Iota Symbol Ι ι — Copy, Paste and Type It

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

On Windows, press Win + . → Symbols → Greek, or in Microsoft Word type 03B9 and press Alt + X. On a Mac, switch to the Greek keyboard and press I (Shift + I for the capital). Or simply copy it from the top of this page.

Q: What is the LaTeX command for iota?

Use \iota for lowercase ι, inside math mode. There is no \Iota command for the capital: it looks identical to the Latin I, so you type I.

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

Lowercase ι is U+03B9, written in HTML as ι or ι. Capital Ι is U+0399, written Ι or Ι.

The iota symbol is the 9th letter of the Greek alphabet, written ι in lowercase and Ι in uppercase. It is pronounced /aɪˈoʊtə/ (“eye-OH-tuh”). Click a symbol to copy it.

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Copy the iota symbol

Greek small letter iota U+03B9 · The lowercase letter

Greek capital letter Iota U+0399 · The uppercase letter

Greek ypogegrammeni (iota subscript) U+037A · The small iota written under ᾳ, ῃ and ῳ in ancient Greek.

Latin small letter iota U+0269 · An IPA / African-language letter that copies iota’s shape.

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

Iota codes — Unicode, HTML, LaTeX and Alt codes

Char	Unicode	HTML entity	HTML decimal	HTML hex	CSS	JavaScript	LaTeX	Windows	Mac
ι	`U+03B9`	`ι`	`ι`	`ι`	`\03B9`	`\u03B9`	`\iota`	`03B9` then `Alt + X` (Word)	Greek keyboard `I`
Ι	`U+0399`	`Ι`	`Ι`	`Ι`	`\0399`	`\u0399`	`I (no \Iota command)`	`0399` then `Alt + X` (Word)	Greek keyboard `Shift + I`
ͺ	`U+037A`	`—`	`ͺ`	`ͺ`	`\037A`	`\u037A`	`—`	`037A` then `Alt + X` (Word)	Character Viewer
ɩ	`U+0269`	`—`	`ɩ`	`ɩ`	`\0269`	`\u0269`	`—`	`0269` then `Alt + X` (Word)	Character Viewer

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

How to type the iota symbol

Windows

Fastest: press Win + . to open the emoji panel, choose the Symbols tab (Ω), then Greek.
There is no classic Alt code for iota — 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 03B9 and press Alt + X for ι; 0399 then Alt + X for Ι. Word converts it in place.

Mac

Add the Greek keyboard in System Settings → Keyboard → Input Sources, then I types ι and Shift + I types Ι.
Or open the Character Viewer with Ctrl + Cmd + Space and search “iota”.

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

\iota — lowercase ι in math mode
I or \mathrm{I} — capital Ι (there is no \Iota)

HTML, CSS and code

HTML: ι or ι or ι
CSS: content: "\03B9";
JavaScript / JSON: "\u03B9" — Python: "\u03b9"
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 iota mean?

Language

“not one iota” — not the smallest amount, because ι is the smallest Greek letter
the English word jot comes from iota

Mathematics & computing

ι — an inclusion map; ⍳ — the APL “index generator”

Iota at a glance

Position: 9th of 24
Uppercase / lowercase: Ι ι
Greek name: ιώτα
Pronunciation: /aɪˈoʊtə/
Numeric value: 10
Became: Latin I and J, and Cyrillic І

Frequently asked questions

What is the iota symbol?

Iota (Ι ι) is the 9th letter of the Greek alphabet, pronounced /aɪˈoʊtə/ (“eye-OH-tuh”). It is most often used for the smallest letter: “not one iota”.

How do I type the iota symbol on a keyboard?

On Windows, press Win + . → Symbols → Greek, or in Microsoft Word type 03B9 and press Alt + X. On a Mac, switch to the Greek keyboard and press I (Shift + I for the capital). Or simply copy it from the top of this page.

What is the LaTeX command for iota?

Use \iota for lowercase ι, inside math mode. There is no \Iota command for the capital: it looks identical to the Latin I, so you type I.

What is the Unicode and HTML code for iota?

Lowercase ι is U+03B9, written in HTML as ι or ι. Capital Ι is U+0399, written Ι or Ι.

← See all 24 Greek symbols