U+215C "⅜" Vulgar Fraction Three Eighths Unicode Character
U+215C "⅜" Vulgar Fraction Three Eighths is a precomposed typographic symbol representing the numerical value of three divided by eight, commonly used in recipes, measurements, and mathematical notation to display the fraction compactly on a single line. It belongs to the Number Forms block of Unicode and is designed for contexts where a stacked fraction like 3/8 may appear awkward or less readable. While Unicode also supports composing fractions dynamically using the fraction slash character, this precomposed form ensures consistent visual alignment across different fonts and platforms. In digital text, it facilitates clear communication of precise quantities, such as three-eighths of an inch or a cup, without the risk of misinterpretation that can occur with plain text alternates like "3/8".
General Properties
| Code Point | U+215C |
| Version Added | 1.1 |
| Name | Vulgar Fraction Three Eighths |
| Unicode 1.0 Name | Fraction Three Eighths |
| Block | Number Forms |
| General Category | Other Number |
| Canonical Combining Class | Not Reordered |
| Bidirectional Class | Other Neutral |
| Decomposition Type | Fraction |
| Decomposition Mapping | "3" U+0033 Digit Three "⁄" U+2044 Fraction Slash "8" U+0038 Digit Eight |
Encodings
| HTML Decimal Encoding | ⅜ |
| HTML Hex Encoding | ⅜ |
| UTF-8 Encoding | 0xE2 0x85 0x9C |
| UTF-16 Encoding | 0x215C |
| UTF-32 Encoding | 0x0000215C |
| C/C++/Java Escape | \u215c |