Quotation Mark Symbol ” ” « » — Copy and Paste
Types of Quotation Marks
Quotation marks come in several styles. The right one depends on your language, your device and whether you are writing dialogue, quoting a source or styling text for social media. Copy any of them from the table below.
| Mark | Name | Common use |
| ” … “ | Double quotation marks | Standard quotes in American English |
| ‘ … ‘ | Single quotation marks | Quotes inside quotes; British English dialogue |
| “ … ” | Curly (smart) quotes | Books, articles and polished typography |
| « … » | Guillemets (French quotes) | French, Spanish, Italian, Russian texts |
| „ … “ | Low-high quotes | German, Polish and other European languages |
| ‚ … ‘ | Single low-high quotes | Nested quotes in those languages |
| ‹ … › | Single guillemets | Swiss and French nested quotes |
| 「 … 」 | Corner brackets | Japanese and Chinese texts |
| 『 … 』 | Double corner brackets | Nested quotes in Japanese/Chinese |
How to Type Quotation Marks on Any Device
Every device can type smart quotes and guillemets once you know the shortcut:
- Windows: hold Alt and type 0147 for “ and 0148 for ” on the numeric keypad; Alt+0145 and Alt+0146 give ‘ and ’. For « and » use Alt+0171 and Alt+0187.
- Mac: Option + [ gives “, Option + Shift + [ gives ”, Option + ] gives ‘, Option + Shift + ] gives ’.
- iPhone and Android: long-press the quotation mark key on the keyboard to reveal curly quotes, guillemets and corner brackets.
- Fastest method: click any mark on this page to copy it, then paste it wherever you are typing.
Quotation Mark Codes (HTML, Unicode and Alt Codes)
| Mark | Unicode | HTML entity | Alt code |
| “ | U+201C | “ | Alt 0147 |
| ” | U+201D | ” | Alt 0148 |
| ‘ | U+2018 | ‘ | Alt 0145 |
| ’ | U+2019 | ’ | Alt 0146 |
| « | U+00AB | « | Alt 0171 |
| » | U+00BB | » | Alt 0187 |
| „ | U+201E | „ | Alt 0132 |
| “ | U+0022 | " | Alt 34 |
When to Use Each Quotation Mark
Direct quotes: wrap the exact words someone said or wrote — She said, “I’ll be there at five.”
Titles of short works: songs, poems, episodes and articles take quotation marks in most style guides.
Scare quotes: signal irony or a doubtful term — the “fresh” fish had clearly been frozen.
Dialogue in other languages: French and Spanish books use «guillemets»; German books open low with „ and close high with “.
British vs American: American style puts commas and periods inside the closing mark; British style usually puts them outside, and often uses single quotes for dialogue.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between “ and ”?
They are the same pair — “ opens the quote and ” closes it. The straight mark ” is the typewriter-style version used in code and plain text.
How do I copy a quotation mark?
Click or tap any mark on this page and it is copied to your clipboard; paste with Ctrl+V, Cmd+V, or long-press Paste on mobile.
What are « » called?
Guillemets — sometimes called French quotes. They are the standard quotation marks in French, Spanish, Italian and several other languages.
Why do my quotes look straight instead of curly?
Most word processors convert straight quotes to curly smart quotes automatically; plain-text editors and code editors keep them straight. You can copy the exact style you need from this page.
Explore more: bracket symbols, underscore symbol, punctuation symbols, ampersand symbol
