Basic Mathematic Symbols Names With Meaning And Examples

Mathematics Symbols

Table of Contents

Mathematical symbols are used to perform various operations. The symbols make it easier to refer to the Maths quantities. It is interesting to note that Mathematics is completely based on numbers and symbols. The math symbols not only refer to different quantities but also represent the relationship between two quantities. The mathematical symbols are mainly used to perform mathematical operations under various concepts. As we know, the concept of maths is purely dependent on numbers and symbols.

There are many symbols in Maths that have some predefined values. To simplify the expressions, we can use those kinds of values instead of those symbols. Some of the examples are the pi (π) symbol which holds the value 22/7 or 3.17, and e-symbol in Maths which holds the value e= 2.718281828….This symbol is known as e-constant or Euler’s constant. The table provided below has a list of all the common symbols in Maths with meaning and examples.

There are so many mathematical symbols that are very important to students. To understand this in an easier way, the list of mathematical symbols are noted here with definition and examples. There are numerous signs and symbols, ranging from the simple addition concept sign to the complex integration concept sign. Here, the list of mathematical symbols is provided in a tabular form, and those notations are categorized according to the concept.

List of Mathematical Symbols

Basic Maths Symbols Names With Meaning and Examples

The basic symbols help us to work with mathematical concepts in a theoretical manner. In simple words, without symbols, we cannot do maths. The mathematical signs and symbols are considered representative of the value. The basic symbols in maths are used to express mathematical thoughts. The relationship between the sign and the value refers to the fundamental need of mathematics. With the help of symbols, certain concepts and ideas are clearly explained. Here is a list of commonly used symbols in the stream of mathematics.

Symbol	Symbol Name	Meaning or Definition	Example
≠	not equal sign	inequality	10 ≠ 6
=	equals sign	equality	3 = 1 + 2
<	strict inequality	less than	7 < 10
>	strict inequality	greater than	6 > 2
≤	inequality	less than or equal to	x ≤ y, means, y = x or y > x, but not vice-versa.
≥	inequality	greater than or equal to	a ≥ b, means, a = b or a > b, but vice-versa does not hold true.
[ ]	brackets	calculate expression inside first	[ 2×5] + 7 = 17
( )	parentheses	calculate expression inside first	3 × (3 + 7) = 30
−	minus sign	subtraction	5 − 2 = 3
+	plus sign	addition	4 + 5 = 9
∓	minus – plus	both minus and plus operations	1 ∓ 4 = -3 and 5
±	plus – minus	both plus and minus operations	5 ± 3 = 8 and 2
×	times sign	multiplication	4 × 3 = 12
*	asterisk	multiplication	2 * 3 = 6
÷	division sign / obelus	division	15 ÷ 5 = 3
∙	multiplication dot	multiplication	2 ∙ 3 = 6
–	horizontal line	division / fraction	8/2 = 4
/	division slash	division	6 ⁄ 2 = 3
mod	modulo	remainder calculation	7 mod 3 = 1
a^b	power	exponent	2⁴ = 16
.	period	decimal point, decimal separator	4.36 = 4 +36/100
√a	square root	√a · √a = a	√9 = ±3
a^b	caret	exponent	2 ^ 3 = 8
⁴√a	fourth root	⁴√a ·⁴√a · ⁴√a · ⁴√a = a	⁴√16= ± 2
³√a	cube root	³√a ·³√a · ³√a = a	³√343 = 7
%	percent	1% = 1/100	10% × 30 = 3
ⁿ√a	n-th root (radical)	ⁿ√a · ⁿ√a · · · n times = a	for n=3, ⁿ√8 = 2
ppm	per-million	1 ppm = 1/1000000	10ppm × 30 = 0.0003
‰	per-mille	1‰ = 1/1000 = 0.1%	10‰ × 30 = 0.3
ppt	per-trillion	1ppt = 10-12	10ppt × 30 = 3×10-10
ppb	per-billion	1 ppb = 1/1000000000	10 ppb × 30 = 3×10-7

Maths Logic symbols With Meaning

Symbol	Symbol Name	Meaning or Definition	Example
^	caret / circumflex	and	x ^ y
·	and	and	x · y
+	plus	or	x + y
&	ampersand	and	x & y
\|	vertical line	or	x \| y
∨	reversed caret	or	x ∨ y
x	bar	not – negation	x
X	single-quote	not – negation	X
!	Exclamation mark	not – negation	! x
¬	not	not – negation	¬ x
~	tilde	negation	~ x
⊕	circled plus / plus	exclusive or – xor	x ⊕ y
⇔	equivalent	if and only if (iff)
⇒	implies	n/a	n/a
∀	for all	n/a	n/a
↔	equivalent	if and only if (iff)	n/a
∄	there does not exist	n/a	n/a
∃	there exists	n/a	n/a
∵	because / since	n/a	n/a
∴	therefore	n/a	n/a

Calculus and Analysis Symbols in Maths

Symbol	Symbol Name	Meaning of definition	Example
ε	epsilon	represents a very small number, near-zero	ε → 0
_lime→a	limit	the limit value of a function	_lime→a(3x+1)= 3 × a + 1 = 3a + 1
y ‘	derivative	derivative – Lagrange’s notation	(5x³)’ = 15x²
e	e constant / Euler’s number	e = 2.718281828…	e = Lim (1+1/x)x , x→∞
y(n)	nth derivative	n times derivation	nth derivative of 3xⁿ = 3 n (n-1)(n-2)….(2)(1)= 3n!
y”	second derivative	derivative of derivative	(4x³)” = 24x
$\frac{d^{2} y}{d x^{2}}$	second derivative	derivative of derivative	$\frac{d^{2}}{d x^{2}} (6 x^{3} + x^{2} + 3 x + 1) = 36 x + 1$
dy/dx	derivative	derivative – Leibniz’s notation	$\frac{d}{d x} (5 x) = 5$
$\frac{d^{n} y}{d x^{n}}$	nth derivative	n times derivation	n/a
$\ddot{y} = \frac{d^{2} y}{d t^{2}}$	The second derivative of time	derivative of derivative	n/a
$\dot{y}$	Single derivative of time	derivative by time – Newton’s notation	n/a
D²x	second derivative	derivative of derivative	n/a
Dx	derivative	derivative – Euler’s notation	n/a
∫	integral	opposite to derivation	n/a
$\frac{a f (x, y)}{a x}$	partial derivative	∂(x2+y2)/∂x = 2x	n/a
∭	triple integral	integration of the function of 3 variables	n/a
∬	double integral	integration of the function of 2 variables	n/a
∯	closed surface integral	n/a	n/a
∮	closed contour / line integral	n/a	n/a
[a,b]	closed interval	[a,b] = {x \| a ≤ x ≤ b}	n/a
∰	closed volume integral	n/a
(a,b)	open interval	(a,b) = {x \| a < x < b}	n/a
z*	complex conjugate	z = a+bi → z*=a-bi	z* = 3 + 2i
i	imaginary unit	i ≡ √-1	z = 3 + 2i
∇	nabla / del	gradient / divergence operator	∇f (x,y,z)
z	complex conjugate	z = a+bi → z = a-bi	z = 3 + 2i
$\vec{x}$	vector	$\vec{V} = x \hat{i} + y \hat{j} + z \hat{k}$	n/a
x * y	convolution	y(t) = x(t) * h(t)	n/a
∞	lemniscate	infinity symbol	n/a
δ	delta function	n/a	n/a

Combinatorics Symbols in Mathematics

Combinatorics is a stream of mathematics that concerns the study of the combination of finite discrete structures. Some of the most important symbols are:

Greek Alphabet Letters Used in Maths

Mathematicians frequently use Greek alphabets in their work to represent the variables, constants, functions and so on. Some of the commonly used Greek symbols are listed below:

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

Common Numeral Symbols

Name	European	Roman	Hindu Arabic	Hebrew
zero	0	n/a	0	n/a
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
forty	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

These are some of the most important and commonly used symbols in mathematics. It is important to get completely acquainted with all the maths symbols to be able to solve maths problems efficiently. It should be noted that without knowing maths symbols, it is extremely difficult to grasp certain concepts on a universal scale. Some of the key importance of maths symbols are summarized below.

Importance of Maths Symbols

Helps in denoting quantities
Establishes relationships between quantities
Helps to identify the type of operation
Makes reference easier
Maths symbols are universal and break the language barrier

Frequently Asked Questions on Math Symbols

What is the symbol for pi?

The symbol of pi is π. It is a Greek alphabet. The value of pi is approximately equal to 3.14, and it is considered an irrational number. It is considered the most widely used mathematical constant, which is defined as the ratio of circle circumference to its diameter.

What is e symbol in mathematics?

The “e” symbol in maths represents Euler’s number which is approximately equal to 2.71828…It is considered one of the most important numbers in mathematics. It is an irrational number and it cannot be represented as a simple fraction

Write down the symbols for basic arithmetic operations.

The symbols for basic arithmetic operations are addition (+), subtraction (-), Multiplication (×), Division(÷).

Why do we use mathematical symbols?

Mathematics is a universal language and the basics of maths are the same everywhere in the universe. Mathematical symbols play a major role in this. The definition and the value of the symbols are constant. For example, the Roman letter X represents the value 10 everywhere around us.

Mention the logic symbols in maths.

The logic symbols in maths are:
AND (^)
OR (∨)
NOT (¬)
Implies (⇒)
Equivalent (⇔)
For all (∀)
There exists (∃)

Originally posted 2023-03-03 05:06:30.

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Basic Mathematic Symbols Names With Meaning and Examples