How to Type ā (A with macron) on HTML

Published July 16, 2026, 2 min read

Typing ā (a with macron) on HTML takes a few seconds once you know the trick. The short answer is ā. Read on for step-by-step instructions, the uppercase Ā and what to do when a method does not work.

ā on HTML: ā

Ā on HTML: Ā

Or copy it:

Method 1: Codes for web pages

Format	Code for ā
Decimal entity	`ā`
Hex entity	`ā`
CSS content	`content: "\0101";`
JavaScript	`"\u0101"`
URL encoded	`%C4%81`
UTF-8 bytes	`C4 81`

Method 2: Type it directly with UTF-8

If your page starts with <meta charset="utf-8"> and the file is saved as UTF-8, you can paste ā straight into the HTML. Entities are only needed when your editor or database cannot store the character.

Method 3: Watch for normalization

ā can also be written as a plus a combining mark. Both look the same but compare as different strings. In JavaScript, call str.normalize("NFC") before comparing or searching.

How to type the capital Ā

The uppercase form works the same way with Shift added where a letter is typed.

Codes for web pages

Format	Code for Ā
Decimal entity	`Ā`
Hex entity	`Ā`
CSS content	`content: "\0100";`
JavaScript	`"\u0100"`
URL encoded	`%C4%80`
UTF-8 bytes	`C4 80`

Type it directly with UTF-8

If your page starts with <meta charset="utf-8"> and the file is saved as UTF-8, you can paste Ā straight into the HTML. Entities are only needed when your editor or database cannot store the character.

About the letter ā

ā is Unicode U+0101, named LATIN SMALL LETTER A WITH MACRON. It is used in Latvian, Mandarin Pinyin, Māori and Hawaiian. A flat bar above a vowel, used for long vowels in Latvian, Lithuanian, Māori, Hawaiian and Latin textbooks, and for the first tone in Pinyin. See the ā character page for every code and shortcut.

Troubleshooting

If you see Ã and other symbols, the file is UTF-8 but the browser reads it as Windows-1252. Add the meta charset tag.
Named entities are case sensitive: É and é are different letters.
In XML and XHTML only five named entities exist, so use numeric codes there.

Frequently asked questions

What is the shortcut for ā on HTML?

ā.

Can I just copy and paste ā?

Yes. Click the copy button above, then paste with Ctrl+V on Windows and Chromebook, Cmd+V on a Mac, or touch and hold and choose Paste on a phone.

What is the Unicode code for ā?

U+0101. In HTML it is ā.

Related guides

All accent shortcuts for HTML