The one half symbol is ½. On Windows, hold Alt and type 0189 on the numeric keypad, then release Alt.
On a Mac there is no Option shortcut, so open the Character Viewer with Control+Command+Space and search “one half. ” In Microsoft Word, the fastest route is to type 1/2 and let AutoCorrect swap it for ½, or type 00BD and press Alt+X.
One half symbol quick reference
| Method | Input | Works in |
|---|---|---|
| Windows Alt code (recommended) | Alt + 0189 | Every Windows app |
| Windows Alt code (Unicode-aware) | Alt+0189 | Only apps that read it as a Unicode value |
| Legacy DOS Alt code | Alt+0171 | Older CP437 apps and terminals |
| Mac | Character Viewer (Ctrl+Cmd+Space) | Most Mac apps |
| Word / Outlook / OneNote | 00BD then Alt+X | Word, Outlook, OneNote |
| Excel / Google Sheets | =UNICHAR(189) | Spreadsheet cells |
| Chromebook | Ctrl+Shift+U, then 00bd, then Enter | Most ChromeOS text fields |
| HTML (named) | ½ | Web pages |
| HTML (numeric) | ½ or ½ | Web pages |
| CSS | \00BD | CSS content property |
| Unicode code point | U+00BD | Universal reference |
Its official Unicode name is VULGAR FRACTION ONE HALF, at code point U+00BD. Watch the number base: the Alt codes use the decimal value 189, while the Word, Chromebook, and CSS methods use the hexadecimal value 00BD.
It is the same character with two different numbers, so do not cross them over. Typing 00BD then Alt+X in Word produces nothing.
Type ½ on Windows with an Alt code
- Put the cursor where you want the symbol.
- Check that Num Lock is on.
- Hold the Alt key and type 0189 on the numeric keypad, not the number row along the top.
- Release Alt. The ½ appears.
Alt codes need a real numeric keypad, so a compact laptop keyboard will not respond unless you switch on its hidden keypad first. The leading zero matters too. Alt+0189 reads the modern Windows-1252 table and gives ½ in every program.
The zero-less form is less dependable. Alt+0189 only lands on ½ in apps that treat the number as a Unicode value; older programs read it from your regional DOS code page instead, and that default differs by country (US machines use CP437, while the UK, Ireland, Canada, and Australia default to CP850). The old DOS code for ½ was Alt+0171.
Use Alt+0189 and none of this matters. Our Alt code finder lists these codes side by side if you need to check another symbol.
Type ½ on a Mac
There is no Option-key combination for ½ on a Mac. The Character Viewer is the built-in route:
- Click where you want the symbol.
- Press Control+Command+Space.
- Type “one half” or “vulgar fraction” in the search box.
- Double-click ½ to insert it.
If the viewer opens as a small panel, click the expand icon in the top-right corner to see the full character set with search. If you reach for ½ constantly, a text replacement is faster than the picker; the FAQ below has the steps.
Type ½ in Microsoft Word and PowerPoint
Let AutoCorrect do it
Type 1/2 followed by a space or Enter. Word’s AutoFormat converts it to ½ on the spot. The same thing happens for 1/4 and 3/4, which become ¼ and ¾.
Use the Alt+X code
Type 00BD, then press Alt+X. Word replaces the code with ½. This trick also works in Outlook and OneNote, but not in Excel, PowerPoint, or Google Docs.
Insert Symbol
Go to Insert → Symbol → More Symbols, set the Subset menu to “Latin-1 Supplement,” and click ½. That same Insert → Symbol menu is the reliable way to add ½ in PowerPoint, where the Alt+X shortcut does not work.
Type ½ in Excel and Google Sheets
Both spreadsheets can build the character from its code. Click a cell, type =UNICHAR(189), and press Enter to return ½. In Excel you can also hold Alt and type 0189 while editing a cell, or use Insert → Symbol.
Google Sheets has no Insert → Symbol menu at all, so =UNICHAR(189) or a paste are your options. If you paste into an existing cell using an operating-system shortcut, press F2 first to enter edit mode.
One warning: typing 1/2 straight into a cell will not give you ½. See the FAQ for what happens instead.
Type ½ in Google Docs
- Open Insert → Special characters.
- Type “one half” in the search box, or draw the shape in the sketch pad on the right.
- Click ½ to drop it into your document.
Docs can also auto-replace 1/2 with ½ as you type, if that entry is switched on under Tools → Preferences → Substitutions. Check there if the swap does not happen automatically.
Type ½ on iPhone and Android
Neither on-screen keyboard has a ½ key, so you have two dependable options. Copy ½ from the button near the top of this page and paste it, or set up a shortcut so it types itself.
On iPhone, go to Settings → General → Keyboard → Text Replacement, tap the plus, put ½ in the Phrase field, and enter something memorable like “12h” as the Shortcut. On Android with Gboard, open Gboard settings → Dictionary → Personal dictionary, add ½, and give it a shortcut word. After that, typing the shortcut expands to ½ in any app.
Type ½ on a Chromebook
ChromeOS has no Alt codes, and a USB numpad will not change that, because the feature is Windows software rather than keypad hardware. Use the Unicode input instead:
- Click into a text field.
- Hold Ctrl+Shift and press U. An underlined u appears to confirm input mode.
- Type 00bd (the hex code, no U+ prefix).
- Press Enter or Space.
You can also open the symbol picker with Launcher+Shift+Space, or the dedicated Quick Insert key on newer Chromebooks. Some web text fields swallow the Ctrl+Shift+U shortcut; if that happens, paste ½ instead.
Type ½ in Notion, Slack, Discord, and Canva
None of these apps has a built-in ½ shortcut. The quickest path in all four is to paste it from the copy button above.
On the Windows desktop versions, Alt+0189 still works because those apps sit on the operating-system text layer. To stop pasting every time, set up the text replacement from the mobile or Mac steps above, or a text-expansion tool on Windows, and your shortcut will expand inside every one of them.
Type ½ in HTML and CSS
On a web page, use the named entity ½, or the numeric forms ½ (decimal) and ½ (hex). All three render ½. In a stylesheet, escape it in the content property as \00BD, for example content: "\00BD";.
Fixing common ½ problems
Only ½, ¼, and ¾ auto-convert. Word and Google Docs swap 1/2, 1/4, and 3/4 for single-character glyphs because those three exist in standard fonts. Type 1/3 or 5/8 and nothing happens, since there is no matching precomposed character in the everyday font set.
It shows as a box or as stacked digits. ½ lives in the widely supported Latin-1 range, so it renders in nearly every font. If you see a box (□) or the digits sit oddly, the font is unusual or incomplete; switch to Arial, Calibri, Times New Roman, or another standard face and it will display correctly.
You wanted a different fraction. ½ is one fixed character, not a formula, so it cannot become thirds or eighths. The FAQ below covers how to type those.
Where the ½ symbol shows up
The one half sign turns up in recipes and measurements (½ cup, ½ teaspoon), lengths and sizes (½ inch, shoe size 8½), time (½ hour), and everyday math and pricing. In running text it reads cleaner than “1/2” and keeps a value from breaking across a line at the slash.
Related guides
If you build fractions by hand instead of using the ready-made glyph, the superscript numbers guide (¹²³) and the subscript numbers guide (₁₂₃) show how to stack a numerator and denominator around a fraction slash. For exponents, see how to type the power of symbol (xⁿ), and for math bars, the absolute value symbol (|x|) guide.
For more of these characters, browse the full range of math and science symbols, or work straight from the complete Alt code list.
Frequently asked questions
How do I type ⅓, ⅔, ⅛ and other fractions?
Only ½, ¼, and ¾ have easy single-key Alt codes. For ⅓, ⅔, ⅛ and the rest, use Word’s Insert → Symbol with the Subset set to “Number Forms,” or Google Docs’ Insert → Special characters, and search the fraction by name. For anything not on that list, build it from a superscript numerator, the fraction slash ⁄ (U+2044), and a subscript denominator.
Why does typing 1/2 in an Excel cell give a date instead of ½?
Excel reads 1/2 in a General-format cell as 2 January of the current year. To keep the fraction character, type =UNICHAR(189), or hold Alt and type 0189 while editing the cell.
If what you actually want is the value one-half, type 0. 5 and apply a Fraction number format.
Can I type ½ without a numeric keypad?
Yes. Alt codes need a real keypad, but there are other routes on a laptop: type 00BD and press Alt+X in Word, use =UNICHAR(189) in a spreadsheet, open the emoji and symbol picker, or copy ½ from the button near the top of this page. Many laptops also have a hidden keypad you can switch on with Fn + Num Lock, after which Alt+0189 works.
Can I set up a keyboard shortcut for ½ on a Mac?
Yes. Open System Settings → Keyboard → Text Replacements, click the plus, paste ½ into the “With” field, and type a trigger such as “12h” in the “Replace” field.
From then on, typing your trigger followed by a space produces ½ in nearly every Mac app. This is the closest thing to the Option shortcut that ½ does not have.
Is ½ the same as writing 1/2?
They represent the same value, but they are different on the page. ½ is a single character drawn as one compact glyph, while 1/2 is three characters with a full-size slash. Style guides for print and recipes usually prefer the single ½ in running text; plain 1/2 is fine in code, spreadsheets, and anywhere the glyph might not render.