This chart lists common symbols used in technical writing, their primary names, alternative names, and common usage in docs and code.
Great for writers, editors, and developers who want clarity when referring to symbols in documentation.
| Symbol | Primary Name | Other Names / Aliases | Common Use in Tech Writing |
|---|---|---|---|
& |
Ampersand | And symbol | Represents “and” in HTML (&), logic (bitwise AND). |
@ |
At sign | At symbol | Email addresses, decorators (Python), annotations (Java). |
# |
Hash | Pound sign, Number sign, Octothorpe | Markdown headings (# Title), script comments, issue tags (e.g., #123). |
$ |
Dollar sign | Cash symbol | Variables in shell ($var), string interpolation. |
% |
Percent sign | Modulus symbol (in code) | Modulo operation, percentage values, environment vars in Windows (%PATH%). |
* |
Asterisk | Star, Wildcard | Multiplication, Markdown formatting, pointer declarations, regex wildcards. |
/ |
Forward slash | Slash, Solidus | Paths (UNIX), fractions, division. |
\ |
Backslash | Reverse slash, Escape character | Windows paths, escaping characters in many languages. |
: |
Colon | Double dot | Time (12:00), key-value pairs (key: value), case labels in switch statements. |
; |
Semicolon | Statement terminator | Ends statements in languages like C, JS, Java. |
" |
Double quotation mark | Double quote, Quotes | Strings in code, quoting speech. |
' |
Apostrophe | Single quote, Prime (in math) | String delimiters, possession, contractions. |
‘’ |
Curly single quotes | Typographic single quotes | Used in formatted/professional text (not in code). |
“” |
Curly double quotes | Smart quotes, Typographic quotes | Used in formatted text (avoid in code). |
. |
Period | Dot, Full stop | Ends sentences, file extensions, object/member access. |
, |
Comma | List separator, function parameters. | |
~ |
Tilde | Approximate symbol, Bitwise NOT (in C) | Home directory (~), approximation (~5 items). |
! |
Exclamation mark | Bang, Not operator | Logical NOT, command negation, shell history (!cmd). |
? |
Question mark | Query symbol | Ternary operator, optional arguments, search queries in URLs. |
- |
Hyphen | Dash (short), Minus sign | Compound words, command-line flags (-h), subtraction. |
– |
En dash | Longer dash | Ranges (10–20), used in editorial style. |
— |
Em dash | Long dash | Breaks in thought—like this—in editorial writing. |
_ |
Underscore | Low line, Underline (in older texts) | Snake_case variables, filenames. |
= |
Equal sign | Assignment operator | Value assignment, equality check (==), key-value pairs. |
== |
Double equals | Equality operator | Comparison in many languages. |
!= |
Not equal | Inequality operator | Value comparison in many languages. |
<> |
Angle brackets | Less than/Greater than pair, Diamond brackets | HTML/XML tags, generics (Java, C++). |
[] |
Square brackets | Brackets, Box brackets | Arrays, indexing, optional items in syntax. |
{} |
Curly braces | Braces, Curly brackets | Code blocks, object literals (JavaScript), JSON. |
() |
Parentheses | Round brackets | Function calls, parameter grouping. |
| |
Pipe | Vertical bar, Bitwise OR | Shell piping (|), Markdown tables, bitwise operations. |
|| |
Double Pipe | Logical OR, Short-circuit OR | Used in logic (e.g., if (x || y)), shell fallback commands. |
&& |
Double ampersand | Logical AND | Used in condition checks in Bash and programming. |
> |
Greater than | Angle bracket (right), Redirect symbol | Comparisons, output redirection in shell. |
< |
Less than | Angle bracket (left) | Comparisons, HTML tag start. |
>> |
Double greater than | Append redirection | Appending output to a file in shell. |
<< |
Double less than | Here document operator | Used in shell scripting (<<EOF). |
^ |
Caret | Hat, XOR symbol, Power symbol (in some languages) | Exponentiation (Python: ** instead), XOR, start of regex. |
` |
Backtick | Grave accent, Inline code marker (Markdown) | Shell command substitution, Markdown inline code. |
… |
Ellipsis | Dot dot dot | Indicates omission or continuation. |
→ |
Right arrow | Arrow symbol | Flow, mapping, return values, direction. |
° |
Degree symbol | Used in temperature (20°C) or angle notation. |
|
© |
Copyright | Copyright notices. | |
® |
Registered trademark | Indicates registered brand. | |
™ |
Trademark | Unregistered brand indicator. |
Spotted a missing symbol or alias?
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