xterm not displaying unicode

i have never been able to get my terminal to display unicode symbols. for example, before i had my present os, i mapped ctrl+a to the greek mu in vim, and it works on other computers, but not on my current xterm. here is the relevant section of my .vimrc: set encoding=utf-8 "map control-a to mu imap m* also, i need to output sympy equations in python, and this works on other computers, but not on my current xterm. instead of this: $ python Python 2.7.3 (default, Mar 14 2014, 11:57:14) [GCC 4.7.2] on linux2 Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information. >>> import sympy >>> x = sympy.symbols('x') >>> sympy.init_printing() >>> (sympy.sqrt(x**3/(x+1)), 1) ⎛ _______ ⎞ ⎜ ╱ 3 ⎟ ⎜ ╱ x ⎟ ⎜ ╱ ───── , 1⎟ ⎝╲╱ x + 1 ⎠ i get this: >>> (sympy.sqrt(x**3/(x+1)), 1) n ------- n n n 3 n n n x n n n ───── , 1n nnnn x + 1 n infact it seems to just use the n character whenever it can't display a unicode character. i'm running xterm from an ~/.xinitrc file and setting some fonts and colors for the terminal in ~/.Xresources. here is all the relevant information i could think of: $ uname -a Linux mypcname 3.2.0-4-amd64 #1 SMP Debian 3.2.60-1+deb7u3 x86_64 GNU/Linux $ xterm -version XTerm(278) $ cat ~/.xinitrc #!/bin/bash #update the xterm colors, font size, etc [[ -f ~/.Xresources ]] && xrdb -merge ~/.Xresources # run the window manager in the background first metacity & # get the window manager process id wm_pid=$! # wait a little while for the window manager to load (extend this if the xterm is not being properly maximised) sleep 2 # run the xterm in fullscreen #xterm +u8 -js -fullscreen & xterm -en en_AU.UTF-8 -js -fullscreen & # do not let the window manager become a zombie wait $wm_pid # this would run xterm first, then the window manager. doesn't maximise properly the first time startx is run #xterm -fullscreen & #exec mutter $ cat ~/.Xresources ! see man xterm under the resources heading for explanations ! run xrdb -merge ~/.Xresources after altering this file ! run xrdb -query -all to see the current settings xterm.vt100.faceName: Terminus xterm.vt100.faceSize: 14 ! do not display bold fonts in bold xterm.vt100.AllowBoldFonts: false ! display bold fonts in a different color to make them stand out xterm.vt100.colorBDMode: true ! use green as the bold color (same as in ~/.bashrc) xterm.vt100.colorBD: #98E34D ! cols x lines ... update with values from $(echo $COLUMNS) and $(echo $LINES) xterm.vt100.geometry: 126x52 ! dark green foreground (same as in ~/.bashrc) *foreground: #4E9A06 ! black background *background: #000000 ! scroll quickly xterm*fastScroll: true ! enable utf-8 encoding xterm*locale: true xterm*utf8: 1 ! flash the current line instead of making the bell sound *visualBell: true *visualBellLine: true ! black *color0: #2E3436 ! darkred *color1: #CC0000 ! dark green *color2: #4E9A06 ! brown *color3: #C4A000 ! darkblue *color4: #3465A4 ! darkmagenta *color5: #75507B ! darkcyan *color6: #06989A ! lightgrey *color7: #D3D7CF ! darkgrey *color8: #555753 ! red *color9: #EF2929 ! green *colorA: #8AE234 ! yellow *colorB: #FCE94F ! blue *colorC: #729FCF ! magenta *colorD: #AD7FA8 ! cyan *colorE: #34E2E2 ! white *colorF: #EEEEEC $ tail -10 .bashrc PATH=/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin:/sbin export LC_ALL=en_AU.UTF-8 export LANG=en_AU.UTF-8 export LANGUAGE=en_AU.UTF-8 # final logon actions: # go straight to x on login. only do this for tty1 so that we can still use the other tty consoles without starting x. also only do this when there is not already a display, otherwise the xterm will try and do this after x starts aswell [[ -z $DISPLAY ]] && [[ $(tty) = /dev/tty1 ]] && startx $ locale LANG=en_AU.UTF-8 LANGUAGE=en_AU.UTF-8 LC_CTYPE="en_AU.UTF-8" LC_NUMERIC="en_AU.UTF-8" LC_TIME="en_AU.UTF-8" LC_COLLATE="en_AU.UTF-8" LC_MONETARY="en_AU.UTF-8" LC_MESSAGES="en_AU.UTF-8" LC_PAPER="en_AU.UTF-8" LC_NAME="en_AU.UTF-8" LC_ADDRESS="en_AU.UTF-8" LC_TELEPHONE="en_AU.UTF-8" LC_MEASUREMENT="en_AU.UTF-8" LC_IDENTIFICATION="en_AU.UTF-8" LC_ALL=en_AU.UTF-8 $ printenv XTERM_LOCALE en_AU.UTF-8 $ xrdb -query -all *background: #000000 *color0: #2E3436 *color1: #CC0000 *color2: #4E9A06 *color3: #C4A000 *color4: #3465A4 *color5: #75507B *color6: #06989A *color7: #D3D7CF *color8: #555753 *color9: #EF2929 *colorA: #8AE234 *colorB: #FCE94F *colorC: #729FCF *colorD: #AD7FA8 *colorE: #34E2E2 *colorF: #EEEEEC *foreground: #4E9A06 *visualBell: true *visualBellLine: true xterm*fastScroll: true xterm*locale: true xterm*utf8: 1 xterm.vt100.AllowBoldFonts: false xterm.vt100.colorBD: #98E34D xterm.vt100.colorBDMode: true xterm.vt100.faceName: Terminus xterm.vt100.faceSize: 14 xterm.vt100.geometry: 126x52 **how can i get utf-8 working to display greek symbols in vim and equations in sympy?** *** extra information requested $ echo $TERM xterm $ appres XTerm *form.Thickness: 0 *tekMenu*tekreset*Label: RESET *tekMenu*tektext2*Label: #2 Size Characters *tekMenu*tekhide*Label: Hide Tek Window *tekMenu*tekcopy*Label: COPY *tekMenu*tektext3*Label: #3 Size Characters *tekMenu*vtshow*Label: Show VT Window *tekMenu*tektextsmall*Label: Small Characters *tekMenu*vtmode*Label: Switch to VT Mode *tekMenu*tektextlarge*Label: Large Characters *tekMenu*tekpage*Label: PAGE *tekMenu.Label: Tek Options *mainMenu*redraw*Label: Redraw Window *mainMenu*sunKeyboard*Label: VT220 Keyboard *mainMenu*terminate*Label: Send TERM Signal *mainMenu*backarrow key*Label: Backarrow Key (BS/DEL) *mainMenu*logging*Label: Log to File *mainMenu*hpFunctionKeys*Label: HP Function-Keys *mainMenu*kill*Label: Send KILL Signal *mainMenu*num-lock*Label: Alt/NumLock Modifiers *mainMenu*print-immediate*Label: Print-All Immediately *mainMenu*scoFunctionKeys*Label: SCO Function-Keys *mainMenu*quit*Label: Quit *mainMenu*alt-esc*Label: Alt Sends Escape *mainMenu*print-on-error*Label: Print-All on Error *mainMenu*tcapFunctionKeys*Label: Termcap Function-Keys *mainMenu*meta-esc*Label: Meta Sends Escape *mainMenu*toolbar*Label: Toolbar *mainMenu*print*Label: Print Window *mainMenu*suspend*Label: Send STOP Signal *mainMenu*delete-is-del*Label: Delete is DEL *mainMenu*print-redir*Label: Redirect to Printer *mainMenu*fullscreen*Label: Full Screen *mainMenu*continue*Label: Send CONT Signal *mainMenu*oldFunctionKeys*Label: Old Function-Keys *mainMenu*securekbd*Label: Secure Keyboard *mainMenu*interrupt*Label: Send INT Signal *mainMenu*8-bit control*Label: 8-Bit Controls *mainMenu*allowsends*Label: Allow SendEvents *mainMenu*sunFunctionKeys*Label: Sun Function-Keys *mainMenu*hangup*Label: Send HUP Signal *mainMenu.Label: Main Options *VT100.utf8Fonts.font4: -misc-fixed-medium-r-normal--13-120-75-75-c-80-iso10646-1 *VT100.utf8Fonts.font2: -misc-fixed-medium-r-normal--8-80-75-75-c-50-iso10646-1 *VT100.utf8Fonts.font6: -misc-fixed-medium-r-normal--20-200-75-75-c-100-iso10646-1 *VT100.utf8Fonts.font5: -misc-fixed-medium-r-normal--18-120-100-100-c-90-iso10646-1 *VT100.utf8Fonts.font3: -misc-fixed-medium-r-normal--14-130-75-75-c-70-iso10646-1 *VT100.utf8Fonts.font: -misc-fixed-medium-r-semicondensed--13-120-75-75-c-60-iso10646-1 *VT100.font4: 7x13 *VT100.font2: 5x7 *VT100.font6: 10x20 *VT100.font5: 9x15 *VT100.font3: 6x10 *VT100.font1: nil2 *vtMenu*selectToClipboard*Label: Select to Clipboard *vtMenu*reversewrap*Label: Enable Reverse Wraparound *vtMenu*softreset*Label: Do Soft Reset *vtMenu*cursesemul*Label: Enable Curses Emulation *vtMenu*autolinefeed*Label: Enable Auto Linefeed *vtMenu*hardreset*Label: Do Full Reset *vtMenu*visualbell*Label: Enable Visual Bell *vtMenu*appcursor*Label: Enable Application Cursor Keys *vtMenu*clearsavedlines*Label: Reset and Clear Saved Lines *vtMenu*bellIsUrgent*Label: Enable Bell Urgency *vtMenu*appkeypad*Label: Enable Application Keypad *vtMenu*tekshow*Label: Show Tek Window *vtMenu*poponbell*Label: Enable Pop on Bell *vtMenu*scrollbar*Label: Enable Scrollbar *vtMenu*scrollkey*Label: Scroll to Bottom on Key Press *vtMenu*tekmode*Label: Switch to Tek Mode *vtMenu*scrollttyoutput*Label: Scroll to Bottom on Tty Output *vtMenu*jumpscroll*Label: Enable Jump Scroll *vtMenu*cursorblink*Label: Enable Blinking Cursor *vtMenu*vthide*Label: Hide VT Window *vtMenu*allow132*Label: Allow 80/132 Column Switching *vtMenu*reversevideo*Label: Enable Reverse Video *vtMenu*titeInhibit*Label: Enable Alternate Screen Switching *vtMenu*altscreen*Label: Show Alternate Screen *vtMenu*keepSelection*Label: Keep Selection *vtMenu*autowrap*Label: Enable Auto Wraparound *vtMenu*activeicon*Label: Enable Active Icon *vtMenu.Label: VT Options *SimpleMenu*menuLabel.font: -adobe-helvetica-bold-r-normal--*-120-*-*-*-*-iso8859-* *SimpleMenu*menuLabel.vertSpace: 100 *SimpleMenu*Sme.height: 16 *SimpleMenu*BackingStore: NotUseful *SimpleMenu*HorizontalMargins: 16 *SimpleMenu*Cursor: left_ptr *SimpleMenu*borderWidth: 2 *menubar.borderWidth: 0 *tek4014*fontLarge: 9x15 *tek4014*font2: 8x13 *tek4014*font3: 6x13 *tek4014*fontSmall: 6x10 *MenuButton*borderWidth: 0 *fontMenu*render-font*Label: TrueType Fonts *fontMenu*fontdefault*Label: Default *fontMenu*font6*Label: Huge *fontMenu*allow-window-ops*Label: Allow Window Ops *fontMenu*utf8-mode*Label: UTF-8 Encoding *fontMenu*font1*Label: Unreadable *fontMenu*fontescape*Label: Escape Sequence *fontMenu*utf8-fonts*Label: UTF-8 Fonts *fontMenu*fontsel*Label: Selection *fontMenu*allow-bold-fonts*Label: Bold Fonts *fontMenu*utf8-title*Label: UTF-8 Titles *fontMenu*font-linedrawing*Label: Line-Drawing Characters *fontMenu*font2*Label: Tiny *fontMenu*allow-color-ops*Label: Allow Color Ops *fontMenu*font-doublesize*Label: Doublesized Characters *fontMenu*font3*Label: Small *fontMenu*allow-font-ops*Label: Allow Font Ops *fontMenu*font-loadable*Label: VT220 Soft Fonts *fontMenu*font4*Label: Medium *fontMenu*allow-tcap-ops*Label: Allow Termcap Ops *fontMenu*font-packed*Label: Packed Font *fontMenu*font5*Label: Large *fontMenu*allow-title-ops*Label: Allow Title Ops *fontMenu.Label: VT Fonts *colorD: #AD7FA8 *color5: #75507B *backarrowKeyIsErase: true *colorE: #34E2E2 *color6: #06989A *ptyInitialErase: true *colorF: #EEEEEC *background: #000000 *color7: #D3D7CF *saveLines: 1024 *color8: #555753 *color0: #2E3436 *foreground: #4E9A06 *IconFont: nil2 *color9: #EF2929 *color1: #CC0000 *visualBell: true *colorA: #8AE234 *color2: #4E9A06 *visualBellLine: true *colorB: #FCE94F *color3: #C4A000 *colorC: #729FCF *color4: #3465A4 $ xterm -u8 -fa "DejaVu Sans Mono" # the following is typed in the resulting terminal: $ echo -e "\xE2\x98\xA0" n # however when i copy the result from echo -e "\xE2\x98\xA0" # into my browser, i get this: ☠ (a skull) but it does not show # up as a skull in my xterm $ lsof -p $PPID | grep fonts xterm 5990 me mem REG 254,1 4971 13501810 /usr/share/fonts/X11/misc/ter-u18b_iso-8859-1.pcf.gz xterm 5990 me mem REG 254,1 4897 13505403 /usr/share/fonts/X11/misc/ter-u18n_iso-8859-1.pcf.gz i also ran $ fc-list but the output was too large to paste into this question. so i have put it here what it shows in my browser: /usr/share/fonts/truetype/freefont/FreeSansBold.ttf: FreeSans:style=Bold,получерен,negreta,tučné,fed,Fett,Έντονα,Negrita,Lihavoitu,Gras,Félkövér,Grassetto,Vet,Halvfet,Pogrubiony,Negrito,gros,Полужирный,Fet,Kalın,huruf tebal,жирний,Krepko,treknraksts,pusjuodis,đậm,Lodia,धृष्ट what i see in my terminal: /usr/share/fonts/truetype/freefont/FreeSansBold.ttf: FreeSans:style=Bold,nnnnnnnnn,negreta,tunné,fed,Fett,nnnnnn,Negrita,Lihavoitu,Gras,Félkövér,Grassetto,Vet,Halvfet,Pogrubiony,Negrito,gros,nnnnnnnnnn,Fet,Kalın,huruf tebal,nnnnnn,Krepko,treknraksts,pusjuodis,nậm,Lodia,nnn interestingly, some "special" characters do show up in my terminal, but most are relaced by n. you can see in the previous output that none of получерен can be displayed, but the final character of tučné can be displayed (while the middle č cannot - it is replaced by n) *** as per @apaul's comments it seems that xterm isn't loading the right font. try to set a dummy class so it doesn't load the xterm resources: $ xterm -class Foo -name foo -u8 -fa "DejaVu Sans Mono:style=Book" $ # the following commands are all executed in the resulting terminal: $ echo -e "\xE2\x98\xA0" ☠ $ # the above skull actually shows up now. and so does the unicode $ # output from sympy and also vi can display greek symbols now :) all that remains is to figure out why xterm cannot set the font using ~/.Xresoureces, and to get this working. it seems like something must be overriding the font settings? actually i just thought to try above command with the terminus font, and it seems that this is the problem: $ xterm -class Foo -name foo -u8 -fa "Terminus" $ # the following commands are all executed in the resulting terminal: $ echo -e "\xE2\x98\xA0" n maybe terminus is not properly installed? or is being mapped to something else. how could i find that out?