Circumflex accent

ASCII Code: 94•Category: symbols

The circumflex accent (^) serves as an exponentiation operator in programming, a diacritical mark in linguistics, and a special character in regular expressions, making it essential for mathematical computation and text processing.

Technical Details

ASCII Code: 94
HTML Entity: ^
Hexadecimal: 0x5E
Binary: 01011110
Octal: 136

Usage & Examples

Programming

char symbol = '^'; // ASCII 94

HTML/Web

^ or ^

Common Uses

caretcircumflexexponentpowerprogrammingmathematicalaccentdiacriticregex

How to Type This Character

Windows

Alt Code:

Hold Alt and type94 on numeric keypad

Character Map:

Search "Character Map" in Start menu

Mac

Character Viewer:

Press Ctrl +Cmd +Space

Copy & Paste:

Easiest method - copy from this page!

💡 Pro tip: The fastest way is to bookmark this page or copy the character from our ASCII library!

Related Characters

About the Circumflex accent

Exponentiation Operator

Standard exponentiation symbol in many programming languages and mathematical software, representing powers and exponential operations (2^3 = 8). Essential for scientific computing, engineering calculations, and mathematical modeling applications.

Regex Anchor

Critical metacharacter in regular expressions, marking the beginning of a line or string (^pattern). Enables precise text matching and pattern recognition in programming, data processing, and text analysis tools.

Diacritical Function

Used as a combining diacritic in various languages to modify vowel pronunciation (â, ê, î, ô, û). Important for authentic representation of French, Romanian, and other European languages in international communication.

Bitwise Operations

Represents XOR (exclusive OR) operation in programming languages, enabling bit-level manipulation and cryptographic operations. Essential for low-level programming, system administration, and security applications.

History of the Circumflex accent

1400s

Diacritical Origins

Medieval scribes developed the circumflex accent to indicate vowel changes and pronunciation modifications in evolving Romance languages, particularly French and Latin texts.

1600s-1700s

Mathematical Notation

Mathematicians began using circumflex-like symbols for exponential notation, laying groundwork for modern power operation symbols in algebraic expressions.

1960s-1970s

Programming Integration

Early programming languages adopted the caret symbol for exponentiation and bitwise operations, establishing computational conventions that continue in modern software development.

1980s

Regular Expressions

Text processing tools and programming languages standardized caret usage for regex anchoring, making it essential for pattern matching and text manipulation.

1990s-Present

Digital Typography

Unicode standards and international keyboards enabled proper circumflex accent representation, supporting authentic multilingual communication in digital environments.

Cultural Impact

The circumflex became a symbol of computational power and linguistic precision, enabling both mathematical calculation and cultural authenticity in an increasingly digital and globalized world.

Usage Examples

Mathematical Exponents

Example

2^3 = 8, x^2 + y^2 = z^2, result = base^exponent

Exponentiation operations in mathematics and programming

Regular Expressions

Example

^[A-Z], ^\d{3}, ^start.*end$, /^hello/i

Line anchoring and pattern matching in text processing

French Diacritics

Example

hôtel (hotel), être (to be), forêt (forest), château (castle)

French words requiring circumflex accent for proper pronunciation

Bitwise Operations

Example

a ^ b (XOR), flags ^= mask, result = x ^ y ^ z

Exclusive OR operations in programming and cryptography