What 𝒛 means
Type 1D49B, then press AltX.
Word converts the hex code into this fancy z. If the code touches another character, select only the code before pressing the shortcut.
What does 𝒛 mean in math?
It is a lowercase z in bold italic mathematical style.
Mathematicians already used different letter styles to distinguish symbols. In 1999, the Scientific and Technical Information Exchange (STIX), a collaboration of scientific and technical publishers, proposed encoding Latin and Greek math styles as separate characters so online and plain-text formulas could preserve their meanings and remain searchable.
This style marks a distinct symbol; the formula's definitions tell you whether it stands for a variable, vector, or something else.
Technical and notation-dependent; outside formulas it reads as deliberately styled text.
Don't assume the bold italic style means “vector”; check the formula's definition.
Part of collections
What it means when someone sends it to you
2 readingsA bold italic z; the formula's notation supplies its mathematical role.
Don't confuse it with
2
Questions people ask
2Does bold italic z always mean a vector?
No. A traditional TeX convention uses bold upright letters for vectors and matrices; bold italic can signal another distinction. Read the formula's definition before deciding.
Why does 𝒛 turn into plain z?
NFKC, a Unicode normalization form that folds compatibility variants, changes 𝒛 to ordinary z and removes its mathematical style distinction.
More like this
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How to type or find 𝒛
- Search it as
- fancy z · bold italic z · bold z · math z · stylized z · z text
- Shows up in
- Anything that takes text · its shape is whatever your font draws
𝒛\1D49B1D49B in the document and press AltX. If it touches another character, select just the code first.unicode-math in XeLaTeX or LuaLaTeX, use \symbfit{z} in math mode to typeset bold italic z.Codes and encoding1 code points
A visible symbol can contain several code points. JS .length counts UTF-16 units; UTF-8 counts bytes.