The black heart suit ♥ is the plain text heart. Type 2665 then Alt+X in Word, or use Alt+3 on the numeric keypad. It renders in the surrounding text colour, unlike the red emoji heart at U+2764, which is a separate character.
01 All shortcuts at a glance
| Platform | Shortcut | |
|---|---|---|
| Windows (any app) | Win+. or Win+; emoji/symbol picker, or Character Map (Win+R → charmap) |
|
| Mac | Control+Command+Space to open Character Viewer, search "Black Heart Suit" |
|
| Word / Outlook | Type 2665, then press Alt+X |
|
| Linux (IBus) | Ctrl+Shift+U, then 2665, then Enter |
|
| HTML / CSS | ♥ · \2665 (CSS) |
02 Step by step, per platform
A real, followable procedure for every platform, not a thin restatement of the shortcut.
Windows
- Open Character Map: Win+R, type charmap, press Enter.
- Search or scroll for Black Heart Suit (U+2665).
- Select it, click Copy, then paste where you need it.
Mac
- Press Control+Command+Space to open the Character Viewer.
- Type "Black Heart Suit" in the search field.
- Double-click the result to insert it.
Microsoft Word
- Type 2665.
- Press Alt+X immediately after, it converts the hex code to ♥.
03 Characters in this set
04 Troubleshooting & confusables
| Looks like it | But it's actually | When to use |
|---|---|---|
| ❤ (U+2764) | Heavy black heart, usually shown as a red emoji | For the coloured emoji heart. It ignores CSS colour on most platforms. |
| ♡ (U+2661) | White heart suit, the hollow outline | For an unfilled heart, often paired with ♥ to show a favourited state. |
| <3 | Two ASCII characters | The typed shorthand from early chat. Some clients auto-replace it with an emoji. |
05 FAQ
What is the Unicode code point for the heart?
The text heart suit is U+2665, decimal 9829. The red emoji heart is a different character at U+2764.
Why is my heart black instead of red?
U+2665 is a card suit that renders in the text colour, so it takes on whatever colour the surrounding text has. For a red heart regardless of context, use the emoji at U+2764.
Can I colour it with CSS?
Yes for U+2665, which is a normal glyph. The emoji heart usually ignores colour because platforms render it from a colour font.
How do I type it with the keypad?
Alt+3 on the numeric keypad produces it on Windows, a legacy code-page shortcut. In Word, 2665 followed by Alt+X works too.
What is the hollow heart?
The white heart suit at U+2661, an outline of the same shape. It is often paired with the filled one to show a saved or favourited state.