Enclosed Alphanumerics facts for kids

Enclosed Alphanumerics are special symbols that are part of Unicode. Unicode is like a giant library of all the characters and symbols used in writing around the world. This particular group, or "block," has 160 different symbols.

Most of these symbols are letters and numbers placed inside shapes like circles or round brackets. You might have seen similar symbols in other parts of Unicode, like the Dingbats block or the Enclosed CJK Letters and Months block, which also have numbers in circles. There's even another group called Enclosed Alphanumeric Supplement that has more letters in circles, parentheses, and squares.

Many of these symbols were created to be used as bullets when you write lists. For example, instead of just a dot, you could use ① or Ⓐ. The numbers and letters inside parentheses were designed to look like how old typewriters would show numbers and letters in circles.

It's important to know that these symbols are different from other similar symbols, like the copyright symbol (©). For instance, the copyright symbol (©) and the enclosed capital C (Ⓒ) look a bit alike but have different meanings in Unicode. The circled S (Ⓢ) was even used by German missionaries around 1900 as a symbol meaning "ditto" (which means "the same as above").

What Are These Symbols Used For?

These special symbols make it easy to create lists or highlight items in a document. They help make text clearer and more organized.

• Numbered Lists: You can use symbols like ①, ②, ③ for numbered lists.
• Lettered Lists: For lists using letters, you might see Ⓐ, Ⓑ, Ⓒ or ⓐ, ⓑ, ⓒ.
• Special Markers: Some symbols, like the circled S (Ⓢ), had unique uses in the past.

Examples of Enclosed Alphanumeric Symbols

This group of symbols includes many different types. Here are some examples of what you might find:

See also

In Spanish: Alfanuméricos cerrados para niños