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Math Symbols

Tap a symbol to copy it. Every symbol shows its Unicode name and code point, and the page explains which lookalikes to avoid.

By Maya Chen, lettering designer and type educator · Checked by Jordan Hale · · How we review content

Arithmetic and operators

Real minus and multiplication signs, not the hyphen and the letter x.

Equals, order and similarity

Relations between two values, from equality to ordering and congruence.

Set theory and number sets

Membership, subsets, unions and the double-struck number sets.

Logic and proof

Quantifiers, connectives, entailment and the marks that end a proof.

Calculus and analysis

Integrals, derivatives, limits and the infinity sign.

Arrows used in maths

Implication, equivalence, maps and limits.

Geometry and angles

Angles, parallel and perpendicular lines, congruence and shapes.

Powers, indices and fractions

Superscripts, subscripts and single-character fractions.

Greek twins of maths symbols

Each operator on the left of a pair has a Greek letter that looks alike but is a different character.

135 symbols on this page. Names are the official Unicode character names; "emoji" marks characters that often appear as colour pictures on phones.

Pick the character, not the lookalike

Math has more lookalike characters than most text, because typewriters and keyboards stood in for proper signs for a century. Three swaps matter most.

  • Minus. Use − (MINUS SIGN, U+2212), not the hyphen from your keyboard. The minus is wider and sits at the height of the plus sign’s crossbar, which is why negative numbers read cleanly in tables.
  • Times and dot. Use × (U+00D7) for a cross product or a plain multiplication, and ⋅ (DOT OPERATOR, U+22C5) for a dot product. The middle dot · (U+00B7) is punctuation, not an operator.
  • Operators with a Greek twin. ∑, ∏ and ∆ are operators; Σ, Π and Δ are letters. The last group above shows each pair, and the ohm sign beside the true omega.

Fonts may draw any of these slightly differently, but the code points are what software compares, so copy the one that matches the meaning.

How to type the common ones

If you write maths often, learn the LaTeX command and use it in Word’s equation editor, in LaTeX, or in an editor with LaTeX completion. If you only need a symbol now and then, copy it here.

Symbol LaTeX Symbol LaTeX
± \pm ∈ \in
× \times ∉ \notin
÷ \div ⊂ \subset
≠ \neq ⊆ \subseteq
≈ \approx ∪ \cup
≡ \equiv ∩ \cap
≤ \leq ∅ \emptyset
≥ \geq ∀ \forall
≅ \cong ∃ \exists
∝ \propto ¬ \neg
∞ \infty ⇒ \Rightarrow
∂ \partial ⇔ \Leftrightarrow
∇ \nabla ↦ \mapsto
∫ \int ∑ \sum
√ \sqrt{x} ∏ \prod

Blackboard letters (ℕ ℤ ℚ ℝ ℂ) are \mathbb{N} and so on, and need the amssymb or amsfonts package (\therefore and \because need amssymb as well). The Greek letters themselves are on the Greek alphabet page, and the Greek Unicode page lists their LaTeX commands.

Where the groups come from

The operators, relations, set and logic signs sit in the Mathematical Operators block (U+2200 to U+22FF). Arrows are in the Arrows (U+2190 to U+21FF) and Supplemental Arrows-A (U+27F0 to U+27FF) blocks, the floor and ceiling brackets are in Miscellaneous Technical, and the number-set letters ℕ ℤ ℚ ℝ ℂ ℙ live among the Letterlike Symbols (U+2100 to U+214F). Knowing the block helps when a font is missing a group: switch to a font with broad maths coverage and the whole block usually appears at once.

Some characters here are compatibility forms. NFKC normalisation folds ℝ to a plain R and ℓ to a plain l, which is what you want when a search must ignore styling and exactly what you do not want in a formula. The micro sign µ (U+00B5) folds to Greek mu μ (U+03BC), which is why it sits in the Greek pairs group with the ohm sign (U+2126), which folds to Greek capital omega.

When symbols break

Text in an image or a PDF built from outlines cannot be copied back as these characters. In a spreadsheet cell the symbols are just text, so ≤ will not compare numbers, and in programming languages you use <= and !=. Screen readers differ in how they read less common symbols, so for anything that matters, such as an exam paper or an accessible document, write the meaning in words or use a real equation editor that exports MathML.

Infinity and the related signs have their own page, infinity symbols, and the full arrow collection is at arrow symbols. For units, chemistry and physics signs, see science symbols.

Sources

Names and code points are the official Unicode character names, checked with Python 3 unicodedata; normalisation results (for example µ to μ under NFKC) were checked the same way. LaTeX commands are standard base LaTeX or amssymb.

Frequently asked questions

How do I type a math symbol that is not on my keyboard?
Copy it from this page, or use your system's character tools. In Word the equation editor accepts LaTeX-style names (Microsoft documents this; we have not tested every version), and in LaTeX every symbol here has a command (the table lists the common ones). On Windows, the emoji panel (Windows key and period) has a symbols tab, and on a Mac the Character Viewer (Control, Command and Space) has a Math category. Our guide to typing Greek letters covers the same tools in more detail.
Is the minus sign the same as a hyphen?
No. The minus sign − is MINUS SIGN (U+2212), which is as wide as the plus sign and sits at the height of its crossbar. The hyphen-minus - on your keyboard is U+002D, a short mark meant for hyphenating words. In a formula or a table of negative numbers, U+2212 looks right and screen readers usually read it as minus; in code and spreadsheets the keyboard hyphen is the one the software expects.
What is the difference between ∑ and Σ?
∑ is N-ARY SUMMATION (U+2211), the mathematical operator, and Σ is GREEK CAPITAL LETTER SIGMA (U+03A3), a letter. They look alike, and some fonts draw ∑ larger so it can carry limits above and below it. Use ∑ when it means a sum and Σ when it is a letter, for example in a name or as a variable. The same split applies to ∏ and Π, and to ∆ (INCREMENT) and Δ.
Why does × look different from the letter x?
The multiplication sign × is MULTIPLICATION SIGN (U+00D7), a separate character from the Latin letter x (U+0078). Using the letter in a formula is common in plain text but confuses searches, screen readers and anyone reading x as an unknown. In code, * is the operator the software expects.
Do these symbols work in every app and font?
Most are in the Mathematical Operators block (U+2200 to U+22FF) and Supplemental or Miscellaneous blocks, which common system fonts such as Segoe UI Symbol, Cambria Math and Apple Symbols cover. A few rarer ones, for example ∜ or ⟼, may show as an empty box in a font that lacks them. If that happens, switch the font to a maths font or paste into a different app.
Are the ℕ ℤ ℝ symbols special characters or just bold letters?
They are single characters with their own code points, such as DOUBLE-STRUCK CAPITAL R (U+211D), so they copy as one symbol. They are not the letter R in a bold font. Some fonts draw them poorly at small sizes; in LaTeX the usual command is \mathbb{R}.

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