A field guide to the lookalikes
¥ serves both the Japanese yen and Chinese yuan — context (JPY/CNY) disambiguates. ₩ is the Korean won, ₽ the Russian ruble (official only since 2013), ₹ the Indian rupee (a 2010 design competition winner), ₺ the Turkish lira, ₴ the Ukrainian hryvnia, ₪ the Israeli shekel, ฿ the Thai baht — not bitcoin, which is ₿ with two strokes through a B. The generic ¤ exists precisely for "some currency, unspecified," mostly seen in spreadsheet formats.
Typing the common ones
Windows Alt codes that genuinely work: Alt+0128 for €, Alt+0163 for £, Alt+0165 for ¥, Alt+0162 for ¢. On Mac: Option+Shift+2 (€), Option+3 (£), Option+Y (¥), Option+4 (¢). US phone keyboards hide the rest behind a long-press on $. For anything beyond the big four, copying from this page beats hunting through picker menus.
Frequently asked questions
How do I type the euro € symbol?
Windows: Alt+0128 (or Ctrl+Alt+E in many apps). Mac: Option+Shift+2. UK keyboards: AltGr+4. Phones: long-press the $ key and slide to €.
Is ฿ the bitcoin symbol?
No — ฿ is the Thai baht. Bitcoin is ₿ (U+20BF, added in 2017), a B with two vertical strokes. Before ₿ existed, people borrowed the baht sign, which is how the confusion started.
Why does ¥ mean both yen and yuan?
Both currencies romanize with a Y sound and adopted the same barred-Y sign. Officially Japan uses ¥ (JPY) and China uses ¥ or 元 (CNY) — in international contexts, write the ISO code alongside.
Does the symbol go before or after the amount?
It varies by locale: $10 and £10 lead in English; 10 € trails in most of Europe; ¥ leads in Japan. When writing for a mixed audience, the ISO code format (USD 10, EUR 10) sidesteps the argument.