Circled asterisk ⊛
An asterisk inside a circle. It's a math operator from the same family as ⊕ and ⊗.
Circled asterisk codes
| Unicode | U+229B |
| Official name | CIRCLED ASTERISK OPERATOR |
| Unicode block | Mathematical Operators |
| HTML (hex) | ⊛ |
| HTML (decimal) | ⊛ |
| HTML (named) | ⊛ ⊛ |
| CSS | content: "\229B"; |
| JavaScript | "\u229B" |
| Python | "\N{CIRCLED ASTERISK OPERATOR}" |
| URL-encoded | %E2%8A%9B |
| UTF-8 bytes | E2 8A 9B |
How to type ⊛
- Mac: press Control + Command + Space to open the Character Viewer and search for “circled asterisk operator”. Or switch to the Unicode Hex Input keyboard, hold Option and type
229B. - Windows: in Word, type
229Band press Alt + X. Windows has no Alt code for this character, so copying it from this page is the fastest route in other apps. - Chromebook and Linux: press Ctrl + Shift + U, type
229b, then press Space or Enter. - iPhone and Android: copy it from this page, then save it as a text replacement so a short code like
;asttypes it for you. Here's how on iPhone.
What the circled asterisk is used for
- Variants of convolution and other operations in math papers.
- A distinctive "special" marker in text.
- Badge-like icons in plain text.
Good to know
In LaTeX it's \circledast (from the amssymb package). Outside of math, people use it as a compact badge, for example to mark featured items in a plain-text list.
Will it show up? Supported by most system fonts. Math-heavy fonts render it most cleanly.