Beta Symbol Β β — Copy, Paste and Type It

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

On Windows, press Win + . → Symbols → Greek, or in Microsoft Word type 03B2 and press Alt + X. On a Mac, switch to the Greek keyboard and press B (Shift + B for the capital). Or simply copy it from the top of this page.

Q: What is the LaTeX command for beta?

Use \beta for lowercase β, inside math mode. There is no \Beta command for the capital: it looks identical to the Latin B, so you type B.

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

Lowercase β is U+03B2, written in HTML as β or β. Capital Β is U+0392, written Β or Β.

The beta symbol is the 2nd letter of the Greek alphabet, written β in lowercase and Β in uppercase. It is pronounced /ˈbiːtə/ (“BAY-tuh or BEE-tuh”). Click a symbol to copy it.

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Copy the beta symbol

Greek small letter beta U+03B2 · The lowercase letter

Greek capital letter Beta U+0392 · The uppercase letter

Greek beta symbol (curled beta) U+03D0 · A typographic variant used in some French and older texts.

Latin small letter sharp s (German eszett) U+00DF · The German letter ß. Looks like β but is a different letter.

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

β is not ß — the Alt code trap

The German sharp s ß (U+00DF) looks so much like beta that it is regularly pasted into formulas by mistake. It is a Latin letter, it sorts as “ss”, and spell-checkers treat it as German.

The trap: the old Windows Alt code Alt + 225, which many websites list as “beta”, actually types ß, and so does Option + S on a Mac. There is no classic Alt code for the real Greek β (U+03B2). Copy it from this page, use Win + . → Symbols → Greek, or in Microsoft Word type 03B2 and press Alt + X.

There is also a curled variant, ϐ (U+03D0, beta symbol), found in French typography. It means the same thing as β; use it only to match a specific style.

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

Beta codes — Unicode, HTML, LaTeX and Alt codes

Char	Unicode	HTML entity	HTML decimal	HTML hex	CSS	JavaScript	LaTeX	Windows	Mac
β	`U+03B2`	`β`	`β`	`β`	`\03B2`	`\u03B2`	`\beta`	`03B2` then `Alt + X` (Word)	Greek keyboard `B`
Β	`U+0392`	`Β`	`Β`	`Β`	`\0392`	`\u0392`	`B (no \Beta command)`	`0392` then `Alt + X` (Word)	Greek keyboard `Shift + B`
ϐ	`U+03D0`	`—`	`ϐ`	`ϐ`	`\03D0`	`\u03D0`	`—`	`03D0` then `Alt + X` (Word)	Character Viewer
ß	`U+00DF`	`ß`	`ß`	`ß`	`\00DF`	`\u00DF`	`—`	`Alt + 225 or Alt + 0223`	`Option + S`

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

How to type the beta symbol

Windows

Fastest: press Win + . to open the emoji panel, choose the Symbols tab (Ω), then Greek.
There is no classic Alt code for beta — the old DOS code page only included a handful of Greek letters (α Γ π Σ σ τ Φ Θ Ω δ φ ε). Use one of the other methods.
Microsoft Word: type 03B2 and press Alt + X for β; 0392 then Alt + X for Β. Word converts it in place.

Mac

Add the Greek keyboard in System Settings → Keyboard → Input Sources, then B types β and Shift + B types Β.
Option + S on the standard keyboard types ß (Latin small letter sharp s (German eszett), U+00DF).
Or open the Character Viewer with Ctrl + Cmd + Space and search “beta”.

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

\beta — lowercase β in math mode
B or \mathrm{B} — capital Β (there is no \Beta)

HTML, CSS and code

HTML: β or β or β
CSS: content: "\03B2";
JavaScript / JSON: "\u03B2" — Python: "\u03b2"
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 beta mean?

Statistics

β — the Type II error rate; statistical power is 1 − β
β₀, β₁ … — coefficients in a regression model

Physics

β particle — an electron or positron emitted in beta decay
β = v/c — speed as a fraction of the speed of light in relativity

Chemistry & biology

β-sheet — a protein secondary structure
β-lactam antibiotics, β-blockers, β-carotene

Finance

beta — a stock’s volatility relative to the overall market

Software

beta — the second testing phase of a product, after alpha

Mathematics

B(x, y) — the beta function, written with a Latin-looking capital B

Beta at a glance

Position: 2nd of 24
Uppercase / lowercase: Β β
Greek name: βήτα
Pronunciation: /ˈbiːtə/
Numeric value: 2
Became: Latin B and Cyrillic Б and В

Frequently asked questions

What is the beta symbol?

Beta (Β β) is the 2nd letter of the Greek alphabet, pronounced /ˈbiːtə/ (“BAY-tuh or BEE-tuh”). It is most often used for beta testing, regression coefficients, beta decay.

How do I type the beta symbol on a keyboard?

On Windows, press Win + . → Symbols → Greek, or in Microsoft Word type 03B2 and press Alt + X. On a Mac, switch to the Greek keyboard and press B (Shift + B for the capital). Or simply copy it from the top of this page.

What is the LaTeX command for beta?

Use \beta for lowercase β, inside math mode. There is no \Beta command for the capital: it looks identical to the Latin B, so you type B.

What is the Unicode and HTML code for beta?

Lowercase β is U+03B2, written in HTML as β or β. Capital Β is U+0392, written Β or Β.

Is ß the same as beta?

No. ß (U+00DF) is the German “sharp s”; β (U+03B2) is the Greek letter beta. They look alike, but ß is a Latin letter and will be treated as German text by search and spell-check.

← See all 24 Greek symbols