What HTML Entities Are
An HTML entity represents a character that is either reserved in HTML or hard to type. Entities come in three forms: named (&), decimal numeric (&), and hex numeric (&). All three render the same character.
The Must-Escape Characters
These five break HTML if left raw — escaping them prevents broken markup and cross-site scripting:
| Char | Named | Numeric | Why escape |
|---|---|---|---|
| & | & |
& |
starts every entity |
| < | < |
< |
starts a tag |
| > | > |
> |
ends a tag |
| " | " |
" |
ends an attribute value |
| ' | ' |
' |
ends an attribute value (no ' in HTML4) |
Common Symbols
| Char | Named | Numeric | Name |
|---|---|---|---|
| (nbsp) | |
  |
non-breaking space |
| © | © |
© |
copyright |
| ® | ® |
® |
registered |
| ™ | ™ |
™ |
trademark |
| — | — |
— |
em dash |
| – | – |
– |
en dash |
| … | … |
… |
ellipsis |
| € | € |
€ |
euro |
| £ | £ |
£ |
pound |
| × | × |
× |
multiplication |
| ÷ | ÷ |
÷ |
division |
| → | → |
→ |
right arrow |
When You Actually Need to Encode
- Inside HTML content: escape
<,>, and&so they show as text instead of being parsed. - Inside attribute values: also escape the quote character you're using (
"or'). - You do NOT need entities for most Unicode if your page is UTF-8 — you can write
€or→directly. Entities are for the reserved characters and for environments where you can't trust the encoding.
A frequent bug is double-encoding: escaping text that was already escaped, turning & into &amp;. Encode once, at output time.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the 5 HTML entities I must escape?
& (&), < (<), > (>), " ("), and ' ('). These are reserved and can break markup or enable XSS.
Do I need HTML entities for accented or Unicode characters? Not if the page is UTF-8 — you can type them directly. Entities are mainly for the reserved characters and unambiguous encoding.
What is the entity for a non-breaking space?
(or  ). It renders a space that won't wrap or collapse.
Encode or decode entities instantly with the HTML entities tool, and see the full picture in the HTML Entities Guide.