At the Rate Symbol @: Copy, Meaning and How to Type

Why Is @ Called At the Rate in India?

The symbol of at the rate began as a trade sign. Shopkeepers and accountants wrote it on bills to mean "at the price of" each item. So a bill line like this:

12 notebooks @ ₹40 = ₹480

is read as "12 notebooks at the rate of ₹40 each". Indian schools taught this reading in maths and accounts lessons, so the name "at the rate of symbol" stuck. You will still see it on wholesale bills, in maths word problems ("interest @ 8% per annum") and in office invoices.

Outside India the same sign is called the at sign, at symbol or commercial at. Look at the symbol closely and you see a small a inside a circle. Some languages give it funny nicknames because of this curly shape: Italians call it "chiocciola" (snail) and the Dutch call it "apenstaartje" (little monkey tail). Whatever you call it, the character is the same and the copy box above gives you the standard one.

What Does the @ Symbol Stand For in an Email Address?

In an email address, @ simply means "at". It separates two parts:

So rahul.verma@example.co.in is read aloud as "rahul dot verma at example dot co dot in". Every email address has exactly one @. The sign was picked for email in 1971 by engineer Ray Tomlinson, because it was already on the keyboard and was rarely used in names.

On social media and in office chat apps, @ is used for mentions. Typing @ followed by a username, like @ananya, tags that person and sends them a notification. You will also see @ written before a place, such as "Team lunch @ 1 pm", which is just a short way to write "at". For more contact signs, see our email symbol page.

At the Rate Symbol in Keyboard: Laptop, Mac and UK Layout

The at symbol in keyboard terms has no single fixed place. Where the @ key sits depends on your keyboard layout, not the brand of laptop.

Typing " instead of @? Your computer is probably set to the UK layout. On a UK keyboard layout the @ symbol and the double quote swap places. Go to Windows Settings > Time & language > Language & region, and set the keyboard to US or English (India). On a Mac, check System Settings > Keyboard > Input Sources.

In Excel and Google Sheets, a cell that starts with @ may be treated as a formula. Type an apostrophe first ('@ananya) to keep it as plain text.

How to Type @ on Android and iPhone

1. Android: on most Android keyboards, tap ?123. The @ is on the first symbols page. Many keyboards also show an @ key directly when you are typing in an email field.
2. iPhone: tap 123 and the @ appears in the second row. In email fields, iOS shows @ on the main letters keyboard.
3. Copy and paste: tap the copy box on this page, then long-press in your app and choose Paste.

Need the fancy version for a bio or name? Tap ⓐ, Ⓐ or 🄰 in the grid. These are letters inside shapes, not real at signs, so never use them in an email address. For more decorative text, try our cool symbols.

@ Symbol Variants and Look-Alikes

Use the Download PNG button above if you need @ as a transparent image for a poster or slide.

Common Mistakes With the @ Sign

• Spaces around @ in email: "neha @ gmail" style addresses will bounce. Write it with no spaces.
• Using @ for "at least": there is no at least symbol made from @. In maths, "at least" is written ≥ (see the greater than or equal to symbol).
• Using @ for dates: people sometimes search for an "at the date symbol", but @ means "at" a price or place, not a date. Write "on 15 August" in formal text.
• Using @ in formal letters: in an application or essay, write the word "at". Keep @ for addresses, bills and chat.

The @ sign is part of the keyboard punctuation family. See all of them on our punctuation marks page, and compare it with the hashtag symbol, which also tags things online.