View source for LaTeX:Symbols

{{Latex}}

This article will provide a short list of commonly used LaTeX symbols.  

== Common Symbols ==

=== Operators ===

=== Relations ===

== Finding Other Symbols ==

Here are some external resources for finding less commonly used symbols:
<ul>
<li>
[http://detexify.kirelabs.org/classify.html Detexify] is an app which allows you to draw the symbol you'd like and shows you the <math>\LaTeX</math> code for it!
<br/><br/></li>

<li>
MathJax (what allows us to use <math>\LaTeX</math> on the web) maintains a [http://docs.mathjax.org/en/latest/tex.html#supported-latex-commands list of supported commands].
<br/><br/></li>

<li>
[http://mirrors.ctan.org/info/symbols/comprehensive/symbols-a4.pdf The Comprehensive LaTeX Symbol List].
<br/><br/></li>
</ul>

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

==Operators==
{| class="latextable"
!Symbol!!Command!!Symbol!!Command!!Symbol!!Command
|-
|<math>\pm</math>||\pm||<math>\mp</math>||\mp||<math>\times</math>||\times
|-
|<math>\div</math>||\div||<math>\cdot</math>||\cdot||<math>\ast</math>||\ast
|-
|<math>\star</math>||\star||<math>\dagger</math>||\dagger||<math>\ddagger</math>||\ddagger
|-
|<math>\amalg</math>||\amalg||<math>\cap</math>||\cap||<math>\cup</math>||\cup
|-
|<math>\uplus</math>||\uplus||<math>\sqcap</math>||\sqcap||<math>\sqcup</math>||\sqcup
|-
|<math>\vee</math>||\vee||<math>\wedge</math>||\wedge||<math>\oplus</math>||\oplus
|-
|<math>\ominus</math>||\ominus||<math>\otimes</math>||\otimes||<math>\circ</math>||\circ
|-
|<math>\bullet</math>||\bullet||<math>\diamond</math>||\diamond||<math>\lhd</math>||\lhd
|-
|<math>\rhd</math>||\rhd||<math>\unlhd</math>||\unlhd||[[Image:Unrhd.gif]]||\unrhd
|-
|<math>\oslash</math>||\oslash||<math>\odot</math>||\odot||<math>\bigcirc</math>||\bigcirc
|-
|<math>\triangleleft</math>||\triangleleft||<math>\Diamond</math>||\Diamond||<math>\bigtriangleup</math>||\bigtriangleup
|-
|<math>\bigtriangledown</math>||\bigtriangledown||<math>\Box</math>||\Box||<math>\triangleright</math>||\triangleright
|-
|<math>\setminus</math>||\setminus||<math>\wr</math>||\wr||<math>\sqrt{x}</math>||\sqrt{x}
|-
|<math>x^{\circ}</math>||x^{\circ}|| || ||<math>\sqrt[n]{x}</math>||\sqrt[n]{x}
|-
|<math>\triangledown</math>||\triangledown
|}

==Relations==
{| class="latextable"
!Symbol !! Command !!Symbol !! Command!!Symbol !! Command
|-
| <math>\le</math>||\le||<math>\ge</math>||\ge||<math>\neq</math>||\neq
|-
| <math>\sim</math>||\sim||<math>\ll</math>||\ll||<math>\gg</math>||\gg
|-
| <math>\doteq</math>||\doteq||<math>\simeq</math>||\simeq||<math>\subset</math>||\subset
|-
| <math>\supset</math>||\supset||<math>\approx</math>||\approx||<math>\asymp</math>||\asymp
|-
| <math>\subseteq</math>||\subseteq||<math>\supseteq</math>||\supseteq||<math>\cong</math>||\cong
|-
| <math>\smile</math>||\smile||<math>\sqsubset</math>||\sqsubset||<math>\sqsupset</math>||\sqsupset
|-
| <math>\equiv</math>||\equiv||<math>\frown</math>||\frown||<math>\sqsubseteq</math>||\sqsubseteq
|-
| <math>\sqsupseteq</math>||\sqsupseteq||<math>\propto</math>||\propto||<math>\bowtie</math>||\bowtie
|-
| <math>\in</math>||\in||<math>\ni</math>||\ni||<math>\prec</math>||\prec
|-
| <math>\succ</math>||\succ||<math>\vdash</math>||\vdash||<math>\dashv</math>||\dashv
|-
| <math>\preceq</math>||\preceq||<math>\succeq</math>||\succeq||<math>\models</math>||\models
|-
| <math>\perp</math>||\perp||<math>\parallel</math>||\parallel|| <math>\|</math> || <nowiki>\|</nowiki>
|-
| <math>\mid</math>||\mid||<math>\bumpeq</math>||\bumpeq
|}
Negations of many of these relations can be formed by just putting \not before the symbol, or by slipping an n between the \ and the word. Here are a few examples, plus a few other negations; it works for many of the others as well.
{| class="latextable"
!Symbol!!Command!!Symbol!!Command!!Symbol!!Command
|-
|<math>\nmid</math>||\nmid||<math>\nleq</math>||\nleq||<math>\ngeq</math>||\ngeq
|-
| <math>\nsim</math>||\nsim||<math>\ncong</math>||\ncong||<math>\nparallel</math>||\nparallel
|-
| <math>\not<</math>||\not<||<math>\not></math>||\not>||<math>\not=</math>||\not=
|-
| <math>\not\le</math>||\not\le||<math>\not\ge</math>||\not\ge||<math>\not\sim</math>||\not\sim
|-
|<math>\not \approx</math>||\not\approx||<math>\not\cong</math>||\not\cong||<math>\not\equiv</math>||\not\equiv
|-
| <math>\not\parallel</math>||\not\parallel||<math>\nless</math>||\nless||<math>\ngtr</math>||\ngtr
|-
| <math>\lneq</math>||\lneq||<math>\gneq</math>||\gneq||<math>\lnsim</math>||\lnsim
|-
| <math>\lneqq</math>||\lneqq||<math>\gneqq</math>||\gneqq
|}

To use other relations not listed here, such as =, >, and <, in LaTeX, you may just use the symbols on your keyboard.

==Greek Letters==
{| class="latextable"
|+ Lowercase Letters
!Symbol!!Command!!Symbol!!Command!!Symbol!!Command!!Symbol!!Command
|-
|<math>\alpha</math>||\alpha||<math>\beta</math>||\beta||<math>\gamma</math>||\gamma||<math>\delta</math>||\delta
|-
| <math>\epsilon</math>||\epsilon||<math>\varepsilon</math>||\varepsilon||<math>\zeta</math>||\zeta||<math>\eta</math>||\eta
|-
| <math>\theta</math>||\theta||<math>\vartheta</math>||\vartheta||<math>\iota</math>||\iota||<math>\kappa</math>||\kappa
|-
| <math>\lambda</math>||\lambda||<math>\mu</math>||\mu||<math>\nu</math>||\nu||<math>\xi</math>||\xi
|-
|<math>\pi</math>||\pi||<math>\varpi</math>||\varpi||<math>\rho</math>||\rho||<math>\varrho</math>||\varrho
|-
| <math>\sigma</math>||\sigma||<math>\varsigma</math>||\varsigma||<math>\tau</math>||\tau||<math>\upsilon</math>||\upsilon
|-
| <math>\phi</math>||\phi||<math>\varphi</math>||\varphi||<math>\chi</math>||\chi||<math>\psi</math>||\psi
|-
| <math>\omega</math>||\omega
|}


{| class="latextable"
|+ Capital Letters
!Symbol!!Command!!Symbol!!Command!!Symbol!!Command!!Symbol!!Command
|-
|<math>\Gamma</math>||\Gamma||<math>\Delta</math>||\Delta||<math>\Theta</math>||\Theta||<math>\Lambda</math>||\Lambda
|-
| <math>\Xi</math>||\Xi||<math>\Pi</math>||\Pi||<math>\Sigma</math>||\Sigma||<math>\Upsilon</math>||\Upsilon
|-
| <math>\Phi</math>||\Phi||<math>\Psi</math>||\Psi||<math>\Omega</math>||\Omega
|}


== Headline text ==
==Arrows==
{| class="latextable"
!Symbol !! Command!!Symbol !! Command
|-
|<math>\gets</math>||\gets||<math>\to</math>||\to
|-
|<math>\leftarrow</math>||\leftarrow||<math>\Leftarrow</math>||\Leftarrow
|-
|<math>\rightarrow</math>||\rightarrow||<math>\Rightarrow</math>||\Rightarrow
|-
|<math>\leftrightarrow</math>||\leftrightarrow||<math>\Leftrightarrow</math>||\Leftrightarrow
|-
|<math>\mapsto</math>||\mapsto||<math>\hookleftarrow</math>||\hookleftarrow
|-
|<math>\leftharpoonup</math>||\leftharpoonup||<math>\leftharpoondown</math>||\leftharpoondown
|-
|<math>\rightleftharpoons</math>||\rightleftharpoons||<math>\longleftarrow</math>||\longleftarrow
|-
|<math>\Longleftarrow</math>||\Longleftarrow||<math>\longrightarrow</math>||\longrightarrow
|-
|<math>\Longrightarrow</math>||\Longrightarrow||<math>\longleftrightarrow</math>||\longleftrightarrow
|-
|<math>\Longleftrightarrow</math>||\Longleftrightarrow||<math>\longmapsto</math>||\longmapsto
|-
|<math>\hookrightarrow</math>||\hookrightarrow||<math>\rightharpoonup</math>||\rightharpoonup
|-
|<math>\rightharpoondown</math>||\rightharpoondown||<math>\leadsto</math>||\leadsto
|-
|<math>\uparrow</math>||\uparrow||<math>\Uparrow</math>||\Uparrow
|-
|<math>\downarrow</math>||\downarrow||<math>\Downarrow</math>||\Downarrow
|-
|<math>\updownarrow</math>||\updownarrow||<math>\Updownarrow</math>||\Updownarrow
|-
|<math>\nearrow</math>||\nearrow||<math>\searrow</math>||\searrow
|-
|<math>\swarrow</math>||\swarrow||<math>\nwarrow</math>||\nwarrow
|}
(For those of you who hate typing long strings of letters, \iff and \implies can be used in place of \Longleftrightarrow and \Longrightarrow respectively.)

==Dots==
{| class="latextable"
!Symbol!!Command!!Symbol!!Command!!Symbol!!Command!!Symbol!!Command
|-

==Accents==
{| class="latextable"
!Symbol !! Command!!Symbol !! Command!!Symbol !! Command
|-
|<math>\hat{x}</math>||\hat{x}||<math>\check{x}</math>||\check{x}||<math>\dot{x}</math>||\dot{x}
|-
|<math>\breve{x}</math>||\breve{x}||<math>\acute{x}</math>||\acute{x}||<math>\ddot{x}</math>||\ddot{x}
|-
|<math>\grave{x}</math>||\grave{x}||<math>\tilde{x}</math>||\tilde{x}||<math>\mathring{x}</math>||\mathring{x}
|-
|<math>\bar{x}</math>||\bar{x}||<math>\vec{x}</math>||\vec{x}
|}
When applying accents to i and j, you can use \imath and \jmath to keep the dots from interfering with the accents:
{| class="latextable"
!Symbol !! Command!!Symbol !! Command
|-
|<math>\vec{\jmath}</math>||\vec{\jmath}||<math>\tilde{\imath}</math>||\tilde{\imath}
|}
\tilde  and \hat have wide versions that allow you to accent an expression:
{| class="latextable"
!Symbol !! Command!!Symbol !! Command
|-
|<math>\widehat{3+x}</math>||\widehat{3+x}||<math>\widetilde{abc}</math>||\widetilde{abc}
|}

==Others==
{| class="latextable"
!Symbol!!Command!!Symbol!!Command!!Symbol!!Command                                                                     
|-
|<math>\infty</math>||\infty||<math>\triangle</math>||\triangle||<math>\angle</math>||\angle
|-
|<math>\aleph</math>||\aleph||<math>\hbar</math>||\hbar||<math>\imath</math>||\imath
|-
|<math>\jmath</math>||\jmath||<math>\ell</math>||\ell||<math>\wp</math>||\wp
|-
|<math>\Re</math>||\Re||<math>\Im</math>||\Im||<math>\mho</math>||\mho
|-
|<math>\prime</math>||\prime||<math>\emptyset</math>||\emptyset||<math>\nabla</math>||\nabla
|-
|<math>\surd</math>||\surd||<math>\partial</math>||\partial||<math>\top</math>||\top
|-
|<math>\bot</math>||\bot||<math>\vdash</math>||\vdash||<math>\dashv</math>||\dashv
|-
|<math>\forall</math>||\forall||<math>\exists</math>||\exists||<math>\neg</math>||\neg
|-
|<math>\flat</math>||\flat||<math>\natural</math>||\natural||<math>\sharp</math>||\sharp
|-
|<math>\backslash</math>||\backslash||<math>\Box</math>||\Box||<math>\Diamond</math>||\Diamond
|-
|<math>\clubsuit</math>||\clubsuit||<math>\diamondsuit</math>||\diamondsuit||<math>\heartsuit</math>||\heartsuit
|-
|[[Image:Spadesuit.gif]]||\spadesuit||<math>\Join</math>||\Join||<math>\blacksquare</math>||\blacksquare
|-
|<math>\S</math>||\S||<math>\P</math>||\P||<math>\copyright</math>||\copyright
|-
|<math>\pounds</math>||\pounds||<math>\overarc{ABC}</math>||\overarc{ABC}(it works)||<math>\underarc{XYZ}</math>||\underarc{XYZ}(it works)
|-
|<math>\bigstar</math>||\bigstar||
|}
|<math>\square</math>||\square||
|}

==Command Symbols==
Some symbols are used in commands so they need to be treated in a special way.
{| class="latextable"
!Symbol!!Command!!Symbol!!Command!!Symbol!!Command!!Symbol!!Command
|-
|<math>\textdollar</math>||\textdollar||<math>\&</math>||\&||<math>\%</math>||\%||<math>\#</math>||\#
|-
|<math>\_</math>||\_||<math>\{</math>||\{||<math>\}</math>||\}||<math>\backslash</math>||\backslash
|}

(Warning: Using <nowiki>$</nowiki> for <math>\textdollar</math> will result in <math>\$</math>. This is a bug as far as we know. Depending on the version of <math>\LaTeX</math> this is not always a problem.)

==European Language Symbols==
{| class="latextable"
!Symbol!!Command!!Symbol!!Command!!Symbol!!Command!!Symbol!!Command
|-
|<math>{\oe}</math>||{\oe}||<math>{\ae}</math>||{\ae}||<math>{\o}</math>||{\o}
|-
|<math>{\OE}</math>||{\OE}||<math>{\AE}</math>||{\AE}||<math>{\AA}</math>||{\AA}||<math>{\O}</math>||{\O}
|-
|<math>{\l}</math>||{\l}||<math>{\ss}</math>||{\ss}||<math>\text{!`}</math>||!`
|-
|<math>{\L}</math>||{\L}||<math>{\SS}</math>||{\SS}||
|}

==Bracketing Symbols==
In mathematics, sometimes we need to enclose expressions in brackets or braces or parentheses. Some of these work just as you'd imagine in LaTeX; type ( and ) for parentheses, [ and ] for brackets, and | and | for absolute value. However, other symbols have special commands:
{| class="latextable"
!Symbol !! Command!!Symbol !! Command!!Symbol !! Command
|-
|<math>\{</math>||\{||<math>\}</math>||\}||<math>\|</math>||<nowiki>\|</nowiki>
|-
| <math>\backslash</math>||\backslash||<math>\lfloor</math>||\lfloor||<math>\rfloor</math>||\rfloor
|-
| <math>\lceil</math>||\lceil||<math>\rceil</math>||\rceil||<math>\langle</math>||\langle
|-
| <math>\rangle</math>||\rangle
|}
You might notice that if you use any of these to typeset an expression that is vertically large, like

:<tt>(\frac{a}{x} )^2</tt>

the parentheses don't come out the right size:

:<math>(\frac{a}{x})^2</math>

If we put \left and \right before the relevant parentheses, we get a prettier expression:

:<tt>\left(\frac{a}{x} \right)^2</tt>

gives

:<math>\left(\frac{a}{x} \right)^2</math>

\left and \right can also be used to resize the following symbols:
{| class="latextable"
!Symbol !! Command!!Symbol !! Command!!Symbol !! Command
|-
|<math>\uparrow</math>||\uparrow||<math>\downarrow</math>||\downarrow||<math>\updownarrow</math>||\updownarrow
|-
| <math>\Uparrow</math>||\Uparrow||<math>\Downarrow</math>||\Downarrow||<math>\Updownarrow</math>||\Updownarrow
|}

==Multi-Size Symbols==
Some symbols render differently in inline math mode and in display mode. Display mode occurs when you use <nowiki>\[...\]</nowiki> or <nowiki>$$...$$</nowiki>, or environments like \begin{equation}...\end{equation}, \begin{align}...\end{align}. Read more in the [[LaTeX:Commands|commands]] section of the guide about how symbols which take arguments above and below the symbols, such as a summation symbol, behave in the two modes.

In each of the following, the two images show the symbol in display mode, then in inline mode.

{| class="latextable"
!Symbol !! Command!!Symbol !! Command!!Symbol !! Command
|-
|<math>\sum  \textstyle\sum</math>||\sum||<math>\int  \textstyle\int</math>||\int||<math>\oint  \textstyle\oint</math>||\oint
|-
|<math>\prod  \textstyle\prod</math>||\prod||<math>\coprod  \textstyle\coprod</math>||\coprod||<math>\bigcap  \textstyle\bigcap</math>||\bigcap
|-
|<math>\bigcup  \textstyle\bigcup</math>||\bigcup||<math>\bigsqcup  \textstyle\bigsqcup</math>||\bigsqcup||<math>\bigvee  \textstyle\bigvee</math>||\bigvee
|-
|<math>\bigwedge  \textstyle\bigwedge</math>||\bigwedge||<math>\bigodot  \textstyle\bigodot</math>||\bigodot||<math>\bigotimes  \textstyle\bigotimes</math>||\bigotimes
|-
|<math>\bigoplus  \textstyle\bigoplus</math>||\bigoplus||<math>\biguplus  \textstyle\biguplus</math>||\biguplus
|}

==See Also==
*[[LaTeX:Commands | Next: Commands]]
*[[LaTeX:Layout | Previous: Layout]]