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⪪

smaller than

Smaller Than

Q: Can ⪪ look different in another font?

Yes. Fonts can change its proportions or details while drawing the same character; a visual difference alone does not change the relation.

⪪ says an expression on the left is smaller than the one on the right. It is a specialized mathematical relation used in web math formats and formula editors. Its mirrored partner ⪫ reverses the comparison, and fonts can give the same character slightly different shapes.

Text symbol

Search it as: inequality relation · mathematical comparison sign · less-than operator · MathML operator · XML math entity smt · specialized inequality symbol
Shows up in: Anything that takes text · its shape is whatever your font draws

What ⪪ means

Read the left side as less than the right.

Use ⪪ when a formula, reference or notation system calls for this particular relation; the everyday less-than sign is <. MathML, a markup format for mathematical notation on the web, treats ⪪ as an operator between two expressions.

Unicode's mathematical collection was expanded to support web markup, formula editors and software that works with algebraic expressions. It drew on ISO's named mathematical-symbol sets and STIX, a collaborative project drawing symbols from scientific and technical publishers. An XML math-entity list also gives ⪪ the name ⪪.

Don't confuse it with

Less-Than Sign

It points the same way and is the usual sign in ordinary inequalities. ⪪ is a separate, specialized mathematical relation.

Questions people ask

Can ⪪ look different in another font?

Yes. Fonts can change its proportions or details while drawing the same character; a visual difference alone does not change the relation.

How to type ⪪

Windows (Word)

Alt+XType 2AAA, 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 “smaller than”.

Linux

Ctrl+Shift+UType 2aaa, then Enter or Space.

HTML

⪪

CSS

\2AAA

Codes and encoding1 code points

HTML decimal

⪪

HTML hex

⪪

CSS content

content: "\2AAA";

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

URL encoded

%E2%AA%AA

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