Not Equal Symbol (≠): Meaning, How to Type It, and LaTeX
July 22, 2026
The not equal symbol is ≠ — an equals sign with a stroke through it, meaning the two sides are different. Copy it below, or jump to how to type it, including the != form used in code.
| Character | Unicode | HTML entity | LaTeX | Windows alt code |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ≠ not equal to | U+2260 | ≠ | \neq | — |
| ≈ approximately equal | U+2248 | ≈ | \approx | Alt + 247 |
What the symbol means
| Where | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Maths | a ≠ b — the two values are not the same |
| Programming | Written != in most languages, /= in Haskell, <> in SQL |
| Statistics | A two-tailed alternative hypothesis, H₁: μ ≠ μ₀ |
| Related signs | ≈ approximately, ≡ identically, ≢ not identically |
The family of equality signs
Equality has more shades than one symbol can carry. A plain = asserts two things are the same value. ≡ says they are identical for every value of the variables, which is a stronger claim. ≈ says close enough for the purpose at hand, and ∝ says proportional. Picking the right one is part of writing clearly.
≠ in a hypothesis test
The alternative hypothesis decides whether a test is one-tailed or two. Writing ≠ says you care about a difference in either direction, which splits the significance level between both tails — and makes it harder to reach significance than a directional test.
Choose the direction before seeing the data. Switching from ≠ to > after the fact halves your p-value and is a textbook form of p-hacking.
In code it is != , not ≠
Almost no programming language accepts the Unicode character. C, Java, Python, JavaScript and most others use !=; SQL accepts <> as well; Haskell uses /=. Pasting ≠ into source usually produces a syntax error, and occasionally something worse — an invisible character inside a string.
How to type it
Windows
- ≠ has no legacy alt code. In Word, type
2260and pressAlt + X - Elsewhere, press
Windows + .and search “not equal” - ≈:
Alt + 247on the numeric keypad
Mac
- ≠:
Option + = - ≈:
Option + X
HTML
≠or≠for ≠≈for ≈,≡for ≡
In LaTeX
\neq and \ne are the same command. The general negation prefix \not works on most relations, so you can strike through symbols that have no dedicated command.
Prefer the dedicated commands where they exist — \neq and \notin are better spaced than \not= and \not\in, which can collide with the glyph beside them.
Frequently asked questions
How do I type the not equal sign?
Option + = on Mac. On Windows, type 2260 then Alt + X in Word, or use Windows + . elsewhere. Or copy ≠ from the card above.
What is the difference between ≠ and !=?
None in meaning. ≠ is the typographic symbol for written maths; != is the ASCII form used in code because keyboards and compilers only handle ASCII.
What does ≢ mean?
Not identically equal, or not congruent — the negation of ≡. It appears most often in modular arithmetic.
See also the plus-minus symbol, the union symbol and mathematical symbols in LaTeX.
Try it free
Hours of retyping, gone.
Turn statistics working into submission-ready LaTeX in seconds — every relation, subscript and Greek letter already in place.
Convert your paper
Empowering students and researchers with AI-powered tools for academic writing.
Go to appContact us© 2026 Underleaf. All rights reserved.