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Difference between revisions of "LaTeX:Symbols"

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{{Latex}}
 
{{Latex}}
  
−
This article will provide a short list of commonly used LaTeX symbols.   
+
This article provides a short list of commonly used LaTeX symbols.   
−
 
 
−
== Common Symbols ==
 
−
 
 
−
=== Operators ===
 
−
*<math>\div</math>
 
−
*<math>\frac{2}{1}</math>
 
−
*<math>+</math>
 
−
*<math>-</math>
 
−
 
 
−
1/2
 
−
 
 
−
*<math>\dfrac{1}{2}</math>
 
−
*<math>\cdot</math>
 
  
 
== Finding Other Symbols ==
 
== Finding Other Symbols ==
Line 21: Line 8:
 
<ul>
 
<ul>
 
<li>
 
<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!
+
[http://detexify.kirelabs.org/classify.html Detexify] is an online application which allows you to draw the symbol you'd like and shows you the <math>\text{\LaTeX}</math> code for it!
 
<br/><br/></li>
 
<br/><br/></li>
  
 
<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].
+
MathJax (what allows us to use <math>\text{\LaTeX}</math> on the web, (technically an AJAX library simulating it.)) maintains a [http://docs.mathjax.org/en/latest/tex.html#supported-latex-commands list of supported commands].
 
<br/><br/></li>
 
<br/><br/></li>
  
 
<li>
 
<li>
 
[http://mirrors.ctan.org/info/symbols/comprehensive/symbols-a4.pdf The Comprehensive LaTeX Symbol List].
 
[http://mirrors.ctan.org/info/symbols/comprehensive/symbols-a4.pdf The Comprehensive LaTeX Symbol List].
 +
<br/><br/></li>
 +
 +
<li>
 +
[https://mathvault.ca/wp-content/uploads/Comprehensive-List-of-Mathematical-Symbols.pdf Comprehensive List of Mathematical Symbols].
 
<br/><br/></li>
 
<br/><br/></li>
 
</ul>
 
</ul>
Line 55: Line 46:
 
|<math>\bullet</math>||\bullet||<math>\diamond</math>||\diamond||<math>\lhd</math>||\lhd
 
|<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>\rhd</math>||\rhd||<math>\unlhd</math>||\unlhd||<math>\unrhd</math>||\unrhd
 
|-
 
|-
 
|<math>\oslash</math>||\oslash||<math>\odot</math>||\odot||<math>\bigcirc</math>||\bigcirc
 
|<math>\oslash</math>||\oslash||<math>\odot</math>||\odot||<math>\bigcirc</math>||\bigcirc
Line 67: Line 58:
 
|<math>x^{\circ}</math>||x^{\circ}||<math>\triangledown</math>||\triangledown||<math>\sqrt[n]{x}</math>||\sqrt[n]{x}
 
|<math>x^{\circ}</math>||x^{\circ}||<math>\triangledown</math>||\triangledown||<math>\sqrt[n]{x}</math>||\sqrt[n]{x}
 
|-
 
|-
−
|<math>a^x</math>||a^x||<math>a^{xyz}</math>||a^{xyz}
+
|<math>a^x</math>||a^x||<math>a^{xyz}</math>||a^{xyz}||<math>a_x</math>||a_x
 
|}
 
|}
  
Line 100: Line 91:
 
| <math>\mid</math>||\mid||<math>\bumpeq</math>||\bumpeq||
 
| <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.
+
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 couple examples, plus many other negations; it works for many of the many others as well.
−
{| class="latextable"
+
 
 +
{| class="latextable"}
 
!Symbol!!Command!!Symbol!!Command!!Symbol!!Command
 
!Symbol!!Command!!Symbol!!Command!!Symbol!!Command
 
|-
 
|-
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| <math>\nsim</math>||\nsim||<math>\ncong</math>||\ncong||<math>\nparallel</math>||\nparallel
 
| <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<</math>||\not<||<math>\not></math>||\not>||<math>\not=</math>||\not= or \neq or \ne
 
|-
 
|-
 
| <math>\not\le</math>||\not\le||<math>\not\ge</math>||\not\ge||<math>\not\sim</math>||\not\sim
 
| <math>\not\le</math>||\not\le||<math>\not\ge</math>||\not\ge||<math>\not\sim</math>||\not\sim
Line 121: Line 113:
 
|}
 
|}
  
−
To use other relations not listed here, such as =, >, and <, in LaTeX, you may just use the symbols on your keyboard.
+
To use other relations not listed here, such as <math>=</math>, <math>></math>, and <math><</math>, in <math>\LaTeX</math>, you must use the symbols on your keyboard, as they are not available in <math>\LaTeX</math>.
  
 
==Greek Letters==
 
==Greek Letters==
Line 156: Line 148:
 
| <math>\Phi</math>||\Phi||<math>\Psi</math>||\Psi||<math>\Omega</math>||\Omega
 
| <math>\Phi</math>||\Phi||<math>\Psi</math>||\Psi||<math>\Omega</math>||\Omega
 
|}
 
|}
−
 
  
 
== Arrows ==
 
== Arrows ==
Line 196: Line 187:
 
|-
 
|-
 
|<math>\swarrow</math>||\swarrow||<math>\nwarrow</math>||\nwarrow
 
|<math>\swarrow</math>||\swarrow||<math>\nwarrow</math>||\nwarrow
 +
|-
 +
|<math>\overrightarrow{AB}</math>||\overrightarrow{AB}||<math>\overleftarrow{AB}</math>||\overleftarrow{AB}
 +
|-
 +
|<math>\overleftrightarrow{AB}</math>||\overleftrightarrow{AB}|| ||
 
|}
 
|}
−
(For those of you who hate typing long strings of letters, \iff and \implies can be used in place of \Longleftrightarrow and \Longrightarrow respectively.)
+
(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==
 
==Dots==
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|<math>\vec{\jmath}</math>||\vec{\jmath}||<math>\tilde{\imath}</math>||\tilde{\imath}
 
|<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:
+
\tilde and \hat have wide versions that allow you to accent an expression:
 
{| class="latextable"
 
{| class="latextable"
 
!Symbol !! Command!!Symbol !! Command
 
!Symbol !! Command!!Symbol !! Command
Line 262: Line 257:
 
|<math>\clubsuit</math>||\clubsuit||<math>\diamondsuit</math>||\diamondsuit||<math>\heartsuit</math>||\heartsuit
 
|<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>\spadesuit</math>||\spadesuit||<math>\Join</math>||\Join||<math>\blacksquare</math>||\blacksquare
 
|-
 
|-
−
|<math>\S</math>||\S||<math>\P</math>||\P||<math>\copyright</math>||\copyright
+
|<math>\diamondsuit</math>||\diamondsuit||<math>\copyright</math>||\copyright ||<math>\underarc{XYZ}</math>||\underarc{XYZ}
 
|-
 
|-
−
|<math>\pounds</math>||\pounds||<math>\overarc{ABC}</math>||\overarc{ABC}||<math>\underarc{XYZ}</math>||\underarc{XYZ}
+
|<math>\heartsuit</math>||\heartsuit||<math>\overarc{ABC}</math>||\overarc{ABC} ||<math>\cup</math>||\cup
 
|-
 
|-
−
|<math>\bigstar</math>||\bigstar||<math>\in</math>||\in||<math>\cup</math>||\cup
+
|<math>\S</math>||\S||<math>\P</math>||\P||<math>\Vdash</math>||\Vdash
 
|-
 
|-
−
|<math>\square</math>||\square||
+
|<math>\pounds</math>||\pounds||<math>\in</math>||\in||<math>\vDash</math>||\vDash
 +
|-
 +
|<math>\bigstar</math>||\bigstar||<math>\implies</math>||\implies||<math>\LaTeX</math>||\LaTeX
 +
|-
 +
|<math>\square</math>||\square||<math>\text{\LaTeX}</math>||\text{\LaTeX}||
 
|-
 
|-
 
|<math>\smiley</math>||\smiley||
 
|<math>\smiley</math>||\smiley||
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|<math>\cancer</math>||\cancer||
 
|<math>\cancer</math>||\cancer||
 
|}
 
|}
 +
Note: <math>\cancer</math> and <math>\overarc{ABC}</math> do not work in the classroom.
  
 
==Command Symbols==
 
==Command Symbols==
−
Some symbols are used in commands so they need to be treated in a special way.
+
Some symbols are used in commands, so they need to be treated in a special way.
 
{| class="latextable"
 
{| class="latextable"
 
!Symbol!!Command!!Symbol!!Command!!Symbol!!Command!!Symbol!!Command
 
!Symbol!!Command!!Symbol!!Command!!Symbol!!Command!!Symbol!!Command
 
|-
 
|-
−
|<math>\textdollar</math>||\textdollar or \$||<math>\&</math>||\&||<math>\%</math>||\%||<math>\#</math>||\#
+
|<math>\textdollar</math>||\textdollar or \\$||<math>\&</math>||\&||<math>\%</math>||\%||<math>\#</math>||\#
 
|-
 
|-
 
|<math>\_</math>||\_||<math>\{</math>||\{||<math>\}</math>||\}||<math>\backslash</math>||\backslash
 
|<math>\_</math>||\_||<math>\{</math>||\{||<math>\}</math>||\}||<math>\backslash</math>||\backslash
Line 307: Line 307:
  
 
==Bracketing Symbols==
 
==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:
+
In mathematics, sometimes we need to enclose expressions in brackets, 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"
 
{| class="latextable"
 
!Symbol !! Command!!Symbol !! Command!!Symbol !! Command
 
!Symbol !! Command!!Symbol !! Command!!Symbol !! Command
Line 335: Line 335:
 
:<math>\left(\frac{a}{x} \right)^2</math>
 
:<math>\left(\frac{a}{x} \right)^2</math>
  
−
And with system of equations:
+
For systems of equations or piecewise functions, use the cases environment:
  
−
<tt>\left\{\begin{array}{l}x+y=3\\2x+y=5\end{array}\right.</tt>
+
<tt>f(x) = \</tt><tt>begin{cases} x^2 &\text{if } x \ge 0 \\ x &\text{if } x < 0 \</tt><tt>end{cases}</tt>
  
−
Gives
+
which gives
 +
 
 +
<math>f(x) = \begin{cases} x^2 &\text{if } x \ge 0 \\ x &\text{if } x < 0 \end{cases}</math>
 +
 
 +
In addition to the <tt>\left</tt> and <tt>\right</tt> commands, when doing floor or ceiling functions with fractions, using
 +
 
 +
<tt>\left\lceil\frac{x}{y}\right\rceil</tt>
  
−
<math>\left\{\begin{array}{l}x+y=3\\2x+y=5\end{array}\right.</math>
+
and <tt>\left\lfloor\frac{x}{y}\right\rfloor </tt>
  
−
See that there's a dot after <tt>\right</tt>. You must put that dot or the code won't work.
+
gives both <math>\left\lceil\frac{x}{y}\right\rceil</math> and <math>\left\lfloor\frac{x}{y}\right\rfloor</math>, respectively.
  
  
Line 373: Line 379:
  
 
==Multi-Size Symbols==
 
==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.
+
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 <code>\begin{equation}...\end{equation}</code> or <code>\begin{align}...\end{align}</code>. 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.
 
In each of the following, the two images show the symbol in display mode, then in inline mode.
Line 391: Line 397:
 
|}
 
|}
  
−
==See Also==
+
==See More==
 
*[[LaTeX:Commands | Next: Commands]]
 
*[[LaTeX:Commands | Next: Commands]]
−
*[[LaTeX:Layout | Previous: Layout]]
 

Latest revision as of 19:35, 4 November 2024

LaTeX
About - Getting Started - Diagrams - Symbols - Downloads - Basics - Math - Examples - Pictures - Layout - Commands - Packages - Help

This article provides a short list of commonly used LaTeX symbols.

Finding Other Symbols

Here are some external resources for finding less commonly used symbols:

Operators

Symbol Command Symbol Command Symbol Command
$\pm$ \pm $\mp$ \mp $\times$ \times
$\div$ \div $\cdot$ \cdot $\ast$ \ast
$\star$ \star $\dagger$ \dagger $\ddagger$ \ddagger
$\amalg$ \amalg $\cap$ \cap $\cup$ \cup
$\uplus$ \uplus $\sqcap$ \sqcap $\sqcup$ \sqcup
$\vee$ \vee $\wedge$ \wedge $\oplus$ \oplus
$\ominus$ \ominus $\otimes$ \otimes $\circ$ \circ
$\bullet$ \bullet $\diamond$ \diamond $\lhd$ \lhd
$\rhd$ \rhd $\unlhd$ \unlhd $\unrhd$ \unrhd
$\oslash$ \oslash $\odot$ \odot $\bigcirc$ \bigcirc
$\triangleleft$ \triangleleft $\Diamond$ \Diamond $\bigtriangleup$ \bigtriangleup
$\bigtriangledown$ \bigtriangledown $\Box$ \Box $\triangleright$ \triangleright
$\setminus$ \setminus $\wr$ \wr $\sqrt{x}$ \sqrt{x}
$x^{\circ}$ x^{\circ} $\triangledown$ \triangledown $\sqrt[n]{x}$ \sqrt[n]{x}
$a^x$ a^x $a^{xyz}$ a^{xyz} $a_x$ a_x

Relations

Symbol Command Symbol Command Symbol Command
$\le$ \le $\ge$ \ge $\neq$ \neq
$\sim$ \sim $\ll$ \ll $\gg$ \gg
$\doteq$ \doteq $\simeq$ \simeq $\subset$ \subset
$\supset$ \supset $\approx$ \approx $\asymp$ \asymp
$\subseteq$ \subseteq $\supseteq$ \supseteq $\cong$ \cong
$\smile$ \smile $\sqsubset$ \sqsubset $\sqsupset$ \sqsupset
$\equiv$ \equiv $\frown$ \frown $\sqsubseteq$ \sqsubseteq
$\sqsupseteq$ \sqsupseteq $\propto$ \propto $\bowtie$ \bowtie
$\in$ \in $\ni$ \ni $\prec$ \prec
$\succ$ \succ $\vdash$ \vdash $\dashv$ \dashv
$\preceq$ \preceq $\succeq$ \succeq $\models$ \models
$\perp$ \perp $\parallel$ \parallel
$\mid$ \mid $\bumpeq$ \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 couple examples, plus many other negations; it works for many of the many others as well.

Symbol Command Symbol Command Symbol Command
$\nmid$ \nmid $\nleq$ \nleq $\ngeq$ \ngeq
$\nsim$ \nsim $\ncong$ \ncong $\nparallel$ \nparallel
$\not<$ \not< $\not>$ \not> $\not=$ \not= or \neq or \ne
$\not\le$ \not\le $\not\ge$ \not\ge $\not\sim$ \not\sim
$\not \approx$ \not\approx $\not\cong$ \not\cong $\not\equiv$ \not\equiv
$\not\parallel$ \not\parallel $\nless$ \nless $\ngtr$ \ngtr
$\lneq$ \lneq $\gneq$ \gneq $\lnsim$ \lnsim
$\lneqq$ \lneqq $\gneqq$ \gneqq

To use other relations not listed here, such as $=$, $>$, and $<$, in $\LaTeX$, you must use the symbols on your keyboard, as they are not available in $\LaTeX$.

Greek Letters

Lowercase Letters
Symbol Command Symbol Command Symbol Command Symbol Command
$\alpha$ \alpha $\beta$ \beta $\gamma$ \gamma $\delta$ \delta
$\epsilon$ \epsilon $\varepsilon$ \varepsilon $\zeta$ \zeta $\eta$ \eta
$\theta$ \theta $\vartheta$ \vartheta $\iota$ \iota $\kappa$ \kappa
$\lambda$ \lambda $\mu$ \mu $\nu$ \nu $\xi$ \xi
$\pi$ \pi $\varpi$ \varpi $\rho$ \rho $\varrho$ \varrho
$\sigma$ \sigma $\varsigma$ \varsigma $\tau$ \tau $\upsilon$ \upsilon
$\phi$ \phi $\varphi$ \varphi $\chi$ \chi $\psi$ \psi
$\omega$ \omega


Capital Letters
Symbol Command Symbol Command Symbol Command Symbol Command
$\Gamma$ \Gamma $\Delta$ \Delta $\Theta$ \Theta $\Lambda$ \Lambda
$\Xi$ \Xi $\Pi$ \Pi $\Sigma$ \Sigma $\Upsilon$ \Upsilon
$\Phi$ \Phi $\Psi$ \Psi $\Omega$ \Omega

Arrows

Symbol Command Symbol Command
$\gets$ \gets $\to$ \to
$\leftarrow$ \leftarrow $\Leftarrow$ \Leftarrow
$\rightarrow$ \rightarrow $\Rightarrow$ \Rightarrow
$\leftrightarrow$ \leftrightarrow $\Leftrightarrow$ \Leftrightarrow
$\mapsto$ \mapsto $\hookleftarrow$ \hookleftarrow
$\leftharpoonup$ \leftharpoonup $\leftharpoondown$ \leftharpoondown
$\rightleftharpoons$ \rightleftharpoons $\longleftarrow$ \longleftarrow
$\Longleftarrow$ \Longleftarrow $\longrightarrow$ \longrightarrow
$\Longrightarrow$ \Longrightarrow $\longleftrightarrow$ \longleftrightarrow
$\Longleftrightarrow$ \Longleftrightarrow $\longmapsto$ \longmapsto
$\hookrightarrow$ \hookrightarrow $\rightharpoonup$ \rightharpoonup
$\rightharpoondown$ \rightharpoondown $\leadsto$ \leadsto
$\uparrow$ \uparrow $\Uparrow$ \Uparrow
$\downarrow$ \downarrow $\Downarrow$ \Downarrow
$\updownarrow$ \updownarrow $\Updownarrow$ \Updownarrow
$\nearrow$ \nearrow $\searrow$ \searrow
$\swarrow$ \swarrow $\nwarrow$ \nwarrow
$\overrightarrow{AB}$ \overrightarrow{AB} $\overleftarrow{AB}$ \overleftarrow{AB}
$\overleftrightarrow{AB}$ \overleftrightarrow{AB}

(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

Symbol Command Symbol Command
$\cdot$ \cdot $\vdots$ \vdots
$\dots$ \dots $\ddots$ \ddots
$\cdots$ \cdots $\iddots$ \iddots

Accents

Symbol Command Symbol Command Symbol Command
$\hat{x}$ \hat{x} $\check{x}$ \check{x} $\dot{x}$ \dot{x}
$\breve{x}$ \breve{x} $\acute{x}$ \acute{x} $\ddot{x}$ \ddot{x}
$\grave{x}$ \grave{x} $\tilde{x}$ \tilde{x} $\mathring{x}$ \mathring{x}
$\bar{x}$ \bar{x} $\vec{x}$ \vec{x}

When applying accents to i and j, you can use \imath and \jmath to keep the dots from interfering with the accents:

Symbol Command Symbol Command
$\vec{\jmath}$ \vec{\jmath} $\tilde{\imath}$ \tilde{\imath}

\tilde and \hat have wide versions that allow you to accent an expression:

Symbol Command Symbol Command
$\widehat{7+x}$ \widehat{7+x} $\widetilde{abc}$ \widetilde{abc}

Others

Symbol Command Symbol Command Symbol Command
$\infty$ \infty $\triangle$ \triangle $\angle$ \angle
$\aleph$ \aleph $\hbar$ \hbar $\imath$ \imath
$\jmath$ \jmath $\ell$ \ell $\wp$ \wp
$\Re$ \Re $\Im$ \Im $\mho$ \mho
$\prime$ \prime $\emptyset$ \emptyset $\nabla$ \nabla
$\surd$ \surd $\partial$ \partial $\top$ \top
$\bot$ \bot $\vdash$ \vdash $\dashv$ \dashv
$\forall$ \forall $\exists$ \exists $\neg$ \neg
$\flat$ \flat $\natural$ \natural $\sharp$ \sharp
$\backslash$ \backslash $\Box$ \Box $\Diamond$ \Diamond
$\clubsuit$ \clubsuit $\diamondsuit$ \diamondsuit $\heartsuit$ \heartsuit
$\spadesuit$ \spadesuit $\Join$ \Join $\blacksquare$ \blacksquare
$\diamondsuit$ \diamondsuit $\copyright$ \copyright $\underarc{XYZ}$ \underarc{XYZ}
$\heartsuit$ \heartsuit $\overarc{ABC}$ \overarc{ABC} $\cup$ \cup
$\S$ \S $\P$ \P $\Vdash$ \Vdash
$\pounds$ \pounds $\in$ \in $\vDash$ \vDash
$\bigstar$ \bigstar $\implies$ \implies $\LaTeX$ \LaTeX
$\square$ \square $\text{\LaTeX}$ \text{\LaTeX}
$\smiley$ \smiley
$\mathbb{R}$ \mathbb{R} (represents all real numbers)
$\checkmark$ \checkmark
$\cancer$ \cancer

Note: $\cancer$ and $\overarc{ABC}$ do not work in the classroom.

Command Symbols

Some symbols are used in commands, so they need to be treated in a special way.

Symbol Command Symbol Command Symbol Command Symbol Command
$\textdollar$ \textdollar or \$ $\&$ \& $\%$ \% $\#$ \#
$\_$ \_ $\{$ \{ $\}$ \} $\backslash$ \backslash

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

European Language Symbols

Symbol Command Symbol Command Symbol Command Symbol Command
${\oe}$ {\oe} ${\ae}$ {\ae} ${\o}$ {\o}
${\OE}$ {\OE} ${\AE}$ {\AE} ${\AA}$ {\AA} ${\O}$ {\O}
${\l}$ {\l} ${\ss}$ {\ss} $\text{!`}$ !`
${\L}$ {\L} ${\SS}$ {\SS}

Bracketing Symbols

In mathematics, sometimes we need to enclose expressions in brackets, 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:

Symbol Command Symbol Command Symbol Command
$\{$ \{ $\}$ \} $\|$ \|
$\backslash$ \backslash $\lfloor$ \lfloor $\rfloor$ \rfloor
$\lceil$ \lceil $\rceil$ \rceil $\langle$ \langle
$\rangle$ \rangle

You might notice that if you use any of these to typeset an expression that is vertically large, like

(\frac{a}{x} )^2

the parentheses don't come out the right size:

$(\frac{a}{x})^2$

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

\left(\frac{a}{x} \right)^2

gives

$\left(\frac{a}{x} \right)^2$

For systems of equations or piecewise functions, use the cases environment:

f(x) = \begin{cases} x^2 &\text{if } x \ge 0 \\ x &\text{if } x < 0 \end{cases}

which gives

$f(x) = \begin{cases} x^2 &\text{if } x \ge 0 \\ x &\text{if } x < 0 \end{cases}$

In addition to the \left and \right commands, when doing floor or ceiling functions with fractions, using

\left\lceil\frac{x}{y}\right\rceil

and \left\lfloor\frac{x}{y}\right\rfloor

gives both $\left\lceil\frac{x}{y}\right\rceil$ and $\left\lfloor\frac{x}{y}\right\rfloor$, respectively.


And, if you type this

\underbrace{a_0+a_1+a_2+\cdots+a_n}_{x}

Gives

$\underbrace{a_0+a_1+a_2+\cdots+a_n}_{x}$

Or

\overbrace{a_0+a_1+a_2+\cdots+a_n}^{x}

Gives

$\overbrace{a_0+a_1+a_2+\cdots+a_n}^{x}$


\left and \right can also be used to resize the following symbols:

Symbol Command Symbol Command Symbol Command
$\uparrow$ \uparrow $\downarrow$ \downarrow $\updownarrow$ \updownarrow
$\Uparrow$ \Uparrow $\Downarrow$ \Downarrow $\Updownarrow$ \Updownarrow

Multi-Size Symbols

Some symbols render differently in inline math mode and in display mode. Display mode occurs when you use \[...\] or $$...$$, or environments like \begin{equation}...\end{equation} or \begin{align}...\end{align}. Read more in the 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.

Symbol Command Symbol Command Symbol Command
$\sum \textstyle\sum$ \sum $\int \textstyle\int$ \int $\oint \textstyle\oint$ \oint
$\prod \textstyle\prod$ \prod $\coprod \textstyle\coprod$ \coprod $\bigcap \textstyle\bigcap$ \bigcap
$\bigcup \textstyle\bigcup$ \bigcup $\bigsqcup \textstyle\bigsqcup$ \bigsqcup $\bigvee \textstyle\bigvee$ \bigvee
$\bigwedge \textstyle\bigwedge$ \bigwedge $\bigodot \textstyle\bigodot$ \bigodot $\bigotimes \textstyle\bigotimes$ \bigotimes
$\bigoplus \textstyle\bigoplus$ \bigoplus $\biguplus \textstyle\biguplus$ \biguplus

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