fsymbols
🔍
Loading symbols…
››
⊄

not a subset of

Not a subset of

⊄ means A is not a subset of B: at least one element of A is missing from B. It is formal set inclusion notation for relations between whole sets.

Text symbol
Also called
nsub
Search it as
not subset · set inclusion
Shows up in
Anything that takes text · its shape is whatever your font draws

What ⊄ means

A has an element outside B. In set inclusion notation, A ⊄ B means not every element of A belongs to B.

Gergonne used C for containment in 1816–17; Schröder introduced inclusion signs in 1890; the Bourbaki group's 1939 book on set theory used a related “not a member of” sign. These are neighboring milestones, not a known inventor of ⊄.

Unicode 18.0 notes that fonts may draw negation strokes vertically or diagonally; the angle changes the glyph's appearance, not the relation.

Formal set-theory notation; uncommon in conversation.

⊄ compares sets; ∉ compares an element with a set.

Don't confuse it with

3
∉
Not An Element Of
x ∉ A says element x is not in set A.
⊈
Neither A Subset Of Nor Equal To
Negates “subset or equal,” so equal sets cannot satisfy ⊈.
⊂
Subset Of
Authors differ on whether ⊂ allows equality; check their convention.

Questions people ask

1

Why does ⊄ show as a box on some devices?

Because that device's fonts have no glyph for it. The character is still correct and still copies correctly — the box is a missing glyph, not a broken character.

How to type ⊄

Windows (Word)
Alt+XType 2284, then Alt+X to get ⊄.
Windows
Win+Rrun charmap for the full table, or use the emoji picker's Ω symbols tab (Win + .).
macOS
Control+Command+SpaceOpen the character viewer and search “not a subset of”.
Linux
Ctrl+Shift+UType 2284, then Enter or Space.
HTML
⊄
CSS
\2284
Codes and encoding1 code points
HTML decimal
⊄
HTML hex
⊄
CSS content
content: "\2284";
Each escape is closed by the next backslash; a trailing space is needed before a literal hex digit.
URL encoded
%E2%8A%84
1
On screen
1
Code points
1
JS .length
3
UTF-8 bytes

A visible symbol can contain several code points. JS .length counts UTF-16 units; UTF-8 counts bytes.

Families this belongs to

1

Maths & numbers1,835 symbols

1️⃣📏📐✖️➕➖➗🟰♾️#️⃣*️⃣0️⃣