Basic Mathematical Symbols

Mathematical Symbols & Signs and their meaning & examples

Symbol	Symbol Name	Meaning / definition	Example
=	equals sign	equality	5 = 2+3
≠	not equal sign	inequality	5 ≠ 4
>	strict inequality	greater than	5 > 4
<	strict inequality	less than	4 < 5
≥	inequality	greater than or equal to	5 ≥ 4
≤	inequality	less than or equal to	4 ≤ 5
( )	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 and -2
∓	minus - plus	both minus and plus operations	3 ∓ 5 = -2 and 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
mod	modulo	remainder calculation	7 mod 2 = 1
.	period	decimal point, decimal separator	2.56 = 2+56/100
a b	power	exponent	23 = 8
a^b	caret	exponent	2 ^ 3 = 8
√a	square root	√a · √a  = a	√9 = ±3
3√a	cube root		3√8 = 2
4√a	forth root		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	1ppb = 10-12	10ppb × 30 = 3×10-10

Geometry Symbols

Symbol	Symbol Name	Meaning / definition	Example
∠	angle	formed by two rays	∠ABC = 30º
∡	measured angle		∡ABC = 30º
∢	spherical angle		∢AOB = 30º
∟	right angle	= 90º	α = 90º
º	degree	1 turn = 360º	α = 60º
´	arcminute	1º = 60´	α = 60º59'
´´	arcsecond	1´ = 60´´	α = 60º59'59''
AB	line	line from point A to point B
	ray	line that start from point A
|	perpendicular	perpendicular lines (90ºangle)	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	pi constant	π = 3.141592654... is the ratio between the circumference and diameter of a circle	c = π·d = 2·π·r
rad	radians	radians angle unit	360º = 2π rad
grad	grads	grads angle unit	360º = 400 grad

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	f(x) ∝ g(x)
∞	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 |	single vertical bar	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 = 0.527721566...
φ	golden ratio	golden ratio constant

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
A T	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	rank(U) = 3

Combinatory Symbols

Symbol	Symbol Name	Meaning / definition	Example
n!	factorial	n! = 1·2·3·...·n	5! = 1·2·3·4·5 = 120
nPk	permutation		5P3 = 5! / (5-3)! = 60
nCk	combination		5C3 = 5!/[3!(5-3)!]=10

Probability & 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
F(x)	cumulative distribution function (cdf)	F(x) = P(X ≤ x)
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
σX	standard deviation	standard deviation value of random variable X	σX  = 2
	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) = 3
ρX,Y	correlation	correlation of random variables X and Y	ρX,Y = 3
∑	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	x = (2+5+9) / 3 = 5.333
s 2	sample variance	population samples variance estimator	s 2 = 4
s	sample standard deviation	population samples standard deviation estimator	s = 2
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/2Γ(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

Set Theory Symbols

Symbol	Symbol Name	Meaning / definition	Example
{ }	set	a collection of elements	A={3,7,9,14}, 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	subset has less elements or equal to the set	{9,14,28} ⊆ {9,14,28}
A ⊂ B	proper subset / strict subset	subset has less elements than the set	{9,14} ⊂ {9,14,28}
A ⊄ B	not subset	left set not a subset of right set	{9,66} ⊄ {9,14,28}
A ⊇ B	superset	set A has more elements or equal to the set B	{9,14,28} ⊇ {9,14,28}
A ⊃ B	proper superset / strict superset	set A has more elements than set B	{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
Ƥ (A)	power set	all subsets of A
A = B	equality	both sets have the same members	A={3,9,14}, B={3,9,14}, A=B
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={3,9,14},     B={1,2,3}, A-B={9,14}
A - B	relative complement	objects that belong to A and not to B	A={3,9,14},     B={1,2,3}, A-B={9,14}
A ∆ B	symmetric difference	objects that belong to A or B but not to their intersection	A={3,9,14},     B={1,2,3}, A ∆ B={1,2,9,14}
A ⊖ B	symmetric difference	objects that belong to A or B but not to their intersection	A={3,9,14},     B={1,2,3}, A ⊖B={1,2,9,14}
a∈A	element of	set membership	A={3,9,14}, 3 ∈ A
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|	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
א	aleph	infinite cardinality
Ø	empty set	Ø = { }	C = {Ø}
U	universal set	set of all possible values
ℕ0	natural numbers set (with zero)	ℕ0 = {0,1,2,3,4,...}	0 ∈ ℕ0
ℕ1	natural numbers set (without zero)	ℕ1 = {1,2,3,4,5,...}	6 ∈ ℕ1
ℤ	integer numbers set	ℤ = {...-3,-2,-1,0,1,2,3,...}	-6 ∈ ℤ
ℚ	rational numbers set	ℚ = {x | x=a/b, a,b∈ℕ}	2/6 ∈ ℚ
ℝ	real numbers set	ℝ = {x | -∞ < x <∞}	6.343434 ∈ ℝ
ℂ	complex numbers set	ℂ = {z | z=a+bi, -∞<a<∞,      -∞<b<∞}	6+2i ∈ ℂ

         -           ℙ means a space with a point at infinity.

        -           ℍ means {a + b i + c j + d k : a,b,c,d ∈ ℝ}.

        -           The Big O notation describes the limiting behavior of a function, when the argument tends towards a particular value or infinity.

           -           A^† means the transpose of the complex conjugate of A.^[10]

This may also be written A^*T, A^T*, A^*, A^T or A^T.

Set Theory Symbols

∈  “is an element of”

∉  “is not an element of”

⊂  “is a proper subset of”

⊆  “is a subset of”

⊄  “is not a subset of”

∅  the empty set; a set with no elements

∩  intersection

∪  union

Aor A’  “the compliment of A”; all elements not in A

A – B  all elements in A but not in B

n(A)  “the number of elements in A”

A = B  “A is equal to B”; A and B contain the same elements

A ≅ B  “A is equivalent to B”; A and B contain the same

number of elements

Examples:  U = {0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9}   A = {0, 2, 4, 6, 8}   B = {0, 1, 2, 3, 4}

Statements 1 through 5 are all true.

1)  2 ∈ A 2 is an element of A

2)  3 ∉ A 3 is not an element of A

3)  A ⊂ U A is a proper subset of U

4)  A ⊄ B A is not a subset of B

5)  A ≅ B A is equivalent to B, both sets contain 5 elements

A ∩ B = {0, 2, 4} all elements in A and B;  what the sets have in common

A ∪ B = {0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8} all elements in A or B;  combine the sets, don’t list anything twice

Standard Notations for Sets of Numbers

ℕ    -    Natural Number

ℕ_k  -    Natural Numbers less than or equal to k 0

I₀    -    Integers excluding 0

ℤ / I      -    Integers

ℤ⁺  -    Positive Integers

ℤ^-     -    Negative Integers

ℚ   -    Rational Numbers

ℚ⁺   -    Positive Rational Numbers

ℚ₀   -    Non-zero Rational Numbers

ℝ    -    Real Numbers

ℝ⁺   -    Positive Real Numbers

ℝ₀    -    Non-zero Real Numbers

ℂ    -    Complex Numbers

ℂ₀   -    Non-zero Complex Numbers

W   -    Whole Numbers

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
∀	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	e constant / Euler's number	e = 2.718281828...	e = lim (1+1/x)x , x→∞
y '	derivative	derivative - Leibniz's notation	(3x3)' = 9x2
y ''	second derivative	derivative of derivative	(3x3)'' = 18x
y(n)	nth derivative	n times derivation	(3x3)(3) = 18
	derivative	derivative - Lagrange's notation	d(3x3)/dx = 9x2
	second derivative	derivative of derivative	d2(3x3)/dx2 = 18x
	nth derivative	n times derivation
	time derivative	derivative by time - Newton notation
	time second derivative	derivative of derivative
	partial derivative		∂(x2+y2)/∂x = 2x
∫	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 = 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
∇	nabla / del	gradient / divergence operator	∇f (x,y,z)
	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	Hindu Arabic	Hebrew
zero	0		٠
one	1	I	١	א
two	2	II	٢	ב
three	3	III	٣	ג
four	4	IV	٤	ד
five	5	V	٥	ה
six	6	VI	٦	ו
seven	7	VII	٧	ז
eight	8	VIII	٨	ח
nine	9	IX	٩	ט
ten	10	X	١٠	י
eleven	11	XI	١١	יא
twelve	12	XII	١٢	יב
thirteen	13	XIII	١٣	יג
fourteen	14	XIV	١٤	יד
fifteen	15	XV	١٥	טו
sixteen	16	XVI	١٦	טז
seventeen	17	XVII	١٧	יז
eighteen	18	XVIII	١٨	יח
nineteen	19	XIX	١٩	יט
twenty	20	XX	٢٠	כ
thirty	30	XXX	٣٠	ל
fourty	40	XL	٤٠	מ
fifty	50	L	٥٠	נ
sixty	60	LX	٦٠	ס
seventy	70	LXX	٧٠	ע
eighty	80	LXXX	٨٠	פ
ninety	90	XC	٩٠	צ
one hundred	100	C	١٠٠	ק

Greek Alphabet Letters

Greek Symbol		Greek Letter Name	English Equivalent	Pronunciation
Upper Case	Lower Case
Α	α	Alpha	a	al-fa
Β	β	Beta	b	be-ta
Γ	γ	Gamma	g	ga-ma
Δ	δ	Delta	d	del-ta
Ε	ε	Epsilon	e	ep-si-lon
Ζ	ζ	Zeta	z	ze-ta
Η	η	Eta	h	eh-ta
Θ	θ	Theta	th	te-ta
Ι	ι	Iota	i	io-ta
Κ	κ	Kappa	k	ka-pa
Λ	λ	Lambda	l	lam-da
Μ	μ	Mu	m	m-yoo
Ν	ν	Nu	n	noo
Ξ	ξ	Xi	x	x-ee
Ο	ο	Omicron	o	o-mee-c-ron
Π	π	Pi	p	pa-yee
Ρ	ρ	Rho	r	row
Σ	σ	Sigma	s	sig-ma
Τ	τ	Tau	t	ta-oo
Υ	υ	Upsilon	u	oo-psi-lon
Φ	φ	Phi	ph	f-ee
Χ	χ	Chi	ch	kh-ee
Ψ	ψ	Psi	ps	p-see
Ω	ω	Omega	o	o-me-ga

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

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Mathematical Symbols

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

See also

·         Algebra symbols

·         Geometry symbols

·         Statistical symbols

·         Logic symbols

·         Set theory symbols

·         Calculus & analysis symbols

·         Number symbols

·         Greek alphabet symbols

·         Roman numerals

·         Math calculators