Brackets and Punctuation Symbols: Names, Meanings and LaTeX Codes

This cheat sheet lists 16 Brackets and Punctuation symbols from nyuyo. It includes angle-brackets, ceiling, centered-ellipsis and more. Each entry shows the symbol, its meaning, LaTeX command, Unicode code point and HTML entity. Every entry also shows how to read an example aloud.

angle-brackets

Character	`⟨⟩`
Name	Angle Brackets
Meaning	Enclose an inner product, a sequence, or the generators of a group. They are different characters from the less-than and greater-than signs.
LaTeX	`\langle \rangle`
Unicode	`U+27E8 U+27E9`
HTML entity	`&lang; &rang;`
Example expression	`⟨u, v⟩`
Read aloud	the inner product of u and v
Related symbols	Parentheses, Less Than

ceiling

Character	`⌈⌉`
Name	Ceiling
Meaning	Rounds a number up to the nearest integer.
LaTeX	`\lceil \rceil`
Unicode	`U+2308 U+2309`
HTML entity	`&lceil; &rceil;`
Example expression	`⌈3.2⌉ = 4`
Read aloud	the ceiling of three point two equals four
Related symbols	Floor, Square Brackets

centered-ellipsis

Character	`⋯`
Name	Centered Ellipsis
Meaning	Stands for terms left out between operators such as + or ×. It is raised to the middle of the line so it lines up with them.
LaTeX	`\cdots`
Unicode	`U+22EF`
HTML entity	`&ctdot;`
Example expression	`1 + 2 + ⋯ + n`
Read aloud	one plus two plus and so on up to plus n
Related symbols	Ellipsis, Summation, Plus

colon

Character	`:`
Name	Colon
Meaning	Separates a function's name from its domain and codomain. In set-builder notation it can mean "such that", and between two numbers it can express a ratio.
LaTeX	`\colon`
Unicode	`U+003A`
HTML entity	`&colon;`
Example expression	`f: ℝ → ℝ`
Read aloud	f is a function from the real numbers to the real numbers
Related symbols	Right Arrow, Vertical Bar, Maps To

curly-braces

Character	`{}`
Name	Curly Braces
Meaning	Enclose the elements of a set, either listed or described by a rule.
LaTeX	`\{ \}`
Unicode	`U+007B U+007D`
HTML entity	`{ }`
Example expression	`A = {1, 2, 3}`
Read aloud	A is the set containing one, two, and three
Related symbols	Parentheses, Square Brackets, Element Of

diagonal-ellipsis

Character	`⋱`
Name	Diagonal Ellipsis
Meaning	Stands for entries left out along a diagonal of a matrix, running from the top left to the bottom right.
LaTeX	`\ddots`
Unicode	`U+22F1`
HTML entity	`&dtdot;`
Example expression	`diag(a₁, ⋱, aₙ)`
Read aloud	the diagonal matrix with entries a one down to a n
Related symbols	Vertical Ellipsis, Centered Ellipsis, Ellipsis, Square Brackets

double-square-brackets

Character	`⟦⟧`
Name	Double Square Brackets
Meaning	Enclose an expression to mean its value or meaning in semantics. They also mark integer intervals, so ⟦1, n⟧ means the whole numbers from 1 to n. In LaTeX they need the stmaryrd package.
LaTeX	`\llbracket \rrbracket`
Unicode	`U+27E6 U+27E7`
HTML entity	`&lobrk; &robrk;`
Example expression	`⟦1, n⟧`
Read aloud	the integers from one to n
Related symbols	Square Brackets, Integers

double-vertical-bar

Character	`‖`
Name	Double Vertical Bar
Meaning	A pair around a vector gives its norm, which is its length.
LaTeX	`\\|`
Unicode	`U+2016`
HTML entity	`&Vert;`
Example expression	`‖v‖`
Read aloud	the norm of v
Related symbols	Vertical Bar, Parallel

ellipsis

Character	`…`
Name	Ellipsis
Meaning	Stands for terms left out of a list because they follow an obvious pattern. It sits on the baseline and is used between commas.
LaTeX	`\ldots`
Unicode	`U+2026`
HTML entity	`…`
Example expression	`1, 2, 3, …, n`
Read aloud	one, two, three, and so on up to n
Related symbols	Centered Ellipsis, Natural Numbers

floor

Character	`⌊⌋`
Name	Floor
Meaning	Rounds a number down to the nearest integer.
LaTeX	`\lfloor \rfloor`
Unicode	`U+230A U+230B`
HTML entity	`&lfloor; &rfloor;`
Example expression	`⌊3.7⌋ = 3`
Read aloud	the floor of three point seven equals three
Related symbols	Ceiling, Square Brackets, Integers

parentheses

Character	`()`
Name	Parentheses
Meaning	Group part of an expression so it is evaluated first. They also enclose function arguments, coordinates, and open intervals.
LaTeX	`( )`
Unicode	`U+0028 U+0029`
HTML entity	`( )`
Example expression	`2(3 + 4) = 14`
Read aloud	two times the quantity three plus four equals fourteen
Related symbols	Square Brackets, Curly Braces, Angle Brackets

proportion

Character	`∷`
Name	Proportion
Meaning	States that two ratios are equal, in the older notation a : b :: c : d. Today it is usually written as an equation between fractions.
LaTeX	`::`
Unicode	`U+2237`
HTML entity	`&Colon;`
Example expression	`1 ∶ 2 ∷ 3 ∶ 6`
Read aloud	one is to two as three is to six
Related symbols	Ratio, Colon, Proportional To, Equals

ratio

Character	`∶`
Name	Ratio
Meaning	Compares two quantities as a ratio. It is a separate character from the colon, though in practice most people type an ordinary colon.
LaTeX	`:`
Unicode	`U+2236`
HTML entity	`&ratio;`
Example expression	`3 ∶ 4`
Read aloud	three to four
Related symbols	Colon, Proportion

square-brackets

Character	`[]`
Name	Square Brackets
Meaning	Group expressions, often around parentheses for nesting. They also mark closed intervals and matrices.
LaTeX	`[ ]`
Unicode	`U+005B U+005D`
HTML entity	`[ ]`
Example expression	`x ∈ [0, 1]`
Read aloud	x is in the closed interval from zero to one
Related symbols	Parentheses, Curly Braces

vertical-bar

Character	`\|`
Name	Vertical Bar
Meaning	A pair of bars around a number gives its absolute value. A single bar is also typed for "such that" in set-builder notation and for "divides", although typeset math has a separate character for those uses.
LaTeX	`\|`
Unicode	`U+007C`
HTML entity	`\|`
Example expression	`\|−3\| = 3`
Read aloud	the absolute value of minus three equals three
Related symbols	Double Vertical Bar, Colon, Parentheses

vertical-ellipsis

Character	`⋮`
Name	Vertical Ellipsis
Meaning	Stands for rows left out of a column, as in a matrix or a vector. It works like the ellipsis turned on its side.
LaTeX	`\vdots`
Unicode	`U+22EE`
HTML entity	`&vellip;`
Example expression	`(x₁, ⋮, xₙ) as a column`
Read aloud	the column x one down to x n
Related symbols	Ellipsis, Centered Ellipsis

FAQ

How many Brackets and Punctuation symbols are on this page?

This page lists 16 Brackets and Punctuation symbols, including angle-brackets, ceiling, centered-ellipsis.

How do I type Brackets and Punctuation symbols in LaTeX?

Each symbol on this page has its LaTeX command shown next to it, for example:,:,. Copy the command into your maths mode.

What are the Unicode code points for Brackets and Punctuation symbols?

Every symbol lists its Unicode code point, such as U+0028 U+0029, U+003A, U+005B U+005D, so you can insert it in documents and web pages.

How do I write Brackets and Punctuation symbols in HTML?

Each entry shows its HTML entity where one exists, for example …, &colon;, &Colon;. You can paste it directly into your page.

How do I read Brackets and Punctuation symbols aloud?

Each symbol has an example expression and a spoken version, such as (x₁, ⋮, xₙ) as a column, ⌈3.2⌉ = 4, ⌊3.7⌋ = 3 read as A is the set containing one, two, and three, f is a function from the real numbers to the real numbers, one is to two as three is to six.

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