The UAE dirham symbol has no single traditional character on your keyboard. The currency is normally written as the Arabic abbreviation د.
إ or the three-letter ISO code AED, and you can copy either from the buttons below to paste anywhere. A dedicated dirham sign now exists in Unicode (U+20C3, approved after the Central Bank unveiled it in 2025), but most devices still draw it as an empty box, so the abbreviation stays the reliable choice.
What the UAE dirham symbol actually is
The dirham is the currency of the United Arab Emirates, and its ISO 4217 code is AED, short for United Arab Emirates Dirham. In Arabic text it is shortened to د.
إ, which stands for درهم إماراتي, meaning “Emirati dirham. ” You will also see the informal forms Dhs, DH, or Dh on shop prices and receipts.
Unlike the euro or the pound, the dirham had no unique currency glyph for decades, which is why writers reach for د.إ or AED instead of a single sign. The dirham is one of several currencies that rely on a code rather than a true glyph; our world currency symbols list shows which ones actually have their own sign.
UAE dirham symbol codes at a glance
The abbreviation د.إ is built from three separate Unicode characters, so it has no single Alt code or code point of its own. Here is every piece, plus AED and the new sign, with the decimal and hexadecimal values kept apart.
| What you type | Name | Unicode (hex) | Alt code (decimal) | HTML |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| د.إ | Dirham abbreviation (three characters) | U+062F, U+002E, U+0625 | No single Alt code | د.إ |
| د | Arabic letter dal | U+062F | No standard Alt code | د |
| إ | Arabic letter alef with hamza below | U+0625 | No standard Alt code | إ |
| AED | ISO 4217 currency code (Latin letters) | Not applicable | Just type the letters | AED |
| ▯ | Dirham sign, official 2025 (shows as a box until fonts add it) | U+25AF | No standard Windows Alt code; Word: 25AF then Alt+X | ▯ |
The Unicode column is hexadecimal and the Alt code column is decimal. Do not type a hex code point such as 20C3 into a Windows Alt code, because it will produce the wrong character or nothing at all.
About the new official dirham symbol (U+20C3)
In March 2025 the Central Bank of the UAE revealed an official dirham symbol: a stylised Arabic letter dal (د) crossed by two short horizontal lines, echoing the double bars in $, €, and £. Unicode later assigned it the code point U+20C3 in version 18.0, released in September 2026, and it is planned for the 6 key on UAE keyboard layouts.
Font and operating-system support lags behind the code point by a year or more, so today the symbol usually appears as a hollow box (▯) or a question mark. In Word you can insert it by typing 20C3 then pressing Alt+X, though it will still display as a box for now.
Until Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android ship fonts that include it, د. إ and AED are the versions that will actually show up for your readers.
How to type the UAE dirham on every platform
Because د.إ is ordinary Arabic text and AED is three Latin letters, the fastest route on any device is to copy one from the top of this page and paste it. When you need to type it fresh, here is the exact method for each platform.
Windows
Windows has no numeric-keypad Alt code for the dirham abbreviation, so type AED directly or paste د. إ.
To type the Arabic form yourself, add an Arabic keyboard under Settings > Time & language > Language & region, then switch layouts with Windows+Space. For one character at a time, open Character Map (search charmap in the Start menu), find the dal and alef, and copy them across.
Mac
macOS has no Alt codes at all; it uses Option keys or the Character Viewer instead. Press Control+Command+Space to open the Character Viewer, search for “dal” and “alef with hamza below,” and double-click to insert. To type Arabic normally, add the Arabic input source under System Settings > Keyboard > Text Input, then switch with the globe key or Control+Space.
Word, Excel, and PowerPoint
In Word, Outlook, and OneNote you can type a hex code point and press Alt+X: type 062F then Alt+X for د, and 0625 then Alt+X for إ. Alt+X does not work in Excel or PowerPoint; in those apps use Insert > Symbol or paste the abbreviation.
In Excel, build the abbreviation with the formula =UNICHAR(1583)&"."&UNICHAR(1573) , which returns د. إ because UNICHAR takes decimal values.
To show prices as dirhams, you can also apply a custom number format that appends AED or د. إ to the figure.
Google Docs and Sheets
In Google Docs, open Insert > Special characters, then search “dal” or draw the shape to find it, or simply paste. Google Sheets has no Insert Symbol menu, so use the same =UNICHAR(1583)&"."&UNICHAR(1573) formula, or paste into a cell after pressing F2 to enter edit mode.
iPhone and Android
On both phones the quickest option is to paste or type AED. To type the Arabic form, add an Arabic keyboard: on iPhone go to Settings > General > Keyboard > Keyboards > Add New Keyboard > Arabic; on Android, add Arabic under Gboard’s languages.
To skip that, create a text replacement (iPhone: Settings > General > Keyboard > Text Replacement) so typing “aed” expands to د. إ.
Chromebook
ChromeOS has no Alt codes, and a USB numpad will not add them. Use Ctrl+Shift+U, then the hex code, then Enter: Ctrl+Shift+U 062F for د and Ctrl+Shift+U 0625 for إ, with a full stop between them. Type the hex digits only, without the U+ prefix; if a web field blocks the shortcut, paste instead or add an Arabic keyboard in Settings.
Notion, Slack, Discord, and Canva
None of these apps has a symbol picker or Alt-code support, so paste د. إ or type AED. To make it permanent, set an operating-system text replacement (macOS: System Settings > Keyboard > Text Replacements; Windows: through an Arabic layout or the touch keyboard) that turns a short trigger into د.
إ. In Canva, paste the abbreviation straight into a text box.
On a website (HTML and CSS)
For د. إ in HTML you can paste the characters directly with a UTF-8 charset, or use the numeric entities د.إ .
AED needs no entity, since it is plain text. The new sign is ⃃, but include a fallback such as AED, because visitors on older devices will see a box.
Where you’ll see the dirham symbol
د. إ and AED appear on UAE price tags, restaurant menus, invoices, salary slips, and bank statements.
Online stores show AED beside prices for shoppers in the Emirates, and airlines and hotels quote fares the same way. In spreadsheets, finance teams format cells with AED so totals read cleanly next to other currencies.
Watch for one common mix-up: the Moroccan dirham is abbreviated د. م. , not د.
إ, and both are sometimes shortened to “DH. ” The alef with hamza (إ) is what marks the Emirati form. Saudi Arabia is modernising its currency too, so it helps to know how to type the Saudi riyal symbol (﷼) alongside the dirham.
Related currency guides
Compare the dirham with other currencies that lean on codes and abbreviations:
- Grab any glyph fast with our copy-and-paste symbols tool.
- Browse all our currency symbol guides.
- Mexican peso symbol ($), which shares the dollar sign.
- Brazilian real symbol (R$), another two-part currency mark.
- Polish zloty symbol (zł), typed as two letters.
- South African rand symbol (R), a single-letter code.
Frequently asked questions
Why does the new dirham symbol show as a box on my device?
The box (▯) means your device recognises the code point but has no font glyph for it, or does not recognise U+20C3 at all. The dirham sign was only added to Unicode in 2026, and font and operating-system updates arrive later, so most devices cannot draw it yet.
Use د. إ or AED until the fonts catch up.
Is د.إ or AED more correct to use?
Both are correct in different settings. AED is the formal ISO 4217 code used in banking, invoices, and international pricing, while د. إ is the Arabic abbreviation used in Arabic-language text and local signage.
English documents usually use AED, and Arabic ones use د. إ.
Does the UAE dirham go before or after the number?
In English, AED normally goes before the amount, as in AED 250. In Arabic, د.
إ typically follows the number because Arabic reads right to left. Both orders are understood, so match the language and style of the surrounding text.
How is the UAE dirham different from the Saudi riyal or Moroccan dirham?
They are separate currencies. The Saudi riyal uses ﷼, the Moroccan dirham is abbreviated د. م.
, and the UAE dirham is د. إ. The alef with hamza (إ) is the mark of the Emirati form, so do not rely on the shared “DH” shorthand to tell them apart.
Can I use د.إ in a username or bio?
Yes. د. إ is made of standard Arabic Unicode characters and AED is plain Latin text, so both work in usernames, bios, and display names on platforms that allow Arabic script.
The unsupported new sign (U+20C3) may be rejected or shown as a box, so stick to د. إ or AED.