How to Add Symbols in Notion: Equations, Emoji and Shortcuts

How-To Guides · 2 min read · Published October 25, 2026

Quick answer: Notion has no special characters menu, but it has two strong tools: equations (Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+E for inline, /math for a block) and emoji search (type : and a name). For any other symbol, use Win+. on Windows, Ctrl+Cmd+Space on a Mac, or paste it.

Quick reference: every method

Every Alt code below is verified against the real Windows code pages — where none exists we say so, rather than list one that won’t work.

Math symbols with equations

• Inline equation: press Ctrl+Shift+E (Mac: Cmd+Shift+E), type the formula and press Enter. You can also type two dollar signs, the formula and two dollar signs.
• Block equation: type /math and press Enter for a formula on its own line.

Notion draws equations with KaTeX, which understands most LaTeX commands:

Use curly braces for more than one character: x^{10}. More commands: LaTeX math symbols. Equations are drawings, so they can't be found with search or copied as plain text. For a single symbol inside a sentence, a real character such as π or ≠ is often better.

Emoji and page icons

• Type : followed by a name, such as :check or :rocket, to insert an emoji in the text.
• Click Add icon above a page title to give the page an emoji or icon.
• A /callout block has its own icon, which is handy for tips and warnings.

Markdown shortcuts (and how to keep the characters)

Notion turns some typed symbols into formatting:

• Around text: **bold**, *italic*, ~strikethrough~, `code`.
• At the start of a line: #, ##, ### headings; -, * or + bullets; [] to-do checkbox; > toggle; " quote; --- divider.

To keep the characters as typed, press Ctrl+Z (Mac: Cmd+Z) right after the conversion, or put the text inside an inline code span.

Other symbols

• Windows emoji panel: Win+. → Symbols tab (details).
• Mac Character Viewer: Ctrl+Cmd+Space (details), and Option keys such as Option+= for ≠ and Option+V for √.
• Windows Alt codes up to 255: Alt+26 →, Alt+0176 °, Alt+0177 ±, Alt+251 √ (list).
• Text replacement: Notion's shortcut list has no arrow or dash conversions, so if you type → or — often, set up a replacement in your operating system (how).

Checkboxes: block or character?

The [] to-do block is a real checkbox that can be ticked and filtered. A ☐ or ✓ character is just text, which is useful in table cells or titles where a block can't go (check mark symbols).

Related: symbols in Google Docs and Greek letters.

Frequently asked questions