Math Symbols

Every sign a maths problem needs as a text character — √ for roots, ≠ ≤ ≥ for relations, ∑ ∫ ∂ for calculus, ∈ ∪ ∩ for sets, and π ∞ °. Click one to take it; the true minus − is a different character from the hyphen and lines up with + where the hyphen does not.

Copy and Paste Math Symbols

The 101 characters above cover what school and university maths actually writes: the operators, the relations, the calculus signs, set and logic notation, and the Greek letters that carry standard meanings. They are text, not images, so they paste into a document, a spreadsheet formula label, a forum post or a message and keep the colour and size of everything around them.

What Are Math Symbols?

Math symbols are Unicode characters for mathematical notation. Most live in the Mathematical Operators block at U+2200 to U+22FF, with the everyday few — ± × ÷ ° — inherited from Latin-1, the Greek letters from the Greek block, and the blackboard-bold number sets from Letterlike Symbols.

The reason to use them rather than the nearest key on the keyboard is that they are the right characters. A hyphen is not a minus, the letter x is not a multiplication sign, and an apostrophe is not a prime. In running text nobody may notice; in anything that gets searched, sorted, read aloud by a screen reader or set in a proper font, the difference shows.

How to Use Math Symbols

Copying Math Symbols

Click any character in the grid and it lands on your clipboard bare, with nothing wrapped around it.

Pasting Math Symbols Into Apps

Ctrl+V on Windows and Linux, Cmd+V on Mac, long-press and Paste on a phone. They work anywhere text does, including places that have no equation editor at all — a chat message, a spreadsheet header, a filename, a form field.

Math Symbols and the Keyboard Lookalikes

Four substitutions are worth undoing. The minus sign − is U+2212 and is drawn at the same width and height as the plus; the hyphen on your keyboard is shorter and sits lower. × is a multiplication sign, not the letter x. ′ and ″ are prime and double prime, used for feet and inches, minutes and seconds, and for derivatives — not the apostrophe and quotation mark. And ÷ is a real character rather than a slash.

Types of Math Symbols

Operator Math Symbols

− × ÷ ± ∓ ⋅ ∗ ⁄ — the arithmetic set. ± means plus or minus and ∓ the same pair in the opposite order, which matters in a formula where the two must alternate. ⋅ is the dot used for multiplication where × would be ambiguous next to a variable, and ⁄ is the fraction slash, which some fonts use to build a proper stacked fraction.

Relation Math Symbols

≠ ≤ ≥ ≈ ≡ ≢ ≅ ∼ ≪ ≫ ∝ ≐ ⩽ ⩾. Beyond the familiar four, ≈ is approximately equal, ≡ identically equal or congruent modulo, ≅ congruent in geometry, ∼ similar, ∝ proportional to, and ≪ ≫ much less and much greater. ⩽ ⩾ are the slanted forms many European textbooks prefer.

Root Math Symbols

√ is the square root, ∛ the cube root, ∜ the fourth root. The radical sign covers only the digit immediately after it unless you extend it with an overline, so √2 is unambiguous but √2+3 is not — write it as √(2+3) if that is what you mean.

Calculus Math Symbols

∫ ∬ ∭ ∮ are the integral and its double, triple and contour forms; ∂ is the partial derivative; ∇ is nabla, for gradient and divergence. ∑ and ∏ are summation and product — and these are the two most commonly typed wrongly, because Σ and Π are Greek capital letters that look almost identical. The operators are U+2211 and U+220F; the letters are U+03A3 and U+03A0. Use the operators in a formula.

Set Theory Math Symbols

∈ ∉ ∋ ⊂ ⊃ ⊆ ⊇ ⊄ ∪ ∩ ∅ ∖ ⊕ ⊗ — membership, containment, union, intersection, the empty set and set difference. ∅ is the empty-set sign proper, not the Scandinavian letter Ø it resembles.

Logic Math Symbols

∀ ∃ ∄ ∧ ∨ ¬ ⇒ ⇔ ∴ ∵ — for all, there exists, there does not exist, and, or, not, implies, if and only if, therefore, because. ∴ ∵ are the three-dot marks that end and open a line of reasoning.

Geometry Math Symbols

° ∠ ∡ ∢ ⊥ ∥ ∦ △ ′ ″ — degree, angle, measured angle, spherical angle, perpendicular, parallel, not parallel, triangle, and the primes used for minutes and seconds of arc.

Number Set Math Symbols

ℝ ℕ ℤ ℚ ℂ are the blackboard-bold letters for the real, natural, integer, rational and complex numbers, ℵ is aleph for cardinality, and ∞ is infinity. These are single characters rather than a bold font effect, so they survive being pasted into plain text.

Greek Math Symbols

α β γ δ ε θ λ μ π ρ σ τ φ χ ψ ω lower case and Γ Δ Θ Λ Ξ Π Σ Φ Ψ Ω capital. These carry conventional meanings in maths and physics — π the circle constant, Δ change, σ standard deviation, λ wavelength, θ an angle — which is why they belong here rather than in a language collection.

Best Uses for Math Symbols

Math Symbols in Documents Without an Equation Editor

A spreadsheet header, a form field, a code comment or a chat message has no equation support, and these characters need none. ≤ in a column heading says what "less than or equal to" says in a quarter of the width.

Math Symbols in Search and Sorting

Because they are text, a formula written with real characters is searchable. Someone looking for ≠ in a document will find it; someone looking for an image of one will not.

Math Symbols in Names and Bios

π, ∞, √ and ∑ are one character wide and take your text colour, which is why they turn up in handles and profile lines where an emoji would look out of place.

Math Symbols Unicode Names and Codes

The names are descriptive: √ is U+221A Square Root, ≠ is U+2260 Not Equal To, ∑ is U+2211 N-Ary Summation, ∈ is U+2208 Element Of, ° is U+00B0 Degree Sign. Each tile in the grid carries its own code point, which is the quickest way to tell two lookalikes apart.

Several have short Alt codes on Windows because they were in the original PC character set. Hold Alt and type on the numeric keypad: 251 for √, 241 for ±, 246 for ÷, 248 for °, 227 for π, 236 for ∞. The rest need their decimal value — 8800 for ≠, 8804 for ≤, 8805 for ≥, 8721 for ∑. On Linux, Ctrl+Shift+U then 221a and Enter gives √; on a Mac, Option+V gives √ and Option+= gives ≠ directly.

Frequently Asked Questions About Math Symbols

How do I get the square root symbol?

√ is U+221A. Click it in the grid above, or type Alt+251 on a Windows numeric keypad, or press Option+V on a Mac. It covers only what follows it directly, so use brackets when the root applies to more than one term.

What is the difference between ∑ and Σ?

∑ is U+2211 N-Ary Summation, an operator. Σ is U+03A3, the Greek capital letter sigma. They look nearly identical in most fonts and mean different things: the operator in a formula, the letter in text about the Greek alphabet or as a named variable. The same pairing exists for ∏ U+220F against Π U+03A0.

Why should I not just use a hyphen for minus?

Because − U+2212 is drawn to match the plus sign in width and vertical position, and the hyphen is not. Set next to each other the difference is obvious, and in a column of figures the hyphen makes the negatives sit visibly wrong. The same argument applies to the letter x standing in for ×.

Is the squared symbol ² on this page?

No. That is a superscript digit rather than a mathematical operator, and the superscript text generator makes it from any number — 2 becomes ², 3 becomes ³. Fractions and Roman numerals are not here either; they are on the number symbols page.

Why does ∅ look like a Danish letter?

Because they are drawn alike and are different characters. ∅ is U+2205 Empty Set; the Scandinavian Ø is a letter with its own code point. Copy the one from this page when you mean the empty set — a spell checker will treat the letter as a word.

Why does a math symbol show as a box?

Whatever font is rendering the text has no glyph for it. The everyday characters — ± × ÷ ° √ π ≠ ≤ ≥ ∞ — are supported almost everywhere. The double and triple integrals, the slanted relations ⩽ ⩾ and the measured-angle marks are the likeliest to be missing, so test those before relying on them.

Related Collections for Math Symbols

Fractions, Roman numerals and circled digits are on the number symbols page; superscripts and subscripts come from the superscript text generator. ∞ has a page of its own at infinity symbols covering its variants, and the arrows used for implication sit with the wider set of arrow symbols. Everything else is on the symbol collections index.