Step 1: Determine the UTF-8 encoding bit layout
The character ↖ has the Unicode code point U+2196. In UTF-8, it is encoded using 3 bytes because its codepoint is in the range of
0x0800to0xffff.
Therefore we know that the UTF-8 encoding will be done over 16 bits within the final 24 bits and that it will have the format:1110xxxx 10xxxxxx 10xxxxxx
Where thexare the payload bits.UTF-8 Encoding bit layout by codepoint range Codepoint Range Bytes Bit pattern Payload length U+0000 - U+007F 1 0xxxxxxx 7 bits U+0080 - U+07FF 2 110xxxxx 10xxxxxx 11 bits U+0800 - U+FFFF 3 1110xxxx 10xxxxxx 10xxxxxx 16 bits U+10000 - U+10FFFF 4 11110xxx 10xxxxxx 10xxxxxx 10xxxxxx 21 bits Step 2: Obtain the payload bits:
Convert the hexadecimal code point U+2196 to binary:
00100001 10010110. Those are the payload bits.Step 3: Fill in the bits to match the bit pattern:
Obtain the final bytes by arranging the paylod bits to match the bit layout:
11100010 10000110 10010110
NORTH WEST ARROW·U+2196
↖
Character Information
Code Point
U+2196
HEX
2196
Unicode Plane
Basic Multilingual Plane
Category
Other Symbol
Character Representations
Click elements to copy| Encoding | Hex | Binary |
|---|---|---|
| UTF8 | E2 86 96 | 11100010 10000110 10010110 |
| UTF16 (big Endian) | 21 96 | 00100001 10010110 |
| UTF16 (little Endian) | 96 21 | 10010110 00100001 |
| UTF32 (big Endian) | 00 00 21 96 | 00000000 00000000 00100001 10010110 |
| UTF32 (little Endian) | 96 21 00 00 | 10010110 00100001 00000000 00000000 |
HTML Entity
↖
URI Encoded
%E2%86%96
Description
The Unicode character U+2196 is a specific arrow symbol known as the North West Arrow (↖). This typographical element plays a significant role in digital text, particularly in navigation systems or maps where it denotes directional movement towards the northwest quadrant. It has also found utility in programming languages and software development for demonstrating relative positioning in code or algorithms. Despite its name suggesting cultural significance tied to specific geographic regions, there is no notable cultural, linguistic, or technical context associated with this character beyond its usage as a universal directional indicator.
How to type the ↖ symbol on Windows
Hold Alt and type 8598 on the numpad. Or use Character Map.