LaTeX Math Symbols: The Commands You Actually Need

How-To Guides · 2 min read · Published October 25, 2026

Quick answer: LaTeX writes maths with commands inside maths mode: $\alpha + \beta$ gives α + β, \frac{a}{b} a fraction, \sqrt{x} a root, \sum ∑, \int ∫ and \infty ∞. Most commands are built in; double-struck letters such as ℝ need \usepackage{amssymb}. Below are the commands people look up most, grouped by topic, with the symbol each one produces.

Maths mode basics

• Inline: $E = mc^2$. Displayed on its own line: \[ E = mc^2 \].
• Superscript ^ and subscript _; use braces for more than one character: x^{10}, a_{ij}.
• Normal words inside maths: \text{if } (from amsmath).

Greek letters

\alpha α, \beta β, \gamma γ, \delta δ, \epsilon ϵ / \varepsilon ε, \theta θ, \lambda λ, \mu μ, \pi π, \sigma σ, \phi ϕ / \varphi φ, \omega ω. Capitals start with an upper-case letter: \Gamma Γ, \Delta Δ, \Sigma Σ, \Omega Ω. Capitals that look like Latin letters (A, B, E…) have no command; just type the letter. To type the Greek characters directly elsewhere, see how to type Greek letters.

Operators and relations

Fractions, roots, sums and integrals

• \frac{a}{b}: fraction. \sqrt{x}: √x, \sqrt[3]{x}: cube root.
• \sum_{i=1}^{n}: ∑ with limits. \prod: ∏.
• \int_a^b f(x)\,dx: ∫ with limits (\, adds a thin space before dx). \iint ∬, \oint ∮.
• \lim_{x \to 0}: limit. \partial ∂, \nabla ∇, \infty ∞.

Meanings of these symbols are explained in calculus symbols.

Sets, logic and arrows

\in ∈, \notin ∉, \subset ⊂, \subseteq ⊆, \cup ∪, \cap ∩, \setminus ∖, \emptyset ∅ (or \varnothing), \mathbb{R} ℝ, \forall ∀, \exists ∃, \neg ¬, \land ∧, \lor ∨, \Rightarrow ⇒, \Leftrightarrow ⇔, \to →, \mapsto ↦. See set theory symbols.

Accents

\bar{x} x̄, \hat{p} p̂, \vec{v} (arrow over v), \dot{x} (dot over x), \overline{AB} (long bar). In plain text, x̄ needs a combining mark; see statistics symbols.

Finding a command you don't know

• Draw the symbol in Detexify and it suggests the command.
• The Comprehensive LaTeX Symbol List on CTAN lists thousands of symbols and the package each needs.

Using the same commands outside LaTeX

Word's equation editor (Alt+=) and Google Docs equations accept many of these commands followed by a space, which is often the fastest way to type maths in a document (see symbols in Word). Notion, Jupyter and many websites render LaTeX through KaTeX or MathJax. For a single symbol in ordinary text, though, copying the character from our math symbols pages is quicker.

Frequently asked questions