Pilcrow Sign

Commonly known as the pilcrow sign, this symbol represents the start of a paragraph and is often referred to as a "paragraph mark" or simply a "pilcrow." Although categorized within the Latin-1 Supplement block as a lowercase letter in terms of technical properties, it functions primarily as a typographical marker. In speech, it is typically read by its name, pilcrow, though many non-specialists simply identify it as a paragraph symbol due to its distinct shape resembling a backwards capital P with double vertical lines.

You will most frequently encounter this mark in word processing software and desktop publishing applications, where it acts as a non-printing character to reveal hidden paragraph breaks and formatting. In legal and academic writing, it serves as a reference mark to cite specific paragraphs within a large body of text, often replacing the word paragraph entirely. Additionally, the pilcrow appears in proofreading and copyediting to instruct a printer or typesetter where a new paragraph should begin.