LaTeX Math Symbols Cheat Sheet

By Laxmi SolutionsUpdated October 13, 20263 min read

A reference of the LaTeX math commands you reach for most often, grouped by kind. Everything here works inside $ ... $ or a math environment. Symbols marked amssymb need \usepackage{amssymb}, and the environments at the end need \usepackage{amsmath}.

Greek letters

Lowercase and uppercase Greek letters
Symbol	Command	Symbol	Command
α	`\alpha`	Γ	`\Gamma`
β	`\beta`	Δ	`\Delta`
γ	`\gamma`	Θ	`\Theta`
δ	`\delta`	Λ	`\Lambda`
ϵ, ε	`\epsilon`, `\varepsilon`	Π	`\Pi`
θ	`\theta`	Σ	`\Sigma`
λ	`\lambda`	Φ	`\Phi`
μ	`\mu`	Ψ	`\Psi`
π	`\pi`	Ω	`\Omega`
σ	`\sigma`	ω	`\omega`
ϕ, φ	`\phi`, `\varphi`	ρ	`\rho`

There is no \Alpha or \Beta: capital Greek letters that look like Latin ones are typed as plain A, B, E and so on.

Operators and relations

Binary operators and relations
Symbol	Command	Symbol	Command
×	`\times`	≤	`\leq` or `\le`
÷	`\div`	≥	`\geq` or `\ge`
±	`\pm`	≠	`\neq` or `\ne`
∓	`\mp`	≈	`\approx`
⋅	`\cdot`	≡	`\equiv`
∘	`\circ`	∼	`\sim`
∞	`\infty`	∝	`\propto`
∂	`\partial`	≪, ≫	`\ll`, `\gg`
∇	`\nabla`	⊥, ∥	`\perp`, `\parallel`

Arrows

Arrows
Symbol	Command	Symbol	Command
→	`\to` or `\rightarrow`	⇒	`\Rightarrow` or `\implies`
←	`\leftarrow`	⇐	`\Leftarrow`
↔	`\leftrightarrow`	⇔	`\Leftrightarrow` or `\iff`
↦	`\mapsto`	⟶	`\longrightarrow`
↑, ↓	`\uparrow`, `\downarrow`	↪	`\hookrightarrow`

\implies and \iff come from amsmath and add extra space around the arrow.

Sets and logic

Set and logic symbols
Symbol	Command	Symbol	Command
∈	`\in`	∀	`\forall`
∉	`\notin`	∃	`\exists`
⊂	`\subset`	¬	`\neg`
⊆	`\subseteq`	∧	`\land` or `\wedge`
∪	`\cup`	∨	`\lor` or `\vee`
∩	`\cap`	∅	`\emptyset`
∖	`\setminus`	ℝ	`\mathbb{R}` (amssymb)

\mathbb{N}, \mathbb{Z}, \mathbb{Q} and \mathbb{C} give the other number sets.

Fractions, roots, sums and integrals

Structures
What	Command
Fraction	`\frac{a}{b}`; `\dfrac` forces display size inline
Binomial	`\binom{n}{k}` (amsmath)
Square and nth root	`\sqrt{x}`, `\sqrt[3]{x}`
Superscript, subscript	`x^2`, `x_i`, `x_{i+1}^{2}`: braces for more than one character
Sum, product	`\sum_{i=1}^{n} i`, `\prod_{k=1}^{n} k`
Integral	`\int_0^1 f(x)\,dx`, `\iint`, `\oint`
Limit	`\lim_{x \to 0} \frac{\sin x}{x}`
Functions	`\sin`, `\cos`, `\log`, `\ln`, `\exp`, `\max`, `\det`
Dots	`\ldots` (on the line), `\cdots` (centred), `\vdots`, `\ddots`

Accents, fonts and brackets

Accents, math fonts and delimiters
What	Command
Hat, bar, tilde	`\hat{x}`, `\bar{x}`, `\tilde{x}`
Vector, dot	`\vec{v}`, `\dot{x}`, `\ddot{x}`
Wide versions	`\widehat{xy}`, `\overline{AB}`
Bold, roman, calligraphic	`\mathbf{v}`, `\mathrm{d}`, `\mathcal{L}`
Text in math	`\text{if }` (amsmath)
Auto-sized brackets	`\left( \frac{a}{b} \right)`
Absolute value, norm	`\lvert x \rvert`, `\lVert v \rVert`
Spaces	`\,` thin, `\quad`, `\qquad`

Matrices, cases and aligned equations

These environments come from amsmath. Use & to separate columns and \\ to end a row.

% A matrix in round brackets (bmatrix for square ones)
\begin{pmatrix} a & b \\ c & d \end{pmatrix}

% A piecewise function
|x| = \begin{cases} x & \text{if } x \ge 0 \\ -x & \text{otherwise} \end{cases}

% Equations aligned at =
\begin{align}
  (a+b)^2 &= (a+b)(a+b) \\
          &= a^2 + 2ab + b^2
\end{align}

The first two go inside $ ... $ or \[ ... \]; align is a display environment of its own. Use align* to leave the lines unnumbered.

In Lemma, the Insert screen lists these symbols to tap, and Snap math can turn a handwritten formula into LaTeX. Writing Typst instead? See the Typst math cheat sheet.