LaTeX Syntax Reference

The LaTeX you need for everyday math and papers, one topic per page. Each card shows the key command and what it draws; open a page for variants, copyable examples, common mistakes and how Overleaf, MathJax and Word differ.

Symbols

Relations, operators, sets, logic, arrows, Greek letters and accents: the command for each symbol and its variants.

Greater Than or Equal to in LaTeXx \geq y
$x \geq y$
Greater than or equal to (\geq), less than or equal to (\leq), plain < and >, much less than, slanted and negated forms.
How to Write an Arrow in LaTeX\rightarrow
$\to$
Right, left, double, long, maps-to and labeled arrows (\to, \Rightarrow, \xrightarrow), plus arrows in text mode.
LaTeX Symbols\leq
$\leq$
The most-used math symbols in one table: relations, operators, sets, logic, arrows, Greek letters and accents, each with its command.
Plus Minus Sign in LaTeX\pm
$\pm$
The ± sign with \pm, the minus-plus ∓ with \mp, ± in running text, and uncertainties such as 5.0 ± 0.1.
Infinity in LaTeX\infty
$\infty$
The ∞ symbol with \infty: negative infinity, intervals, limits to infinity, infinite sums and integrals.
Union in LaTeX\cup
$\cup$
The ∪ symbol with \cup, indexed unions with \bigcup_{i=1}^{n}, and disjoint unions (\sqcup, \uplus).
Degree Symbol in LaTeX90^\circ
$90^{\circ}$
The ° sign four ways: ^\circ in math, \textdegree in text, \degree (gensymb) and siunitx for angles and °C.
Not Equal in LaTeX\neq
$\neq$
The ≠ sign with \neq or \ne, and other negated relations: not equivalent, not an element of, not a subset.
Empty Set in LaTeX\emptyset
$\emptyset$
The empty set with \emptyset or the rounder \varnothing (amssymb), plus \{\} and common set statements.
How to Write Percent in LaTeX\%
$%$
Why % hides the rest of the line, how to print it with \%, and how to format percentages with siunitx.
Intersection in LaTeX\cap
$\cap$
The ∩ symbol with \cap, indexed intersections with \bigcap, and how to size and space them.
Proportional Symbol in LaTeX\propto
$\propto$
The ∝ sign with \propto, the thinner \varpropto, "approximately proportional", and when authors use \sim instead.
Greek Letters in LaTeX\alpha
$α$
Every lowercase and uppercase Greek letter with its command, the var- forms, and bold or upright Greek.
And Symbol and Logic Symbols in LaTeX\land
$\land$
Logical and (\land), or, not, implies, iff, for all and there exists, and how to print a literal & instead.
Tilde (~) in LaTeXFig.~1Why ~ prints a space, how to get a visible tilde in text, the \tilde and \widetilde accents, and \sim in math.
Real Number Symbol in LaTeX\mathbb{R}
$R$
Blackboard bold number sets with \mathbb: ℝ, ℕ, ℤ, ℚ, ℂ, ℝⁿ, and why \R does not work out of the box.
Multiplication Symbol in LaTeXa \times b
$a \times b$
\times, \cdot, \ast and \div, when each is used, and how to write scientific notation and products.
Approximately Equal in LaTeX\approx
$\approx$
\approx for ≈, plus \sim, \simeq, \cong and \equiv, with what each symbol means.
Dot Product in LaTeX\mathbf{u} \cdot \mathbf{v}
$u \cdot v$
\cdot between vectors, bold or arrow notation, ⟨u, v⟩ with \langle and \rangle, and the usual dot product formulas.
Subset in LaTeXA \subset B
$A \subset B$
\subset, \subseteq, \subsetneq, the superset forms and the negated "not a subset" symbols.
Dot in LaTeXa \cdot b
$a \cdot b$
\cdot, \ldots, \cdots, \vdots, \ddots, \dot{x} and \bullet, and which dot fits which context.
Hat in LaTeX\hat{x}
$\hat{x}$
\hat and \widehat accents, hats with subscripts, dotless i and j, and how to print the ^ character itself.
Element of Symbol (∈) in LaTeXx \in A
$x \in A$
\in for ∈, \notin for ∉, \ni for ∋, and how ∈ differs from the Greek letter epsilon.
Gradient in LaTeX\nabla
$\nabla$
The nabla symbol \nabla for gradient, divergence and curl, the Laplacian, the gradient as a vector of partials, and grad as an operator name.
Transpose Symbol in LaTeXA^T
$A^{T}$
A^T, A^\top, A^\intercal and A^\mathsf{T} compared, plus inverse transpose and conjugate transpose.
Indicator Function in LaTeX\mathbb{1}_{A}
$1_{A}$
The double-struck 1: why \mathbb{1} breaks in pdfLaTeX, \mathds{1} and \mathbbm{1} as fixes, and notation that also works on the web.
Cross Product in LaTeX\mathbf{a} \times \mathbf{b}
$a \times b$
\times between vectors, the i, j, k determinant with vmatrix, dotless-i unit vectors and the magnitude formula.
How to Type a Backslash in LaTeX\backslash
$∖$
The \ character in text (\textbackslash), in math (\backslash), in code (\verb) and as set minus (\setminus).
Angstrom Symbol in LaTeX\mathring{A}
$\overset{˚}{A}$
Å in text (\AA), in formulas (\mathring{A} or \text{\AA}) and as a unit with siunitx (\qty{1.5}{\angstrom}).
Divides and Does Not Divide in LaTeXa \nmid b
$a ∤ b$
a ∣ b with \mid, a ∤ b with \nmid (amssymb), and why | from the keyboard is spaced wrongly.
Accents in LaTeX\hat{x}\;\bar{x}\;\tilde{x}
$\hat{x} \bar{x} \tilde{x}$
Text accents (é ü ñ ç å) with \' \" \~ \c \r, math accents (\hat \bar \tilde \dot \vec) and when to just type UTF-8.
Tensor Product in LaTeXV \otimes W
$V \otimes W$
⊗ with \otimes, ⨂ with \bigotimes and its limits, ⊕ with \oplus, and tensor powers V^{\otimes n}.
How to Write an Ampersand in LaTeX\&
$&$
Print & with \&; & on its own is the column separator in tables, matrices and aligned equations.
How to Write a Bar in LaTeX\bar{x}
$\bar{x}$
x̄ with \bar, long bars with \overline, and the vertical bar | with \vert or \mid.
Congruent Symbol in LaTeX\cong
$≅$
≅ with \cong for geometry and isomorphism, ≡ with \equiv and \pmod for modular arithmetic, and \ncong / \not\equiv.
Perpendicular Symbol in LaTeX\perp
$⊥$
⊥ with \perp, ∥ with \parallel, \not\perp and \nparallel, and the orthogonal complement W^\perp.
How to Write Mod in LaTeXa \bmod n
$a mod n$
a mod b with \bmod, (mod n) after a congruence with \pmod, and the \mod and \pod variants.
Therefore Symbol in LaTeX\therefore
$∴$
∴ with \therefore, ∵ with \because, both from amssymb, plus \implies for logical steps.
Checkmark in LaTeX\checkmark
$✓$
✓ with \checkmark, ✓ and ✗ from pifont (\ding{51}, \ding{55}), and checklists in tables and lists.

Math structures and environments

Fractions, scripts, roots, sums, integrals, matrices, cases and aligned equations: how to build the formula around the symbols.

Text and formatting

Bold, italics, underline, lists, links and math mode: the commands for the text around your equations.

Write it, or convert it from a picture

Test any command in the free equation editor, or paste a screenshot of a formula and get its LaTeX.

Convert an image to LaTeX Open the equation editor