Left Arrow Emoji
A solid arrow pointing left, for going back or reversing direction.
Try Left Arrow emoji
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Meaning & usage
What does the Left Arrow emoji mean?
A solid arrow pointing left, for going back or reversing direction.
Neutral and directional. On its own it means back; paired with ➡️ it becomes half of a two-way relationship rather than a simple reversal.
How to use ⬅️ naturally
Back navigation, returns and undoing a step.
Reaction symbols work like visual emphasis: they reinforce a word, rate an idea or replace a short response. Repetition normally increases intensity, but it can also make a message feel more performative.
From standard to slang
The history of ⬅️
- 2010
First defined as emoji
According to Unicode’s Emoji Versions data, Left Arrow was first defined as emoji in Emoji 0.6, dated 2010. That label is retrospective: Unicode applied it later to the early mobile core it inherited from the Japanese carriers.
- Before the keyboard
Its visual roots
The mirror of the right arrow, from the same typographic set. Used alone it means back; used with its twin it becomes half of a relationship.
- Today
How its use evolved
Back navigation, returns and undoing a step.
Dates follow Unicode’s official Emoji Versions chart. Versions before Emoji 1.0 are labelled retrospectively. See the history of emoji.
In conversation
Examples of ⬅️ in messages
These examples show the emoji in complete messages, where the words make its intended tone easier to read.
Wrong turn, go back ⬅️
Swipe ⬅️ for the before photo
Moved it back a week ⬅️
When to use it
Using ⬅️ clearly
Back navigation, returns and undoing a step. It lands as left arrow emoji or ⬅️ meaning when the rest of the message supports that reading, and it is the surrounding words that do the deciding — so in a sensitive, professional or cross-cultural conversation, say the thing outright as well.
Common questions
About the left arrow emoji
What does ⬅️ mean in a text message?
A solid arrow pointing left, for going back or reversing direction. Neutral and directional. On its own it means back; paired with ➡️ it becomes half of a two-way relationship rather than a simple reversal.
Is ⬅️ always positive?
Not always. Its usual readings are left arrow emoji, ⬅️ meaning, back arrow emoji, and irony or the relationship between the people can flip any of them.
Why does ⬅️ look different on another device?
U+2B05 U+FE0F identifies the emoji; the picture is a font, drawn separately by Apple, Google, Microsoft and Samsung. Only the artwork changes, never the character.
How do I copy and paste the left arrow emoji?
Use the copy button at the top of this page. ⬅️ is a character, not an image, so it pastes into messages, captions and filenames as ordinary text.
When was the left arrow emoji introduced?
Unicode’s Emoji Versions data first records ⬅️ as emoji in Emoji 0.6, dated 2010. Early emoji version numbers can be retrospective, so this date describes its place in the standardised emoji set rather than the first-ever appearance of the underlying symbol.
Easily confused
⬅️ compared with similar emoji
These sit close enough in meaning that people reach for the wrong one. Here is what actually separates them.
Left Arrow or Back Arrow?
🔙 carries the English word BACK inside the picture, so it does not travel across languages. ⬅️ is a plain arrow and works anywhere.
For developers
⬅️ in code
Every value below is generated from the character itself, so it stays correct even where a file encoding cannot hold the emoji directly.
| Format | Value | When to use it | Copy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unicode | U+2B05 U+FE0F | The standard reference. Use it to search a character map or a spec. | |
| HTML (hex) | ⬅️ | For HTML and XML. Safe in files that are not saved as UTF-8. | |
| HTML (decimal) | ⬅️ | The same reference in decimal. Both render identically. | |
| CSS | \2B05 \FE0F | For the content property. Keep the quotes around the whole value. | |
| JavaScript | \u{2B05}\u{FE0F} | A string-literal escape. Needs the u flag inside a regular expression. | |
| URL-encoded | %E2%AC%85%EF%B8%8F | Percent-encoded UTF-8, for query strings and API requests. |
Reference card
Emoji details
- Unicode
- U+2B05 U+FE0F
- Category
- Symbols & Reactions
- Also known as
- left arrow emoji⬅️ meaningback arrow emoji
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