reliability of a scale

Physics

α particle — a helium-4 nucleus emitted in alpha decay
α — angular acceleration, in rad/s²
α ≈ 1/137 — the fine-structure constant
α — coefficient of thermal expansion

Chemistry & biology

α-carbon — the carbon next to a functional group
α-helix — a common protein secondary structure

Finance

alpha — the excess return of an investment over its benchmark

Astronomy

α — the brightest star of a constellation, as in α Centauri

Alpha at a glance

Position: 1st of 24
Uppercase / lowercase: Α α
Greek name: άλφα
Pronunciation: /ˈælfə/
Numeric value: 1
Became: Latin A and Cyrillic А

Frequently asked questions

What is the alpha symbol?

Alpha (Α α) is the 1st letter of the Greek alphabet, pronounced /ˈælfə/ (“AL-fuh”). It is most often used for significance level, angles, alpha particles.

How do I type the alpha symbol on a keyboard?

On Windows, press Win + . → Symbols → Greek, or in Microsoft Word type 03B1 and press Alt + X; the classic Alt code Alt + 224 types α. On a Mac, switch to the Greek keyboard and press A (Shift + A for the capital). Or simply copy it from the top of this page.

What is the LaTeX command for alpha?

Use \alpha for lowercase α, inside math mode. There is no \Alpha command for the capital: it looks identical to the Latin A, so you type A.

What is the Unicode and HTML code for alpha?

Lowercase α is U+03B1, written in HTML as α or α. Capital Α is U+0391, written Α or Α.

What does α mean in statistics?

α is the significance level of a hypothesis test — the probability of a Type I error (rejecting a true null hypothesis). The most common value is α = 0.05. “Cronbach’s alpha” is a different use: a measure of scale reliability.

← See all 24 Greek symbols