How to type 《 》and 〈 〉efficiently (such as with a simple key combination) on Mac OS X?
5 Answers
Solution 1: using Emacs
If you have an Emacs window open almost all the time like I do, you can use Emacs to do it, on macOS or other OSs. Specifically, Ctrl-x, Enter, then start typing the character's name, namely, "LEFT DOUBLE ANGLE BRACKET". As you finish typing more and more letters, type Tab to prompt a list of matching characters, until it auto-completes it to the unique one.
Solution 2: using Chinese input method
These characters are CJK book quotation marks. Many Chinese input methods map < to 〈 and Shift+< to 《, respectively. So, if you install a Chinese input method, switch to Chinese mode, and type < or Shift+<, you will get 〈 and 《. To type the normal English keyboard <, just switch the input method back to English.
For « and »
OPTION + \
OPTION + SHIFT + \For ‹ and ›
OPTION + SHIFT + 3
OPTION + SHIFT + 4I'm writing from the year 2021, using macOS 11.1 on an American English keyboard.
| name | character | keypress |
|---|---|---|
| left single guillemet | ‹ | Option Shift 3 |
| right single guillemet | › | Option Shift 4 |
| left double guillemet | « | Option \ |
| right double guillemet | » | Option Shift \ |
This is the same content as a 2018 answer, with better markup.
If you are in the Telegram Mac desktop client (possibly, but not verified) you can type two <s and it will substitute the left Guillemet (and like«wise for two >s, the right Guillemet). I found this by accident, not being able to get them in otherwise, and was going to use << but I to the proper mark, the left Guillemet, «
That's a lot simpler than doing it here on FF where I had to use the "Symbols and Emoji" option under edit, and find them under the "Parentheses" option. Or do and HTML edit if the application allows and use e.g., «. Find a chart for "HTML Entities".
Edit, (2021.09.03 19.41h PDT [GMT -7]): This no longer appears to be the case. Two < will just give you << and not «.
1Import a file like this to TextExpander:
ldab,《
rdab, 》
lab,〈
rab, 〉
