Less-Than Sign
U+003C<Symbol · decimal <
Comparison Symbols Copy & Paste
Pick from 213 comparison symbols for technical writing and notation. Encoded largely within Supplemental Mathematical Operators. 213 are symbol.
Copy comparison symbols
213 characters and sequences. Choose an entry and it copies straight away.
Nothing here matches that.
01
Comparison Symbols with Unicode names and HTML codes
A sample of 12 entries from the 213 on this page. Formal Unicode names are what separate the lookalikes; the hexadecimal and decimal references below reproduce each value exactly.
Greater-Than But Not Equal To
U+2269≩Symbol · decimal ≩
Colon Equals
U+2254≔Symbol · decimal ≔
Neither Greater-Than Nor Equal To
U+2271≱Symbol · decimal ≱
Square Image Of Or Equal To
U+2291⊑Symbol · decimal ⊑
Not Square Image Of Or Equal To
U+22E2⋢Symbol · decimal ⋢
Equals Sign With Two Dots Above And Two Dots Below
U+2A77⩷Symbol · decimal ⩷
Less-Than Above Double-Line Equal Above Greater-Than
U+2A8B⪋Symbol · decimal ⪋
Similar Or Greater-Than
U+2A9E⪞Symbol · decimal ⪞
Precedes Above Equals Sign
U+2AB3⪳Symbol · decimal ⪳
Subset Of Above Tilde Operator
U+2AC7⫇Symbol · decimal ⫇
Double-Line Slanted Greater-Than Or Equal To
U+2AFA⫺Symbol · decimal ⫺
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Comparison Symbols: types, meanings and practical differences
Comparison operators express equality, order, approximation and set relationships in technical writing.
These handle amounts, equations, money and ordered labels. Stored on this page are 213 entries, split 213 single characters to 0 sequences.
You will meet Less-Than Sign, Greater-Than But Not Equal To, Colon Equals, Neither Greater-Than Nor Equal To among these. Measured over the full set, the leading name patterns are Equal To Or (4), Less-Than Or Slanted (4), Greater-Than Or Slanted (4). Single-character values span U+003C to U+2AFA.
Browse comparison symbols by type
Symbol
213 entries
Counted from the stored set
The range these comparison symbols occupy
Single-character entries cover U+003C to U+2AFA, breaking down by general category as symbol 213.
Recurring formal-name families
Equal To Or (4), Less-Than Or Slanted (4), Greater-Than Or Slanted (4) lead the name frequencies — measured, not assumed.
How the multi-part entries are built
Sequence count is 0. Joiners appear in 0, variation selectors in 0, and the deepest entry stacks 1 code points.
How to choose the right form
The easy mix-up is Less-Than Sign versus Less-Than Above Double-Line Equal Above Greater-Than. They are different characters: U+003C and U+2A8B. Always check it in the place it will appear.
The grouping here follows practical use, not Unicode's formal categories.
213Symbol
Ordinary text symbols, styled by your CSS. 100% here.
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Comparison Symbols explained in plain English
Short summary
Pick from 213 comparison symbols on this page. Most of them, 213 in all, are symbol. Their home in Unicode is the Supplemental Mathematical Operators block.
Where they live in Unicode
They come from Supplemental Mathematical Operators (107), Mathematical Operators (104) and Basic Latin (2). The range is U+003C to U+2AFA. That spread is why fonts disagree.
Two that look alike
Less-Than Sign is not Less-Than Above Double-Line Equal Above Greater-Than. Read the name, not the shape.
Names repeat in families
“Equal To Or” opens 4 names here. Read past it.
Where to look next
Fraction Symbols, Infinity Symbols and Greek Symbols cover neighbouring ground when nothing here fits.
Vocabulary for this topic
The vocabulary below comes from the formal names and groupings of these comparison symbols.
- Symbol
- Comparison
- Less
- Greater
- Equal
- Approximately
- Less-Than
- Greater-Than
- Colon
- Equals
- Neither
- Square
Quick comparison
| Type | Examples | Good for | Watch for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Symbol | < > ≤ | Equations and technical documents | Picking Less-Than Sign when you wanted Greater-Than But Not Equal To |
Comparison operators state different mathematical relationships
Order, equality, approximation and set containment are separate claims. A visually similar operator can make the statement false.
| Relation | Characters | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| Order | < > ≤ ≥ | Less than, greater than and inclusive bounds. |
| Equality | = ≠ ≡ | Equal, not equal and identical or equivalent under a defined system. |
| Approximation | ≈ ≃ ∼ | Approximately equal, asymptotic or similarity meanings vary by discipline. |
| Set relation | ⊂ ⊃ ⊆ ⊇ | Proper or inclusive subset and superset distinctions. |
Practical note: Follow the textbook, specification or field convention. Add words in prose when readers may not share the notation system.
Keep exploring this topic
Compare these choices with fraction symbols and infinity symbols. For a deeper explanation, read How to Type Symbols: Alt Codes and Keyboard Shortcuts. A faster route to the same point: are unicode mathematical symbols safe to use in equations?.
Tip: Keep the plain words next to the symbol. Text is what makes a design searchable and readable to someone using a screen reader.
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How to use comparison symbols
Selecting an entry places its exact code points on your clipboard. Paste with Ctrl V, ⌘ V, or the Paste command on mobile.
01
Equations and technical documents
Reach for Less-Than Sign, and never let it replace a word that matters.
02
Prices, measurements and data labels
For prices, measurements and data labels, choose among the 213 symbol entries, then check the weight sits comfortably beside your type.
03
Numbered steps and diagram keys
When creating numbered steps and diagram keys, paste the complete entry — all of these are single code points, so a partial copy is not a risk here.
Copy-ready comparison symbols examples for equations and technical documents
Equations and technical documents
< Comparison referencePrices, measurements and data labels
< > ≤Numbered steps and diagram keys
≤ comparison <05
How to type these comparison symbols directly
If you would rather type than paste, the codes below are what you need — the decimal value for Windows, the hexadecimal for Word and macOS.
| Character | Name | Windows | Hex | HTML |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| < | Less-Than Sign | Alt 60 | 003C | < |
| ≩ | Greater-Than But Not Equal To | Alt 8809 | 2269 | ≩ |
| ≔ | Colon Equals | Alt 8788 | 2254 | ≔ |
| ≱ | Neither Greater-Than Nor Equal To | Alt 8817 | 2271 | ≱ |
| ⊑ | Square Image Of Or Equal To | Alt 8849 | 2291 | ⊑ |
| ⋢ | Not Square Image Of Or Equal To | Alt 8930 | 22E2 | ⋢ |
Two limits apply to alt codes: a physical keypad, and a ceiling at U+FFFF. Each platform's method is spelled out in the keyboard guide.
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How comparison symbols render across fonts, apps and devices
About 50% come from Supplemental Mathematical Operators. The rest come from Mathematical Operators and Basic Latin. These are all plain text.
Style them like any other letter.
What travels is the character; what you see is whatever font the destination reaches for. That is why the same comparison symbol can look heavier on a phone than in a document.
213Single characters
0Sequences
0Emoji properties
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Common mistakes with comparison symbols
- 1
Picking Less-Than Sign when you wanted Greater-Than But Not Equal To.
- 2
Treating the whole set as if it renders identically.
- 3
Treating these comparison symbols as interchangeable with the visually similar characters in fraction symbols.
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Comparison Symbols questions and answers
What is the difference between Less-Than Sign and Less-Than Above Double-Line Equal Above Greater-Than?+
U+003C is Less-Than Sign; U+2A8B is Less-Than Above Double-Line Equal Above Greater-Than. Because the encoded identity differs, substituting one for the other can change what a reader or a piece of software understands.
What is the HTML code for less-than sign?+
< is the hexadecimal form and < the decimal one; both render as <. On a page that declares UTF-8 you can also just paste the character.
Do these comparison symbols change colour with my text?+
Yes. None of the 213 entries on this page carry emoji properties, so each one inherits the colour, weight and size of the text around it, exactly like a letter does.
Which Unicode block are these comparison symbols in?+
Supplemental Mathematical Operators holds most of them — 107 characters; the rest come from Mathematical Operators and Basic Latin. Older blocks are the safe ones; anything added recently needs testing first.
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Learn more about comparison symbols
Tools that pair with comparison symbols
Numeric work runs into two recurring problems: producing a numeral in a compatible form, and spotting invisible characters that break a copied value.
Roman Numeral ConverterConvert whole numbers from 1 to 3,999 into ordinary Latin-letter Roman numerals for broad compatibility.Open the number converter →Invisible Character InspectorReveal zero-width spaces, joiners and direction marks without changing the text you paste into the inspector.Open the text inspector →
The Symbol Maker assembles any of these into a framed, copyable line. Seven browser-based utilities are collected in the Unicode tools hub, which explains which one fits which job.
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The data behind this page
All counts derive from the 213 values actually stored for this collection. Rather than curating names by hand, this page reads them from the Unicode 17.0 database, and takes emoji membership from the standard's own data files.
- Unicode Character Database — UnicodeData.txt (formal names and general categories)
- Unicode emoji-test.txt (fully-qualified emoji sequences and grouping)
- The Unicode Standard, current version
- How CoolSymbol.now sources, counts and tests this data