What is the Alt code for the tilde symbol?

On Windows, hold Alt and type 126 on the numeric keypad (Alt+126), or use Alt+0126 for the same result.

How do I type ~ on a US keyboard?

Press Shift + ` (the key to the left of 1, above Tab). This is the standard position on US and most Mac layouts.

How do I type ~ on a UK keyboard?

Press Shift + # (the key next to Enter). UK layout moves the backtick/tilde key compared to a US keyboard.

How do I type ~ on a German or Spanish keyboard?

Press AltGr + Plus on German (QWERTZ) or AltGr + 4 on Spanish layouts, since ~ is a dead key on many European keyboards and may need a following space to display alone.

What does ~ mean in a Unix file path?

It expands to the current user's home directory, so ~/Documents means /home/username/Documents. Prefixing it with a username, like ~alice, points to that user's home directory instead.

What is the HTML entity for the tilde symbol?

A raw ~ never needs escaping in HTML text, but the named entity &tilde; or the numeric entity ~ work anywhere a literal ~ gets filtered or misread.

What is the Unicode code point for the tilde symbol?

The standard ~ is U+007E. A fullwidth version used in CJK typesetting exists at U+FF5E (～), and a small form exists at U+FE53 (﹓ area small tilde variants).

What does ~ mean in math?

It commonly denotes "approximately equal to" (10 ~ 10.1) or "is distributed as" in statistics (X ~ N(0,1)). The dedicated approximately-equal symbol (≈) is used when a stricter distinction from raw tilde is needed.

Tilde Symbol

Name: Tilde Symbol
Availability: InStock
Author: Nham Vu

Copy the tilde symbol (~) and find its Alt code, Unicode value, and keyboard shortcut for any operating system.

Tilde Symbol

Click the symbol to copy it

Formats

Character ~

Unicode U+007E

HTML entity &tilde;

HTML decimal ~

CSS escape \007E

URL encoded %7E

Click any row to copy that exact string.

Keyboard Shortcuts

System / layout	Shortcut	Notes
Windows (Alt code)		Hold Alt, type 126 on the numeric keypad.
Windows (Unicode)		Same result using the 4-digit code.
US keyboard (Win/Mac)		Key to the left of 1, above Tab.
UK keyboard		Key next to Enter, different position than US.
German keyboard		Dead key on QWERTZ layout; press Space after for a bare ~.
Spanish keyboard		Dead key; press Space after for a bare ~.
Linux (GTK)		Type the hex code, then press Enter or Space.
Microsoft Word		Type 007E then press Alt+X to convert it.

Try it: build a home directory path

Combine a username and a subfolder into a Unix-style path and copy the result.

~/projects/site

Common uses

~/Documents — shorthand for the current user's home directory in Unix, Linux, and macOS shells.
~alice — refers to another user's home directory when prefixed with a username.
x ~ y or ~10 — approximation in math and everyday writing.
~p — negation ("not p") in some logic notations, though ¬ is more common today.
X ~ N(0,1) — "is distributed as" in statistics.

Copied!

Summary

Copy the tilde symbol (~) and find its Alt code, Unicode value, and keyboard shortcut for any operating system.

How it works

Click the large ~ symbol to copy the plain character to your clipboard.
Or click any row in the Formats list to copy that exact encoded form (Unicode, HTML entity, URL encoding).
Switch to the Fullwidth or Small tab to copy those variant forms instead.
Check the keyboard shortcut table for your OS and keyboard layout — the ~ key placement varies.
Use the "Try it" box to build a home-directory path like ~/folder and copy the result.

Use cases

Type a Unix home-directory shorthand like ~/projects or ~user/config.
Write an approximation in math or prose, such as ~10 minutes or x ~ y.
Insert a logical negation tilde used in some notations for NOT p.
Copy the HTML entity &tilde; when a raw ~ gets mangled by a text filter.
Reference the tilde in a regex or shell glob without retyping it.
Look up the Alt code for pasting into legacy software that blocks copy-paste.
Type ~ on a keyboard layout where it is not Shift+backtick, such as UK, German, or French.

Frequently Asked Questions

Last updated: 2026-07-22 · Reviewed by Nham Vu