Numero sign
The numero sign or numero symbol, , is a typographic abbreviation of the word number indicating ordinal numeration, especially in names and titles. For example, using the numero sign, the written long-form of the address "Number 17 Cherry Tree Lane" is shortened to "№ 17 Cherry Tree Ln.", yet both forms are spoken long.
Typographically, the numero sign combines as a single ligature the uppercase Latin letter with a usually superscript lowercase letter, sometimes underlined, resembling the masculine ordinal indicator. The ligature has a code point in Unicode as a precomposed character,.
The Oxford English Dictionary derives the numero sign from Latin numero, the ablative form of numerus. In Romance languages, the numero sign is understood as an abbreviation of the word for "number", e.g. Italian numero, French numéro, and Portuguese and Spanish número.
This article describes other typographical abbreviations for "number" in different languages, in addition to the numero sign proper.
Usages
The numero sign's non-ligature substitution by the two separate letters and is common. A capital or lower-case "n" may be used, followed by "o.", superscript "o", ordinal indicator, or the degree sign; this will be understood in most languages.Bulgarian
In Bulgarian the numero sign is often used and it is present in three widely used keyboard layouts accessible with in BDS and prBDS and with on the Phonetic layout.English
In many forms of English, the non-ligature form is typical and is often used to abbreviate the word "number". In North America, the number sign,, is more prevalent. The ligature form does not appear on British or American QWERTY keyboards.The № symbol is sometimes referred to by the term "number sign" in English.
French
The numero symbol is not in common use in France and does not appear on a standard AZERTY keyboard. Instead, the French Imprimerie nationale recommends the use of the form "no". The plural form "nos" can also be used. In practice, the "o" is often replaced by the degree symbol, which is visually similar to the superscript "o" and is easily accessible on an AZERTY keyboard.Indonesian and Malaysian
"Nomor" in Indonesian and "nombor" in Malaysian; therefore "No." is commonly used as an abbreviation with standard spelling and full stop.Italian
The sign is usually replaced with the abbreviations "n." or "nº", the latter using a masculine ordinal indicator, rather than a superscript "O".Philippine languages
Because of more than three centuries of Spanish colonisation, the word número is found in almost all Philippine languages. "No." is its common notation in local languages as well as English.Portuguese
In Portugal, the similar-looking notation is often used. In Brazil, where Portuguese is the official language, is often used on official documents. In both cases, the symbol used is the masculine ordinal indicator. However, the Brazilian National Standards Organization determines that the word "número" should be abbreviated "n." only.Russian
Although the letter is not in the Cyrillic alphabet, the numero sign is typeset in Russian publishing, and is available on Russian computer and typewriter keyboards.The numero sign is very widely used in Russia and other post-Soviet states in many official and casual contexts. Examples include usage for law and other official documents numbering, names of institutions, numbering of periodical publications, numbering of public transport routes, etc.
is universally used as a table header to denote a column containing the table row number.
The sign is sometimes used in Russian medical prescriptions as an abbreviation for the Latin word numero to indicate the number of prescribed dosages, and on the price tags in drugstores and pharmacy websites to indicate number of unit doses in drug packages, although the standard abbreviation for use in prescriptions is the Latin.