Math Symbols List

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

Basic math symbols

Symbol Symbol Name Meaning / definition Example

5 = 2+3
= equals sign equality
5 is equal to 2+3

5≠4
≠ not equal sign inequality
5 is not equal to 4

sin(0.01) ≈ 0.01,
≈ approximately equal approximation
x ≈ y means x is approximately equal to y

5>4
> strict inequality greater than
5 is greater than 4

4<5
< strict inequality less than
4 is less than 5

5 ≥ 4,
≥ inequality greater than or equal to
x ≥ y means x is greater than or equal to y

4 ≤ 5,
≤ inequality less than or equal to
x ≤ y means x is less than or equal to y

() parentheses calculate expression inside first 2 × (3+5) = 16

[] brackets calculate expression inside first [(1+2)×(1+5)] = 18

+ plus sign addition 1+1=2

− minus sign subtraction 2−1=1

± plus - minus both plus and minus operations 3 ± 5 = 8 or -2

± minus - plus both minus and plus operations 3 ∓ 5 = -2 or 8

* asterisk multiplication 2*3=6

× times sign multiplication 2×3=6

⋅ multiplication dot multiplication 2⋅3=6

÷ division sign / obelus division 6÷2=3

/ division slash division 6/2=3

— horizontal line division / fraction 6 / 2 = 3 (/= horizontal line)

mod modulo remainder calculation 7 mod 2 = 1

. period decimal point, decimal separator 2.56 = 2+56/100

ab power exponent 23 = 8

a^b caret exponent 2 ^ 3= 8

√a square root √a ⋅ √a = a √9 = ±3

3
√a cube root 3
√a ⋅ 3√a ⋅ 3√a = a 3
√8 = 2

4
√a fourth root 4
√a ⋅ 4√a ⋅ 4√a ⋅ 4√a = a 4
√16 = ±2

n
√a n-th root (radical) for n=3, n√8 = 2

% percent 1% = 1/100 10% × 30 = 3

‰ per-mille 1‰ = 1/1000 = 0.1% 10‰ × 30 = 0.3

 ppm per-million 1ppm = 1/1000000 10ppm × 30 = 0.0003

ppb per-billion 1ppb = 1/1000000000 10ppb × 30 = 3×10-7

ppt per-trillion 1ppt = 10-12 10ppt × 30 = 3×10-10

Geometry symbols

Symbol Symbol Name Meaning / definition Example

∠ angle formed by two rays ∠ABC = 30°

measured angle ABC = 30°

spherical angle AOB = 30°

∟ right angle = 90° α = 90°

° degree 1 turn = 360° α = 60°

deg degree 1 turn = 360deg α = 60deg

′ prime arcminute, 1° = 60′ α = 60°59′

″ double prime arcsecond, 1′ = 60″ α = 60°59′59″

line infinite line

AB line segment line from point A to point B

ray line that start from point A

arc arc from point A to point B

= 60°

⊥ perpendicular perpendicular lines (90° angle) AC ⊥ BC

∥ parallel parallel lines AB ∥ CD

≅ congruent to equivalence of geometric shapes and size ∆ABC≅ ∆XYZ

~ similarity same shapes, not same size ∆ABC~ ∆XYZ

Δ triangle triangle shape ΔABC≅ ΔBCD

|x-y| distance distance between points x and y | x-y | = 5

π = 3.141592654...
π pi constant is the ratio between the circumference and diameter c = π⋅d = 2⋅π⋅r
of a circle

rad radians radians angle unit 360° = 2π rad

c
radians radians angle unit 360° = 2π c

grad gradians / gons grads angle unit 360° = 400 grad

g
gradians / gons grads angle unit 360° = 400 g
Algebra symbols

Symbol Symbol Name Meaning / definition Example

x x variable unknown value to find when 2x = 4, then x = 2

≡ equivalence identical to

≜ equal by definition equal by definition

:= equal by definition equal by definition

~ approximately equal weak approximation 11 ~ 10

≈ approximately equal approximation sin(0.01) ≈ 0.01

∝ proportional to proportional to y ∝ x when y = kx, k constant

∞ lemniscate infinity symbol

≪ much less than much less than 1 ≪ 1000000

≫ much greater than much greater than 1000000 ≫ 1

() parentheses calculate expression inside first 2 * (3+5) = 16

[] brackets calculate expression inside first [(1+2)*(1+5)] = 18

{} braces set

⌊x⌋ floor brackets rounds number to lower integer ⌊4.3⌋ = 4

⌈x⌉ ceiling brackets rounds number to upper integer ⌈4.3⌉ = 5

x! exclamation mark factorial 4! = 1*2*3*4 = 24

|x| vertical bars absolute value | -5 | = 5

f (x) function of x maps values of x to f(x) f (x) = 3x+5

(f ∘ g) function composition (f ∘ g) (x) = f (g(x)) f (x)=3x,g(x)=x-1 ⇒(f ∘ g)(x)=3(x-1)

(a,b) open interval (a,b) = {x | a < x < b} x∈ (2,6)

[a,b] closed interval [a,b] = {x | a ≤ x ≤ b} x ∈ [2,6]

∆ delta change / difference ∆t = t1 - t0

∆ discriminant Δ = b2 - 4ac

∑ sigma summation - sum of all values in range of series ∑ xi= x1+x2+...+xn

∑∑ sigma double summation

∏ capital pi product - product of all values in range of series ∏ xi=x1∙x2∙...∙xn

e e constant / Euler's number e = 2.718281828... e = lim (1+1/x)x , x→∞

γ Euler-Mascheroni constant γ = 0.5772156649...

φ golden ratio golden ratio constant

π = 3.141592654...
π pi constant is the ratio between the circumference and diameter of a c = π⋅d = 2⋅π⋅r
circle
Linear Algebra Symbols

Symbol Symbol Name Meaning / definition Example

· dot scalar product a·b

× cross vector product a×b

A⊗B tensor product tensor product of A and B A⊗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

AT transpose matrix transpose (AT)ij = (A)ji

A† Hermitian matrix matrix conjugate transpose (A†)ij = (A)ji

A* Hermitian matrix matrix conjugate transpose (A*)ij = (A)ji

A -1 inverse matrix A A-1 = I

rank(A) matrix rank rank of matrix A rank(A) = 3

dim(U) dimension dimension of matrix A dim(U) = 3

Probability and statistics symbols

Symbol Symbol Name Meaning / definition Example

P(A) probability function probability of event A P(A) = 0.5

P(A ⋂ B) probability of events intersection probability that of events A and B P(A⋂B) = 0.5

P(A ⋃ B) probability of events union probability that of events A or B P(A⋃B) = 0.5

P(A | B) conditional probability function probability of event A given event B occured P(A | B) = 0.3

f (x) probability density function (pdf) P(a ≤ x ≤ b) = ∫ f (x) dx

cumulative distribution function

F(x) F(x) = P(X≤ x)
(cdf)

μ population mean mean of population values μ = 10

E(X) expectation value expected value of random variable X E(X) = 10

E(X | Y) conditional expectation expected value of random variable X given Y E(X | Y=2) = 5

var(X) variance variance of random variable X var(X) = 4

σ2 variance variance of population values σ2 = 4

std(X) standard deviation standard deviation of random variable X std(X) = 2

standard deviation value of random variable

σX standard deviation σX = 2
X
 median middle value of random variable x

cov(X,Y) covariance covariance of random variables X and Y cov(X,Y) = 4

corr(X,Y) correlation correlation of random variables X and Y corr(X,Y) = 0.6

ρX,Y correlation correlation of random variables X and Y ρX,Y = 0.6

summation - sum of all values in range of

∑ summation
series

∑∑ double summation double summation

value that occurs most frequently in

Mo mode
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

50% of population are below this value =

Q2 median / second quartile
median of samples

Q3 upper / third quartile 75% of population are below this value

x sample mean average / arithmetic mean x = (2+5+9) / 3 = 5.333

s2 sample variance population samples variance estimator s2 = 4

population samples standard deviation

s sample standard deviation s=2
estimator

zx standard score zx = (x-x) / sx

X~ distribution of X distribution of random variable X X ~ N(0,3)

N(μ,σ2) normal distribution gaussian distribution X ~ N(0,3)

U(a,b) uniform distribution equal probability in range a,b X ~ U(0,3)

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 2(k) chi-square distribution f (x) = xk/2-1e-x/2 / ( 2k/2 Γ(k/2) )

F (k1, k2) 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 Example

n! factorial n! = 1⋅2⋅3⋅...⋅n 5! = 1⋅2⋅3⋅4⋅5 = 120

n Pk permutation 5P3 = 5! / (5-3)! = 60

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

Set theory symbols

Symbol Symbol Name Meaning / definition Example

A = {3,7,9,14},
{} set a collection of elements
B = {9,14,28}

A∩B intersection objects that belong to set A and set B A ∩ B = {9,14}

A∪B union objects that belong to set A or set B A ∪ B = {3,7,9,14,28}

A⊆B subset A is a subset of B. set A is included in set B. {9,14,28} ⊆ {9,14,28}

A⊂B proper subset / strict subset A is a subset of B, but A is not equal to B. {9,14} ⊂ {9,14,28}

A⊄B not subset set A is not a subset of set B {9,66} ⊄ {9,14,28}

A⊇B superset A is a superset of B. set A includes set B {9,14,28} ⊇ {9,14,28}

A⊃B proper superset / strict superset A is a superset of B, but B is not equal to A. {9,14,28} ⊃ {9,14}

A⊅B not superset set A is not a superset of set B {9,14,28} ⊅ {9,66}

2A power set all subsets of A

P(A) power set all subsets of A

A={3,9,14},
A=B equality both sets have the same members B={3,9,14},
A=B

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

A = {3,9,14},
A\B relative complement objects that belong to A and not to B B = {1,2,3},
A-B = {9,14}

A = {3,9,14},
A-B relative complement objects that belong to A and not to B B = {1,2,3},
A-B = {9,14}

A = {3,9,14},
objects that belong to A or B but not to their
A∆B symmetric difference B = {1,2,3},
intersection
A ∆ B = {1,2,9,14}

A = {3,9,14},
objects that belong to A or B but not to their
A⊖B symmetric difference B = {1,2,3},
intersection
A ⊖ B = {1,2,9,14}

element of,
a∈A set membership A={3,9,14}, 3 ∈ A
belongs to
 x∉ A not element of no set membership A={3,9,14}, 1 ∉ A

(a,b) ordered pair collection of 2 elements

A×B cartesian product set of all ordered pairs from A and B A×B = {(a,b)|a∈A , b∈B}

|A| cardinality the number of elements of set A A={3,9,14}, |A|=3

#A cardinality the number of elements of set A A={3,9,14}, #A=3

| vertical bar such that A={x|3<x<14}

aleph-null infinite cardinality of natural numbers set

aleph-one cardinality of countable ordinal numbers set

Ø empty set Ø={} C = {Ø}

universal set set of all possible values

natural numbers / whole numbers set

(with zero)
0 = {0,1,2,3,4,...} 0∈ 0

natural numbers / whole numbers set

(without zero)
1 = {1,2,3,4,5,...} 6∈ 1

integer numbers set

= {...-3,-2,-1,0,1,2,3,...} -6 ∈

rational numbers set

= {x | x=a/b, a,b∈ } 2/6 ∈

real numbers set

= {x | -∞ < x <∞} 6.343434∈

complex numbers set

= {z | z=a+bi, -∞<a<∞, -∞<b<∞} 6+2i ∈

Logic symbols

Symbol Symbol Name Meaning / definition Example

⋅ and and x⋅y

^ caret / circumflex and x^y

& ampersand and x&y

+ plus or x+y

∨ reversed caret or x∨y

| vertical line or x|y

x' single quote not - negation x'

x bar not - negation x

¬ not not - negation ¬x

! exclamation mark not - negation !x

 ⊕ circled plus / oplus exclusive or - xor x⊕y

~ tilde negation ~x

⇒ implies

⇔ equivalent if and only if (iff)

↔ equivalent if and only if (iff)

∀ for all

∃ there exists

∄ there does not exists

∴ therefore

∵ because / since

Calculus & analysis symbols

Symbol Symbol Name Meaning / definition Example

limit limit value of a function

ε epsilon represents a very small number, near zero ε→0

e constant / Euler's
e e = 2.718281828... e = lim (1+1/x)x , x→∞
number

y' derivative derivative - Lagrange's notation (3x3)' = 9x2

y '' second derivative derivative of derivative (3x3)'' = 18x

y(n) nth derivative n times derivation (3x3)(3) = 18

derivative derivative - Leibniz's notation d(3x3)/dx = 9x2

second derivative derivative of derivative d2(3x3)/dx2 = 18x

nth derivative n times derivation

y‘ time derivative derivative by time - Newton's notation

y“ time second derivative derivative of derivative

Dx y derivative derivative - Euler's notation

Dx2y second derivative derivative of derivative

partial derivative ∂(x2+y2)/∂x = 2x

∫ integral opposite to derivation ∫ f(x)dx

∫∫ double integral integration of function of 2 variables ∫∫ f(x,y)dxdy

∫∫∫ triple integral integration of function of 3 variables ∫∫∫ f(x,y,z)dxdydz

 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 = 3 + 2i

z* complex conjugate z = a+bi → z*=a-bi z* = 3 - 2i

z complex conjugate z = a+bi → z = a-bi z = 3 - 2i

real part of a complex

Re(z) z = a+bi → Re(z)=a Re(3 - 2i) = 3
number

imaginary part of a
Im(z) z = a+bi → Im(z)=b Im(3 - 2i) = -2
complex number

absolute value/magnitude
|z| |z| = |a+bi| = √(a2+b2) |3 - 2i| = √13
of a complex number

argument of a complex
arg(z) The angle of the radius in the complex plane arg(3 + 2i) = 33.7°
number

∇ nabla / del gradient / divergence operator ∇f (x,y,z)

velocity, mom velocity, momentum, force, electromagnetic

vector fields and weight. entum, force, electromagnetic fields and
weight

a vector that has a magnitude of one and it is also known as

unit vector
a direction 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)}

he difference between two values of a variable is often called

δ or Δ delta function its "delta": that is, given two points on the plane, the "delta y"
is the difference between their y-values. For example

∞ lemniscate infinity symbol