The same family of nested arcs, rotated ninety degrees, meaning two unrelated things.
Both are drawn as arcs radiating from a point, which is why they are confused. The Wi-Fi mark fans upward from a dot at the base and indicates a wireless network. The contactless mark lies on its side, opening to the right, and indicates that a card or terminal supports tap payment. Orientation is the reliable tell.
The same family of nested arcs; the Wi-Fi mark points upward and this one sideways.
Drawn from the visual attributes recorded for each symbol. Only traits the two records disagree about are listed.
| Trait | Contactless payment symbol | Wi-Fi symbol |
|---|---|---|
| Symmetry | horizontal | vertical |
| Orientation | rotated | upright |
| Contactless payment symbol | Wi-Fi symbol | |
|---|---|---|
| What it indicates | Tap-to-pay is supported | A wireless network connection |
| Which way it points | Sideways, opening to the right | Upward, fanning from a dot |
| Where you see it | Payment cards and card terminals | Device status bars and network signage |
| Number of arcs | Four, of increasing length | Two or three above a dot |
| Relationship (from Symbolwise's records) | Commonly confused with Wi-Fi symbol — The same family of nested arcs; the Wi-Fi mark points upward and this one sideways. | Commonly confused with Contactless payment symbol — Both are drawn as nested arcs radiating from a point. The Wi-Fi mark fans upward and the contactless mark sideways, which is the whole visual distinction between them. |
Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-07-31
Tertiary reference. Used for widely-agreed identity and origin summary, not for contested detail or exact dates.
Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-07-31
Tertiary reference. Used for what an icon marks and how widely a convention is followed, never for a claim that any body defines it.
The contactless indicator is four nested arcs and marks a payment card or terminal. The N-Mark is a wave-like capital N, is a trademark of the NFC Forum, and marks where to tap a device for near-field communication generally. The underlying radio technology overlaps, which is why the two get used interchangeably even though the marks belong to different bodies.
Both are drawn as one continuous decorative stroke with a closed loop and a tail that crosses back over itself, which is why a description of the shape alone reaches both. The clef is far taller, spans a stave, and its spiral encircles one specific line — that encircled line is the note G, and it is the only reason the shape is drawn where it is.
As punctuation the asterisk points at a footnote or marks a required field. In a filename pattern typed at a shell it matches any run of characters, including none — and the shell expands it against real filenames before the command runs, so the command never sees the pattern at all. That expansion is the part people are surprised by.
Check where the dot sits. A dot immediately to the right of the notehead adds half the note's value again — a dotted half note lasts three beats. A dot directly above or below the head means staccato: play it short and detached. One dot, two opposite instructions, and only position distinguishes them.