Relations Symbols: Names, Meanings and LaTeX Codes

Q: How many Relations symbols are on this page?

This page lists 16 Relations symbols, including approximately-equal, does-not-divide, equal-by-definition.

Q: How do I type Relations symbols in LaTeX?

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

Q: What are the Unicode code points for Relations symbols?

Every symbol lists its Unicode code point, such as U+003C, U+003D, U+003E, so you can insert it in documents and web pages.

Q: How do I write Relations symbols in HTML?

Each entry shows its HTML entity where one exists, for example ≈, =, &equiv;. You can paste it directly into your page.

Q: How do I read Relations symbols aloud?

Each symbol has an example expression and a spoken version, such as 2 + 2 = 4, 3 < 5, 3 ∤ 10 read as a is congruent to b modulo n, a precedes b, e is defined as the limit of one plus one over n, to the n.

This cheat sheet lists 16 Relations symbols from nyuyo. It includes approximately-equal, does-not-divide, equal-by-definition 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.

approximately-equal

Character	`≈`
Name	Approximately Equal
Meaning	States that two values are close to each other but not necessarily exactly equal.
LaTeX	`\approx`
Unicode	`U+2248`
HTML entity	`≈`
Example expression	`π ≈ 3.14`
Read aloud	pi is approximately equal to three point one four
Related symbols	Equals, Identical To, Similar To, Approximately Equal, Congruent To

does-not-divide

Character	`∤`
Name	Does Not Divide
Meaning	Placed between two integers, it states that the first does not divide the second: dividing leaves a nonzero remainder.
LaTeX	`\nmid`
Unicode	`U+2224`
HTML entity	`&nmid;`
Example expression	`3 ∤ 10`
Read aloud	three does not divide ten
Related symbols	Vertical Bar, Not Equal

equal-by-definition

Character	`≜`
Name	Equal by Definition
Meaning	States that the left side is defined to equal the right side. It means the same as ≔ and is common in engineering and signal processing.
LaTeX	`\triangleq`
Unicode	`U+225C`
HTML entity	`&trie;`
Example expression	`e ≜ lim (1 + 1/n)ⁿ`
Read aloud	e is defined as the limit of one plus one over n, to the n
Related symbols	Defined As, Equals, Identical To, Equal by Definition

equals

Character	`=`
Name	Equals
Meaning	States that the expressions on both sides have the same value.
LaTeX	`=`
Unicode	`U+003D`
HTML entity	`=`
Example expression	`2 + 2 = 4`
Read aloud	two plus two equals four
Related symbols	Not Equal, Approximately Equal

greater-than

Character	`>`
Name	Greater Than
Meaning	States that the value on the left is strictly larger than the value on the right.
LaTeX	`>`
Unicode	`U+003E`
HTML entity	`>`
Example expression	`7 > 2`
Read aloud	seven is greater than two
Related symbols	Less Than, Greater Than or Equal To

greater-than-or-equal

Character	`≥`
Name	Greater Than or Equal To
Meaning	States that the value on the left is larger than or equal to the value on the right.
LaTeX	`\geq`
Unicode	`U+2265`
HTML entity	`≥`
Example expression	`n ≥ 1`
Read aloud	n is greater than or equal to one
Related symbols	Less Than or Equal To, Equals

identical-to

Character	`≡`
Name	Identical To
Meaning	States that two expressions are equal for every value of their variables, or that something holds by definition. In number theory it marks congruence modulo n.
LaTeX	`\equiv`
Unicode	`U+2261`
HTML entity	`&equiv;`
Example expression	`a ≡ b (mod n)`
Read aloud	a is congruent to b modulo n
Related symbols	Equals, Approximately Equal, Congruent To

less-than

Character	`<`
Name	Less Than
Meaning	States that the value on the left is strictly smaller than the value on the right.
Unicode	`U+003C`
Example expression	`3 < 5`
Read aloud	three is less than five
Related symbols	Greater Than, Less Than or Equal To

less-than-or-equal

Character	`≤`
Name	Less Than or Equal To
Meaning	States that the value on the left is smaller than or equal to the value on the right.
LaTeX	`\leq`
Unicode	`U+2264`
HTML entity	`≤`
Example expression	`x ≤ 10`
Read aloud	x is less than or equal to ten
Related symbols	Greater Than or Equal To

much-greater-than

Character	`≫`
Name	Much Greater Than
Meaning	States that the value on the left is larger than the value on the right by a large factor, usually enough that the smaller one can be neglected.
LaTeX	`\gg`
Unicode	`U+226B`
HTML entity	`&gg;`
Example expression	`N ≫ 1`
Read aloud	N is much greater than one
Related symbols	Greater Than, Much Less Than, Infinity

much-less-than

Character	`≪`
Name	Much Less Than
Meaning	States that the value on the left is smaller than the value on the right by a large factor, usually enough that it can be neglected beside it.
LaTeX	`\ll`
Unicode	`U+226A`
HTML entity	`&ll;`
Example expression	`ε ≪ 1`
Read aloud	epsilon is much less than one
Related symbols	Less Than, Much Greater Than

not-equal

Character	`≠`
Name	Not Equal
Meaning	States that the expressions on both sides have different values. Compare with Equals and Less Than.
LaTeX	`\neq`
Unicode	`U+2260`
HTML entity	`≠`
Example expression	`x ≠ 0`
Read aloud	x is not equal to zero
Related symbols	Equals, Greater Than, Not an Element Of

precedes

Character	`≺`
Name	Precedes
Meaning	States that the left element comes before the right one in some ordering, often a partial order other than the usual order on numbers.
LaTeX	`\prec`
Unicode	`U+227A`
HTML entity	`&pr;`
Example expression	`a ≺ b`
Read aloud	a precedes b
Related symbols	Less Than, Much Less Than

proportional-to

Character	`∝`
Name	Proportional To
Meaning	States that one quantity is a constant multiple of another, so that doubling one doubles the other.
LaTeX	`\propto`
Unicode	`U+221D`
HTML entity	`&prop;`
Example expression	`y ∝ x`
Read aloud	y is proportional to x
Related symbols	Equals, Approximately Equal

similar-to

Character	`∼`
Name	Similar To
Meaning	States that two objects are related by an equivalence relation. For functions it often means the ratio of the two tends to 1, and in probability X ∼ D means X follows the distribution D.
LaTeX	`\sim`
Unicode	`U+223C`
HTML entity	`&sim;`
Example expression	`n! ∼ √(2πn)(n/e)ⁿ`
Read aloud	n factorial is asymptotic to the square root of two pi n times n over e to the n
Related symbols	Asymptotically Equal, Approximately Equal

divides

Character	`∣`
Name	Vertical Bar
Meaning	Placed between two integers, it states that the first divides the second: the second is a whole-number multiple of the first. It also separates a variable from its condition in set-builder notation.
LaTeX	`\mid`
Unicode	`U+2223`
HTML entity	`&mid;`
Example expression	`3 ∣ 12`
Read aloud	three divides twelve
Related symbols	Vertical Bar, Integers, Colon, Not Equal

FAQ

How many Relations symbols are on this page?

This page lists 16 Relations symbols, including approximately-equal, does-not-divide, equal-by-definition.

How do I type Relations symbols in LaTeX?

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

What are the Unicode code points for Relations symbols?

Every symbol lists its Unicode code point, such as U+003C, U+003D, U+003E, so you can insert it in documents and web pages.

How do I write Relations symbols in HTML?

Each entry shows its HTML entity where one exists, for example ≈, =, &equiv;. You can paste it directly into your page.

How do I read Relations symbols aloud?

Each symbol has an example expression and a spoken version, such as 2 + 2 = 4, 3 < 5, 3 ∤ 10 read as a is congruent to b modulo n, a precedes b, e is defined as the limit of one plus one over n, to the n.

All cheat sheets