Latin character S with comma below
About this character
The character ș is known as Latin character S with comma below and carries the Unicode code point U+0219, which is 537 in decimal. It belongs to the Latin Extended-B block (U+0180–U+024F), which gathers additional Latin letters used by Romanian, Vietnamese and many phonetic transcriptions.
In memory, ș takes 2 bytes in UTF-8 (0xC8 0x99) and 1 in UTF-16 (0x0219). That difference is why badly configured forms or databases garble this character: they assume one byte per character.
How to type ș
| System | What to do |
|---|---|
| Windows | In Word or WordPad, type 0219 and press Alt + X to turn the code into the character. |
| macOS | On a Mac, open the Character Viewer with Ctrl + ⌘ + Space and search for “Latin character S with comma below”. |
| Linux | On Linux (GTK), type Ctrl + ⇧ + U, 0219 then press Enter. |
| HTML / Web | In an HTML page, write ș. Use \0219 in CSS, \u0219 in JavaScript and \u0219 in Python. |
| On this site | The simplest route is the Copy button above: the character goes straight to your clipboard, ready to paste anywhere. |
Keyboards that include ș
This character sits directly on the following ClavierVirtuel layouts, where you can click it with the mouse:
Codes and encodings
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Code point | U+0219 |
| Unicode block | Latin Extended-B (U+0180–U+024F) |
| Decimal | 537 |
| Hexadecimal | 0x0219 |
| Octal | 01031 |
| Binary | 1000011001 |
| UTF-8 bytes | 0xC8 0x99 |
| UTF-16 units | 0x0219 |
| Named HTML entity | None |
| Decimal HTML entity | ș |
| Hex HTML entity | ș |
| CSS escape | \0219 |
| JavaScript escape | \u0219 |
| Python escape | \u0219 |
| URL encoding | %C8%99 |
Frequently asked questions
What is the Unicode code for ș?
Its code point is U+0219, which is 537 in decimal and 01031 in octal. In HTML you can write it as ș or ș.
Why does ș show up as a box or a question mark?
An empty box means the font has no glyph for U+0219. The character is still in the text: switching to a font that covers the block (Noto, DejaVu or Segoe UI Symbol) makes it appear.
Can I use ș in a filename, a URL or a password?
In a URL it must be encoded as %C8%99. Modern filesystems accept it, though it is still risky when moving files between systems. For passwords, some forms reject non-ASCII characters outright.