↖
North West Arrow
- Unicode
- U+2196
- Category
- Arrows
- HTML Entity
- ↖
- CSS
- \2196
The North West Arrow symbol (↖) features a standard line arrow pointing diagonally toward the upper-left corner. Originally added to Unicode for mapping and navigational purposes, it frequently appears in digital interfaces to point out top-left menus, back buttons, or previous steps. It is also commonly used in text-based diagrams and social media posts to visually direct a reader's attention to content placed above and to the left.
How to Type
- Windows
- Alt+8598 or Win+. then search
- macOS
- Control+Command+Space then search "north west"
- Linux
- Ctrl+Shift+U then 2196
- HTML
- ↖ or ↖
In Programming
In technical documentation and UI/UX wireframing, developers and designers use this arrow to map out user navigation flows or point to top-level interface elements. It occasionally appears in mathematical typography to denote vector directions or specific matrix mappings.
Tags
arrow
back button diagonal
compass northwest
diagonal
diagonal back arrow
diagonal navigation
direction
menu arrow
northwest
northwest direction
pointing upper left
top left pointer
upper left
upper left arrow