«
Left Guillemet Double Angle Quotes
The left guillemet («) opens quotations in French, Italian, Spanish, and many other European languages, providing elegant typographic style and clear dialogue attribution in multilingual publishing.
Technical Details
- ASCII Code
- 171
- HTML Entity
- «
- Hexadecimal
- 0xAB
- Binary
- 10101011
- Octal
- 253
Usage & Examples
Programming
char symbol = '«'; // ASCII 171HTML/Web
« or «Common Uses
How to Type This Character
Windows
Mac
💡 Pro tip: The fastest way is to bookmark this page or copy the character from our ASCII library!
Related Characters
About the Left Guillemet Double Angle Quotes
European Typography
The standard quotation mark across most European languages, offering superior visual distinction from apostrophes and maintaining typographic elegance in professional publishing. Creates clear hierarchies in complex quoted material and nested quotations.
Multilingual Publishing
Essential for authentic representation of European languages in international documents, academic publications, and literary works. Ensures proper formatting in French, Italian, Spanish, German, Portuguese, and Russian texts.
Professional Design
Preferred by graphic designers and publishers for its distinctive appearance and clear visual separation from surrounding text. The angle-bracket design provides better readability than straight quotation marks in dense typography.
Digital Communication
Critical for maintaining linguistic authenticity in websites, emails, and social media content targeting European audiences. Demonstrates cultural sensitivity and professional standards in international business communications.
History of the Left Guillemet Double Angle Quotes
French Printing Origins
French printers developed guillemets (named after Guillaume Le Bé) as an elegant alternative to English-style quotation marks, establishing a distinctive European typographic tradition.
European Standardization
Italian, Spanish, and other European printing houses adopted guillemets, creating a unified continental approach to quotation marking that distinguished European typography from English practices.
Academic Publishing
Universities and scholarly publications across Europe standardized guillemets for academic citations and literary analysis, establishing their role in intellectual discourse.
International Standards
ISO typography standards codified guillemet usage across European languages, ensuring consistency in international publishing and translation work.
Digital Publishing
Desktop publishing software and early web standards incorporated guillemets, enabling authentic European typography in digital media and maintaining cultural printing traditions.
Cultural Impact
Guillemets became the typographic signature of European intellectual and literary culture, distinguishing continental publishing traditions and maintaining cultural identity in an increasingly globalized digital world.
Usage Examples
French Literature
ExampleStandard French dialogue formatting with proper spacing
Italian Publishing
ExampleItalian quotation style in literary and journalistic contexts
Academic Citations
ExampleScholarly quotations in European academic writing
Multilingual Websites
ExampleProfessional testimonials and reviews in European web design