Math symbols and their meanings
The four operators everyone learns first are (plus), (minus), (multiplication sign) and (division sign, also called the obelus). Note that the real minus sign is a separate character from the hyphen - on your keyboard: it is the same width as and sits at the same height, which is why equations typed with look cleaner than ones typed with -.
Comparison comes next: equals, not equal, approximately equal, identical to (or congruent modulo n), < less than, > greater than, less than or equal to and greater than or equal to. means plus or minus, as in the two roots of a quadratic, and is its mirror image, used when a second sign has to flip with the first.
Roots and constants: square root, cube root, fourth root, infinity and π pi. For powers, the superscript digits ² and ³ give you x² and m³ without any formatting, and ⁿ covers xⁿ.
Calculus, set theory and logic symbols
Calculus uses (sum), (product), (integral) with its double, triple and contour forms , (partial derivative), (change, or increment) and (nabla, for gradient). These are distinct characters from the Greek capital letters Σ, Π and Δ, even when a font draws them alike.
Set symbols describe membership and collections: element of, not an element of, subset, superset, union, intersection and the empty set. The double-struck letters ℕ ℤ ℚ ℝ ℂ name the natural numbers, integers, rationals, reals and complex numbers.
Logic symbols build statements: for all, there exists, not, and, or, implies, if and only if. Proofs end with therefore, because and the tombstone (Q.E.D.).
Math emoji:
Phones also have a small set of math emoji: , the heavy equals sign and infinity. They are big and colourful, which makes them good for math emoji puzzles ( ) and casual messages, but they do not belong in real formulas: they scale like pictures, not text.
For a formula, homework answer or spreadsheet label, use the plain text symbols in this collection instead. They copy into Word, Google Docs, Excel, Discord and any text field as normal characters and keep the font of the surrounding text.
How to type math symbols on a keyboard
On a Mac, many math symbols sit behind the Option key on the US layout: Option gives , Option , gives , Option . gives , Option x gives , Option v gives , Option 5 gives , Option p gives π, Option Shift gives and Option / gives .
On Windows, hold Alt and type the code on the numeric keypad: Alt 0177 for , Alt 0215 for , Alt 0247 for , Alt 0178 for ² and Alt 0189 for ½. Word also has an equation editor (Alt ) that converts LaTeX-style names such as \sqrt or \infty into symbols. Everywhere else, copying from this page is the fastest route.
Symboles
138Cliquez sur un symbole pour le copier et ouvrir sa page.
How to use them
5 situationsCliquez pour copierMath Symbols combos
13À savoir
- The equals sign was introduced by the Welsh mathematician Robert Recorde in 1557, who chose two parallel lines of equal length because, as he put it, no two things could be more equal.
- William Oughtred used for multiplication in 1631, and the Swiss mathematician Johann Rahn introduced for division in 1659.
- John Wallis introduced the infinity sign in 1655. The emoji came much later, in Emoji 11.0 (2018).
- The heavy equals sign only became an emoji in 2021 (Emoji 14.0), more than a decade after arrived with Unicode 6.0 in 2010.
- Unicode has a whole block for mathematical operators (U2200 to U22FF) with 256 characters, from to .
Questions fréquentes
7How do I copy and paste math symbols?
Tap or click any symbol in the grid above and it is copied to your clipboard; then paste it with Ctrl V (Cmd V on a Mac) or long-press and Paste on a phone. The symbols are ordinary Unicode text, so they work in Word, Google Docs, Excel, chats and social media.
What are the math symbols and their meanings?
The basics are plus, minus, times, divided by, equals, not equal, approximately equal, < less than, > greater than, less than or equal to, greater than or equal to, plus or minus, square root, infinity and π pi. Open any symbol on this page for its full name and uses.
How do I type the square root symbol ?
Copy from this page, press Option V on a Mac, or type Alt 251 on a Windows numeric keypad. In Word you can also type 221A and then press Alt X.
What is the not equal sign and how do I type it?
means the two sides are not equal. On a Mac press Option ; on Windows type 2260 in Word followed by Alt X, or copy it from here. In programming, ! or <> is used instead because is not on the keyboard.
What is the math symbol for approximately?
(almost equal to) is the standard sign for 'approximately', as in π 3.14. You may also see for congruence and for 'similar to' or 'of the order of'.
Are there math emoji?
Yes: , the heavy equals sign and infinity, plus abacus and triangular ruler. Use them in chats and puzzles, and the text symbols ( ) for real formulas.
What is the difference between and Σ?
is the summation operator and Σ is the Greek capital letter sigma. They often look the same, but math software and screen readers treat them differently, so use for sums.
