Mathematical Symbols

List of all mathematical symbols and signs - meaning and examples.

Basic math symbols

Geometry symbols
Algebra symbols
Probability & statistics symbols
Set theory symbols
Logic symbols
Calculus & analysis symbols
Number symbols
Greek symbols
Roman numerals

Basic math symbols

Symbol Symbol Name Meaning / definition

= equality

≠ not equal sign inequality

> strict inequality greater than

< strict inequality less than

≥ inequality greater than or equal to

≤ inequality less than or equal to

() parentheses calculate expression inside first

[] brackets calculate expression inside first

+ addition

− subtraction

± plus - minus both plus and minus operations

∓ minus - plus both minus and plus operations

* multiplication

× multiplication

∙ multiplication

÷ division

/ division

– division / fraction
mod modulo remainder calculation

. period decimal point, decimal separator

 a b
power exponent

a^b caret exponent

√a square root √a · √a = a
3√a cube root
4√a forth root
n√a n-th root (radical)

% percent 1% = 1/100
‰ per-mille 1‰ = 1/1000 = 0.1%
ppm per-million 1ppm = 1/1000000
ppb per-billion 1ppb = 1/1000000000
ppt per-trillion 1ppb = 10-12
Geometry symbols
Symbol Symbol Name Meaning / definition

∠ angle formed by two rays

∡ measured angle

∢ spherical angle

∟ right angle = 90º

º degree 1 turn = 360º
´ arcminute 1º = 60´
´´ arcsecond 1´ = 60´´
AB line line from point A to point B

ray line that start from point A

| perpendicular perpendicular lines (90º angle)

|| parallel parallel lines

≅ congruent to equivalence of geometric shapes and size

~ similarity same shapes, not same size

Δ triangle triangle shape

| x-y | distance distance between points x and y

π = 3.141592654...
π pi constant is the ratio between circle's perimeter and circumference
rad radians radians angle unit
grad grads grads angle unit
Algebra symbols
Symbol Symbol Name Meaning / definition
 x x variable unknown value to find

≡ equivalence identical to

≜ equal by definition equal by definition

:= equal by definition equal by definition

~ approximately equal weak approximation

≈ approximately equal approximation

∝ proportional to proportional to

∞ lemniscate infinity symbol

≪ much less than much less than

≫ much greater than much greater than

() parentheses calculate expression inside first

[] brackets calculate expression inside first

{} braces set

⌊x⌋ floor brackets rounds number to lower integer

⌈x⌉ ceiling brackets rounds number to upper integer

x! exclamation mark factorial

|x| single vertical bar absolute value

f (x) function of x maps values of x to f(x)

(f ∘g) function composition (f ∘g) (x) = f (g(x))

(a,b) open interval (a,b) ≜ {x | a < x < b}
[a,b] closed interval [a,b] ≜ {x | a ≤ x ≤ b}
∆ delta change / difference

∆ discriminant Δ = b2 - 4ac
∑ sigma summation - sum of all values in range of series

∑∑ sigma double summation

∏ capital pi product - product of all values in range of series

e e = 2.718281828...
e constant / Euler's number
γ γ = 0.527721566...
Euler-Mascheroni  constant
φ golden ratio golden ratio constant
π = 3.141592654...

π pi constant
 π pi constant is the ratio between circle's circumference to its diameter
Linear Algebra Symbols
Symbol Symbol Name Meaning / definition

∙ dot scalar product

× cross vector product

A⊗B tensor product tensor product of A and B

inner product

[] brackets matrix of numbers

() parentheses matrix of numbers

|A| determinant determinant of matrix A

det(A) determinant determinant of matrix A

|| x || double vertical bars norm

A T
transpose matrix transpose

A †
Hermitian matrix matrix conjugate transpose

A *
Hermitian matrix matrix conjugate transpose

A -1
inverse matrix A A-1 = I
rank(A) matrix rank rank of matrix A
dim(U) dimension dimension of matrix A
Probability and statistics symbols
Symbol Symbol Name Meaning / definition

P(A) probability function probability of event A

probability of events
P(A ∩ B) intersection probability that of events A and B

P(A ∪ B) probability of events union probability that of events A or B

P(A | B) conditional probability function probability of event A given event B occured

probability density function
f (x) (pdf) P(a ≤ x ≤ b) = ∫ f (x) dx
cumulative distribution function
F(x) (cdf) F(x) = P(X ≤ x)
μ population mean mean of population values

E(X) expectation value expected value of random variable X

E(X | Y) conditional expectation expected value of random variable X given Y

var(X) variance variance of random variable X

σ 2
variance variance of population values

std(X) standard deviation standard deviation of random variable X

 σ X standard deviation standard deviation value of random variable X

median middle value of random variable x

cov(X,Y) covariance covariance of random variables X and Y

corr(X,Y) correlation correlation of random variables X and Y

ρ X,Y correlation correlation of random variables X and Y

∑ summation summation - sum of all values in range of series

∑∑ double summation double summation

Mo mode value that occurs most frequently in population

MR mid-range MR = (xmax+xmin)/2
Md sample median half the population is below this value
Q1 lower / first quartile 25% of population are below this value
Q2 median / second quartile
50% of population are below this value = median
of samples
Q3 upper / third quartile 75% of population are below this value

x sample mean average / arithmetic mean

s 2

sample variance population samples variance estimator

s sample standard deviation population samples standard deviation estimator

zx standard score zx = (x-x) / sx
X~ distribution of X distribution of random variable X
N(μ,σ ) 2
normal distribution gaussian distribution
U(a,b) uniform distribution equal probability in range a,b
exp(λ) exponential distribution f (x) = λe-λx , x≥0
gamma(c, λ) gamma distribution f (x) = λ c xc-1e-λx / Γ(c), x≥0
χ (k)
2
chi-square distribution f (x) = xk/2-1e-x/2 / ( 2k/2 Γ(k/2) )
F (k , k )
1 2 F distribution

Bin(n,p) binomial distribution f (k) = nCk pk(1-p)n-k

Poisson(λ) Poisson distribution f (k) = λke-λ / k!
Geom(p) geometric distribution f (k) = p (1-p) k
HG(N,K,n) hyper-geometric distribution
Bern(p) Bernoulli distribution
Combinatorics Symbols
Symbol Symbol Name Meaning / definition

n! factorial n! = 1∙2∙3∙...∙n
 nPk permutation

nCk combination
Set theory symbols
Symbol Symbol Name Meaning / definition

{} set a collection of elements

A∩B intersection objects that belong to set A and set B

A∪B union objects that belong to set A or set B

A⊆B subset subset has less elements or equal to the set

A⊂B proper subset / strict subset subset has less elements than the set

A⊄B not subset left set not a subset of right set

A⊇B superset set A has more elements or equal to the set B

proper superset / strict
A⊃B superset set A has more elements than set B

A⊅B not superset set A is not a superset of set B

2 A
power set all subsets of A

Ƥ (A) power set all subsets of A

A=B equality both sets have the same members

Ac complement all the objects that do not belong to set A

A\B relative complement objects that belong to A and not to B

A-B relative complement objects that belong to A and not to B

objects that belong to A or B but not to their
A∆B symmetric difference intersection
objects that belong to A or B but not to their
A⊖B symmetric difference intersection

a∈A element of set membership

x∉A not element of no set membership

(a,b) ordered pair collection of 2 elements

A×B cartesian product set of all ordered pairs from A and B

|A| cardinality the number of elements of set A

#A cardinality the number of elements of set A

 ‫א‬ aleph infinite cardinality

Ø empty set Ø={}

U universal set set of all possible values

ℕ 0 natural numbers set (with zero) ℕ = {0,1,2,3,4,...}

0

natural numbers set (without

ℕ 1 zero) ℕ = {1,2,3,4,5,...}
1

ℤ integer numbers set ℤ = {...-3,-2,-1,0,1,2,3,...}

ℚ rational numbers set ℚ = {x | x=a/b, a,b∈ℕ}
ℝ real numbers set ℝ = {x | -∞ < x <∞}
ℂ complex numbers set ℂ = {z | z=a+bi, -∞<a<∞, -∞<b<∞}
Logic symbols
Symbol Symbol Name Meaning / definition

· and and

^ caret / circumflex and

& ampersand and

+ plus or

∨ reversed caret or

| vertical line or

x' single quote not - negation

x bar not - negation

¬ not not - negation

! exclamation mark not - negation

⊕ circled plus / oplus exclusive or - xor

~ tilde negation

⇒ implies

⇔ equivalent if and only if

∀ for all

∃ there exists

∄ there does not exists

∴ therefore

∵ because / since
Calculus & analysis symbols
Symbol Symbol Name Meaning / definition
 limit limit value of a function

ε epsilon represents a very small number, near zero

e e = 2.718281828...
e constant / Euler's number
y' derivative derivative - Leibniz's notation

y '' second derivative derivative of derivative

y (n)
nth derivative n times derivation

derivative derivative - Lagrange's notation

second derivative derivative of derivative

nth derivative n times derivation

time derivative derivative by time - Newton notation

time second derivative derivative of derivative

partial derivative

∫ integral opposite to derivation

∬ double integral integration of function of 2 variables

∭ triple integral integration of function of 3 variables

∮ closed contour / line integral

∯ closed surface integral

∰ closed volume integral

[a,b] closed interval [a,b] = {x | a ≤ x ≤ b}

(a,b) open interval (a,b) = {x | a < x < b}
i imaginary unit i ≡ √-1
z* complex conjugate z = a+bi → z*=a-bi
z complex conjugate z = a+bi → z = a-bi
∇ nabla / del gradient / divergence operator

vector

unit vector

x*y convolution y(t) = x(t) * h(t)

ℒ Laplace transform F(s) = ℒ{f (t)}
ℱ Fourier transform X(ω) = ℱ{f (t)}
δ delta function
Numeral symbols
 Name European Roman
zero 0
one 1 I
two 2 II
three 3 III
four 4 IV
five 5 V
six 6 VI
seven 7 VII
eight 8 VIII
nine 9 IX
ten 10 X
eleven 11 XI
twelve 12 XII
thirteen 13 XIII
fourteen 14 XIV
fifteen 15 XV
sixteen 16 XVI
seventeen 17 XVII
eighteen 18 XVIII
nineteen 19 XIX
twenty 20 XX
thirty 30 XXX
fourty 40 XL
fifty 50 L
sixty 60 LX
seventy 70 LXX
eighty 80 LXXX
ninety 90 XC
one hundred 100 C

Greek alphabet letters

Greek Symbol
Greek Letter Name
Upper Case Lower Case

Α α Alpha

Β β Beta

Γ γ Gamma

Δ δ Delta

Ε ε Epsilon

Ζ ζ Zeta
 Η η Eta

Θ θ Theta

Ι ι Iota

Κ κ Kappa

Λ λ Lambda

Μ μ Mu

Ν ν Nu

Ξ ξ Xi

Ο ο Omicron

Π π Pi

Ρ ρ Rho

Σ σ Sigma

Τ τ Tau

Υ υ Upsilon

Φ φ Phi

Χ χ Chi

Ψ ψ Psi

Ω ω Omega
Roman numerals
Number Roman numeral
1 I
2 II
3 III
4 IV
5 V
6 VI
7 VII
8 VIII
9 IX
10 X
11 XI
12 XII
13 XIII
14 XIV
15 XV
 16 XVI
17 XVII
18 XVIII
19 XIX
20 XX
30 XXX
40 XL
50 L
60 LX
70 LXX
80 LXXX
90 XC
100 C
200 CC
300 CCC
400 CD
500 D
600 DC
700 DCC
800 DCCC
900 CM
1000 M
5000 V
10000 X
50000 L
100000 C
500000 D
1000000 M

See also

Statistical symbols
 Greek alphabet symbols

Math calculators

© 2006-2008 RapidTables.com
 Example

5 = 2+3
5≠4
5>4
4<5
5≥4
4≤5
2 × (3+5) = 16
[(1+2)*(1+5)] = 18
1+1=2
2−1=1
3 ± 5 = 8 and -2
3 ∓ 5 = -2 and 8
2*3=6
2×3=6
2∙3=6
6÷2=3
6/2=3

7 mod 2 = 1
2.56 = 2+56/100
2 =8
3

2 ^ 3= 8
√9 = ±3
3√8 =2
4√16 = ±2
for n=3, √8 = 2
n

10% × 30 = 3
10‰ × 30 = 0.3
10ppm × 30 = 0.0003
10ppb × 30 = 3×10-7
10ppb × 30 = 3×10-10

Example

∠ABC = 30º
∡ABC = 30º
∢AOB = 30º
α = 90º
α = 60º
α = 60º59'
α = 60º59'59''

AC | BC
AB || CD
∆ABC ≅ ∆XYZ
∆ABC ~ ∆XYZ
ΔABC ≅ ΔBCD
| x-y | = 5

P = 2∙π∙r
360º = 2π rad
360º = 400 grad

Example
when 2x = 4, then x = 2

11 ~ 10
sin(0.01) ≈ 0.01
f(x) ∝ g(x)

1 ≪ 1000000
1000000 ≫ 1
2 * (3+5) = 16
[(1+2)*(1+5)] = 18

⌊4.3⌋= 4
⌈4.3⌉= 5
4! = 1*2*3*4 = 24
| -5 | = 5
f (x) = 3x+5
f (x)=3x, g(x)=x-1 ⇒(f ∘g)(x)=3(x-1)
x ∈ (2,6)
x ∈ [2,6]
∆t = t - t
1 0

∑ xi= x1+x2+...+xn

∏ xi=x1·x2·...·xn

e = lim (1+1/x)x , x→∞

P = 2∙π∙r
P = 2∙π∙r

Example

a∙b
a×b
A⊗B

(AT)ij = (A)ji
(A )ij = (A)ji
†

(A )ij = (A)ji
*

rank(A) = 3
rank(U) = 3

Example

P(A) = 0.5
P(A∩B) = 0.5
P(A∪B) = 0.5
P(A | B) = 0.3

μ = 10
E(X) = 10
E(X | Y=2) = 5
var(X) = 4
σ=4
2

std(X) = 2
σ =2
X

cov(X,Y) = 4
corr(X,Y) = 3
ρ =3
X,Y

x = (2+5+9) / 3 = 5.333

s2 = 4
s=2

X ~ N(0,3)
X ~ N(0,3)
X ~ U(0,3)

Example

5! = 1∙2∙3∙4∙5 = 120
5P3 = 5! / (5-3)! = 60

5C3 = 5!/[3!(5-3)!]=10

Example

A={3,7,9,14}, B={9,14,28}
A ∩ B = {9,14}
A ∪ B = {3,7,9,14,28}
{9,14,28} ⊆ {9,14,28}
{9,14} ⊂ {9,14,28}
{9,66} ⊄ {9,14,28}
{9,14,28} ⊇ {9,14,28}
{9,14,28} ⊃ {9,14}
{9,14,28} ⊅ {9,66}

A={3,9,14}, B={3,9,14}, A=B

A={3,9,14}, B={1,2,3}, A-B={9,14}

A={3,9,14}, B={1,2,3}, A-B={9,14}

A={3,9,14}, B={1,2,3}, A ∆
B={1,2,9,14}
A={3,9,14}, B={1,2,3}, A ⊖
B={1,2,9,14}
A={3,9,14}, 3 ∈ A
A={3,9,14}, 1 ∉ A

A={3,9,14}, |A|=3
A={3,9,14}, #A=3
C = {Ø}

0∈ℕ 0

6∈ℕ 1

-6 ∈ ℤ
2/6 ∈ ℚ
6.343434 ∈ ℝ
6+2i ∈ ℂ

Example

x·y
x^y
x&y
x+y
x∨y
x|y
x'
x
¬x
!x
x⊕y
~x

Example
ε→0
e = lim (1+1/x)x , x→∞
(3x3)' = 9x2
(3x3)'' = 18x
(3x3)(3) = 18
d(3x3)/dx = 9x2
d2(3x3)/dx2 = 18x

∂(x2+y2)/∂x = 2x

z = 3 + 2i
z* = 3 + 2i
z = 3 + 2i
∇f (x,y,z)
 Hindu Arabic Hebrew
0
1 ‫א‬
2 ‫ב‬
3 ‫ג‬
4 ‫ד‬
5 ‫ה‬
6 ‫ו‬
7 ‫ז‬
8 ‫ח‬
9 ‫ט‬
10 ‫י‬
11 ‫יא‬
12 ‫יב‬
13 ‫יג‬
14 ‫יד‬
15 ‫טו‬
16 ‫טז‬
17 ‫יז‬
18 ‫יח‬
19 ‫יט‬
20 ‫כ‬
30 ‫ל‬
40 ‫מ‬
50 ‫נ‬
60 ‫ס‬
70 ‫ע‬
80 ‫פ‬
90 ‫צ‬
100 ‫ק‬

Pronunciat
English Equivalent
ion

a al-fa

b be-ta

g ga-ma

d del-ta

e ep-si-lon

z ze-ta
h eh-ta

th te-ta

i io-ta

k ka-pa

l lam-da

m m-yoo

n noo

x x-ee
o-mee-c-
o ron

p pa-yee

r row

s sig-ma

t ta-oo

u oo-psi-lon

ph f-ee

ch kh-ee

ps p-see

o o-me-ga