››

∊

small element of

Small Element Of

∊ says that an item belongs to a set, the same relation as ∈. This small membership symbol is a typographic variant, not a different operation. It can resemble Greek epsilon, but here it marks a relation, not a variable.

Text symbol

Search it as: ∊ · ∊ vs ∈ · small membership symbol · epsilon membership
Shows up in: Anything that takes text · its shape is whatever your font draws

What ∊ means

It says that an item belongs to a set.

In x ∊ A, read it as “x belongs to set A.”

Peano used an epsilon-shaped membership sign in 1889, an abbreviation for Latin est (“is”). Russell said he was using Peano’s sign in 1903; the printed form appears to be the crescent-shaped epsilon, not clearly today’s ∈. ∊ itself arose in Math Pi fonts for mathematical notation as a distinctly smaller form of ∈.

Don't confuse it with

Greek Small Letter Epsilon

ε is the straight Greek epsilon, a letter often used as a variable; ∊ marks set membership.

Questions people ask

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 220A, 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 “small element of”.

Linux

Ctrl+Shift+UType 220a, then Enter or Space.

HTML

∊

CSS

\220A

Codes and encoding1 code points

HTML decimal

∊

HTML hex

∊

CSS content

content: "\220A";

Each escape is closed by the next backslash; a trailing space is needed before a literal hex digit.

URL encoded

%E2%88%8A

On screen

Code points

JS .length

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

Maths & numbers1,835 symbols

1️⃣📏📐✖️➕➖➗🟰♾️#️⃣*️⃣0️⃣