Not Equal Sign (≠)
The not equal sign ≠ is Unicode U+2260, meaning “is not equal to”. Press Copy to put it on your clipboard, or type it with Option + = on a Mac.
- Unicode
U+2260- HTML
≠- Word
2260 Alt+X- Mac
Option + =
How to type the not equal sign (≠)
The quickest way is to press Copy above and paste. To type ≠ yourself, use the method for your device below. On a Mac it is Option + =.
Windows
- In Word or Outlook, type 2260 and press Alt + X. Alt + X converts the hex code before the cursor into the character, and back again.
- Press Win + R, type charmap and press Enter. Tick “Advanced view”, search for Not Equal to, then Select and Copy. Character Map is built into every version of Windows.
Mac
- Press Option+=. On the standard US and US-International layouts.
- Press Control + Command + Space to open the Character Viewer, search for not equal and double-click it.
Linux & ChromeOS
- Press Ctrl + Shift + U, type 2260, then press Enter or Space. Works in GTK and IBus apps (GNOME, Firefox, Chrome, LibreOffice) and on ChromeOS.
- Press your Compose key, then = /. Needs a Compose key set in your keyboard settings.
iPhone & iPad
- Tap 123, then #+=, then touch and hold = and slide to ≠.
- Copy ≠ from this page, then go to Settings → General → Keyboard → Text Replacement and add it with a shortcut such as ;not. The shortcut then turns into the symbol as you type, in every app.
Android
- Copy ≠ here, then open Gboard settings → Dictionary → Personal dictionary and add it with a shortcut.
Microsoft Word
- Type 2260, then press Alt + X.
- Insert → Symbol → More Symbols. Set “from” to Unicode (hex), type 2260 in “Character code” and click Insert.
- On a Mac, Option+= works in Word too.
Google Docs
- Type != followed by a space; Google Docs substitutes ≠ automatically.
- Insert → Special characters, then search for “not equal” or draw it in the box.
Excel & Google Sheets
- Enter
=UNICHAR(8800)in a cell. It works in Excel 2013 and later and in Google Sheets.
HTML
- Write
≠or≠in your HTML.
What does ≠ mean?
≠ states that two values are different: 3 + 3 ≠ 7. It is an equals sign struck through, and it is usually credited to Leonhard Euler. Like = it takes a space on each side.
Programming languages cannot rely on the symbol, so they spell it out: != in C, JavaScript, Python and most others, <> in SQL, Visual Basic and Excel, and ~= in Lua and MATLAB. Some coding fonts draw != as a ligature that looks like ≠, but the file still contains two characters. Typing the real ≠ into code will cause a syntax error in most languages.
≠ only says the values differ; it does not say which is larger. For that you need <, >, ≤ or ≥.
Common uses
- Algebra and proofs: x ≠ 0 (so we may divide by x)
- Logic and set theory: a ≠ b
- Plain-text notes: “cost ≠ value”
Not Equal Sign codes for HTML, CSS and programming
Every code below produces ≠. Use the HTML entity in web pages, the CSS escape in content, and the escape sequence in source code.
| Unicode code point | U+2260 | |
|---|---|---|
| HTML entity (named) | ≠ | |
| HTML decimal | ≠ | |
| HTML hex | ≠ | |
| CSS content | content: "\2260"; | |
| JavaScript | "\u2260" | |
| Python | "\u2260" | |
| Python (by name) | "\N{NOT EQUAL TO}" | |
| Java / C# | "\u2260" | |
| LaTeX | \neq | |
| UTF-8 bytes | E2 89 A0 | |
| UTF-16 | 2260 | |
| URL encoded | %E2%89%A0 | |
| Mac shortcut | Option + = |
≠ vs look-alike characters
These characters look similar to ≠ but have a different meaning and code. Pasting the wrong one can break search, sorting and screen readers.
| Char | Name | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
Not Identical toU+2262 | Not identical to. The negated form of ≡, used for congruence and identity. | |
Not Almost Equal toU+2249 | Not almost equal to, the negated ≈. | |
EqualsU+003D | Equals sign. The ≠ sign is its negation; in formulas type <> (Excel) or != (code) instead of ≠. |
Symbols similar to ≠
Click to copy, or open a symbol for its codes. See the full math symbols collection.
≠ character properties
- Official Unicode name
- NOT EQUAL TO
- Also known as
- not equal to, does not equal, unequal sign, not equals symbol
- Code point
- U+2260
- Unicode block
- Mathematical Operators (U+2200–U+22FF)
- General category
- Math symbol (Sm)
- Added in
- Unicode 1.1 (1993)
- Plane
- Basic Multilingual Plane (0)
- Emoji
- No, it is a text symbol
Frequently asked questions
How do I write “not equal” in Excel?
Use <> in formulas, for example =IF(A1<>B1,"different","same"). The ≠ character is only text in Excel.
What is the not equal sign in Python or JavaScript?
Both use !=. JavaScript also has !== for strict inequality, which also compares the type.
Is there an alt code for the not equal sign?
No. ≠ is outside the Windows-1252 and code page 437 character sets, so no Alt + number code produces it. Copy it from this page, type 2260 then Alt + X in Word, or find it in Character Map.
How do I type the not equal sign on a Mac?
Press Option + =. It works in every app on the US keyboard layout. You can also open the Character Viewer with Control + Command + Space and search for it.
What is the HTML code for the not equal sign?
Use the named entity ≠ or the numeric reference ≠ (hex ≠). All three display ≠ in every browser.
What is the Unicode for the not equal sign?
≠ is U+2260, officially named NOT EQUAL TO, in the Mathematical Operators block. It has been part of Unicode since version 1.1 (1993).