Different currency symbols of the world

Every world currency has an assigned code, used on currency exchange markets, and a currency code symbol which is typically used when pricing goods in a store, or dishes in a restaurant for example. Some of them might be familiar - some less so. If you’re wondering which currency symbol you need, we have you covered.

Wherever you’re off to, here’s all you need to know about some of the different currency symbols of the world.

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Now, back to what you came here to read.

World currencies symbols and signs

Currency symbols are a quick and easy way to show specific currency names in a written form. It’s a convenient shorthand, replacing the words with a graphic symbol for ease - for example $40 instead of the full version - 40 US dollars. It’s worth noting that currency symbols are fairly standardised, but do have small variations. For example, the symbol for USD could be written with 2 vertical lines instead of 1, without any change to the meaning.

When travelling somewhere new, it’s helpful to recognise the currency symbol as you’re likely to see it on restaurant menus, or in stores. You might also need to know how to type currency symbols - as only a small number are displayed on the average computer keyboard.

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Do I write the currency symbol before or after the sum?

This depends on the currency and the local custom. Some currencies are fairly consistently written before the amount - especially in english speaking countries and South America. So in the US, for example, you’d see an amount written $100.

However, in some European countries it is common to use the symbol at the end of the amount - so you might see 50€ written in France or Germany.

In other places, you’ll find the currency symbol in the place you might expect a decimal separator, so 20$00, for example.

List of currency symbols: Europe

Country	Currency	Currency code	Currency symbol	Unicode characters	HTML Currency symbol	HEX Currency code
Bulgaria	Bulgarian lev	BGN	лв
Switzerland	Swiss franc	CHF	CHF
Czechia	Czech koruna	CZK	Kč
Denmark	Danish krone	DKK	kr
Euro area countries	Euro	EUR	€	U+020AC	€	€
United Kingdom	Pounds sterling	GBP	£	U+000A3	£	£
Croatia	Croatian Kuna	HRK	kn
Georgia	Georgian lari	GEL	₾	U+20BE	₾	₾
Hungary	Hungarian forint	HUF	ft
Norway	Norwegian krone	NOK	kr
Poland	Polish zloty	PLN	zł
Russia	Russian ruble	RUB	₽	U+020BD	₽	₽
Romania	Romanian leu	RON	lei
Sweden	Swedish krona	SEK	kr
Turkey	Turkish lira	TRY	₺	U+020BA	₺	₺
Ukraine	Ukrainian hryvna	UAH	₴	U+020B4	₴	₴

List of currency symbols: Middle East and Africa

Country	Currency	Currency code	Currency symbol	Unicode characters	HTML Currency symbol	HEX Currency code
UAE	Emirati dirham	AED	د.إ
Israel	Israeli shekel	ILS	₪	U+020AA	₪	₪
Kenya	Kenyan shilling	KES	Ksh
Morocco	Moroccan dirham	MAD	.د.م
Nigeria	Nigerian naira	NGN	₦	U+020A6	₦	₦
South Africa	South african rand**	ZAR	R

List of currency symbols: The Americas

Country	Currency	Currency code	Currency symbol	Unicode characters	HTML Currency symbol	HEX Currency code
Brazil	Brazilian real	BRL	R$
Canada	Canadian dollars	CAD	$	U+00024	$	$
Chile	Chilean peso	CLP	$	U+00024	$	$
Colombia	Colombian peso	COP	$	U+00024	$	$
Mexico	Mexican peso	MXN	$	U+00024	$	$
Peru	Peruvian sol	PEN	S/.
USA	US dollar	USD	$	U+00024	$	$

List of currency symbols: Asia &* The Pacific region

Country	Currency	Currency code	Currency symbol	Unicode characters	HEX Currency code	HTML Currency symbol
Australia	Australian dollars	AUD	$	U+00024	$	$
Bangladesh	Bangladeshi taka	BDT	৳	U+09F3	৳	৳
China	Chinese yuan	CNY	¥ /元	U+05143	元	元
Hong Kong	Hong Kong dollar	HKD	$ / HK$ / “元”	U+00024	$	$
Indonesia	Indonesian rupiah	IDR	Rp
India	Indian rupee	INR	₹	U+020B9	₹	₹
Japan	Japanese yen	JPY	¥	U+000A5	¥	¥
Malaysia	Malaysian ringgit	MYR	RM
New Zealand	New Zealand dollar	NZD	$	U+00024	$	$
Philippines	Philippine peso	PHP	₱	U+20B1	₱	₱
Pakistan	Pakistani rupee	PKR	Rs
Singapore	Singapore dollar	SGD	$	U+00024	$	$
South Korea	South Korean won	KRW	₩	U+20A9	₩	₩
Sri Lanka	Sri Lankan rupee	LKR	Rs
Thailand	Thai baht	THB	฿	U+0E3F	฿	฿
Vietnam	Vietnamese dong	VND	₫	U+20AB	₫	₫

List of currency symbols: Cryptocurrencies

Currency	Currency code	Currency symbol	Unicode characters	HEX Currency code	HTML Currency symbol
Bitcoin	BTC or XBT	₿	U+20BF	₿	₿
Ripples	XRP	XRP
Monero	XMR	ɱ	U+0271	ɱ	ɱ
Litecoin	LTC	Ł	U+0141	Ł	Ł
Ethereum	ETH	Ξ	U+039E	Ξ	Ξ

Cryptocurrencies like Monero, Litecoin and Ethereum use existing characters to mark their currency. The latter has no official symbol yet though, according to Wikipedia.

List of currency symbol shortcuts on keyboard

Currency	Currency code	Currency symbol	Currency symbol on Mac keyboard	Currency symbol on Windows keyboard
Euro	EUR	€	Shift+Option+2	Alt+E
Pounds sterling	GBP	£	Option+3	Alt+L
US dollar	USD	$	Shift+4	Shift+4
Japanese yen	JPY	¥	Option+Y

What did we miss? If you know of any other shortcuts for these major currency symbols, let us know in the comments section below.

How to insert currency symbols in Word

If you need to enter an unfamiliar currency symbol into a word document, it can be done pretty simply with just a few steps. If you know the keyboard shortcut (from the list above), then simply use that to insert the correct symbol into your document.

If you don’t know the shortcut, then try this:

• Open the document you want to work on
• Click Insert, and then Symbol (it’s in the top right of the tool bar)
• This brings up a small selection of common symbols - if the one you want is there, simply click it to enter it into your document
• If the one you want isn’t among these, select More Symbols, which you’ll find right underneath
• You’ll see a larger selection of symbols in a dialogue box
• Choose Currency Symbols from the drop down box to make sure you have the right selection to choose from
• Click on the symbol you want, to enter it into your document

Helpfully, when you select a currency symbol within the dialogue box, it tells you what it is, and also what the keyboard shortcut for that symbol is. That should make it easier to find next time.

If you struggle to find a currency symbol, it could be because the font you’re using isn’t set up to handle that particular symbol. Try changing the font to see different options. For example if you're looking for the Arabic symbol for the Emirati dirham, you’d need to choose a font with Arabic characters. And if it seems like it is very hard to find a match on your own, you can always do a quick search on the web.

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How to insert currency signs in Excel

If you’re using an Excel document and need to insert a currency sign, then you have 2 options. You can either follow the same steps as laid out above for Microsoft Word, or you can format the cell. If you choose to format the cell, any number you type into it will get the currency symbol, and be converted into a currency format. That means that even if you type a number, delete it and enter a new figure, it’ll still be formatted as your chosen currency.

To format the cell to show a currency you’ll have to:

• Open the document you’re working on and select the cell you want to format
• Right click, and from the menu, choose Format Cells
• In the dialogue box, choose Currency from the categories drop down list
• Find the symbol you want in the drop down list to the right of the categories
• Click OK, and you’re done

Having formatted your cell, you can type in a number, and hit return. You’ll see it’s turned into a currency format, with the symbol you selected. So for example, if you chose the £ sign, and typed in 54, the cell would show £54.00. Smart, huh?

In case you want to look into currency symbols a bit more, here’s some useful resources for you:
https://www.xe.com/symbols.php

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Currency_symbol

https://www.toptal.com/designers/htmlarrows/currency/

https://www.compart.com/en/unicode/category/Sc

https://www.posterpresentations.com/alt-code_cheatsheet.html

Whether you're travelling abroad and curious about the local currency or just were looking for how to add a currency symbol to your document - hopefully you’ve found it.

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All sources checked on October 19, 2018

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