Not Equal Sign ≠ Copy and Paste

Click the big symbol above to copy it. The not equal sign is ≠ (U+2260). It shows that two values are different. Every symbol on this page is Unicode text, so it pastes into Word, Google Docs, Excel, emails and chats.

Not equal and related signs

Symbol	Name	Unicode	HTML code	Meaning
≠	Not equal to	U+2260	≠	Is not equal to
=	Equals sign	U+003D	=	Is equal to
≈	Almost equal to	U+2248	≈	Is roughly equal to
≅	Approximately equal to	U+2245	≅	Is congruent to (geometry)
≡	Identical to	U+2261	≡	Is always equal to, or is defined as
≢	Not identical to	U+2262	≢	Is not identical to
≤	Less-than or equal to	U+2264	≤	Is at most
≥	Greater-than or equal to	U+2265	≥	Is at least

What does ≠ mean?

a ≠ b means “a is not equal to b”. The two values are different.

• 3 ≠ 5 is true, because 3 and 5 are different numbers.
• x ≠ 0 means x can be any number except zero. You often see this in math rules, for example “divide by x, where x ≠ 0”.
• 2 + 2 ≠ 5 is a classic example of a true “not equal” statement.

The slash through the equals sign means “not”, the same way a slash through other math signs negates them, as in ≢ (not identical) or ≰ (not less than or equal).

How to type ≠

On Windows

• There is no standard Alt code for ≠. The quickest way is to copy it from this page.
• In Word, type 2260 and press Alt+X.

In Microsoft Word

• Type 2260 and press Alt+X right after it.
• Or go to Insert → Symbol → More Symbols, choose the Mathematical Operators subset, and pick ≠.
• In an equation box (Alt+=), type \ne and press Space.

In Google Docs

• Go to Insert → Special characters and search “not equal”.
• Docs may also turn != into ≠ as you type. You can check this under Tools → Preferences → Substitutions.

On Mac

• Press Option+= (Option and the equals key) to type ≠.

On iPhone and Android

• Android: on many keyboards, including Gboard, tap ?123, then press and hold the = key to see ≠.
• iPhone: copy ≠ once from this page and save it as a text shortcut under Settings → General → Keyboard → Text Replacement, for example “ne” → ≠.

In HTML and LaTeX

• HTML: ≠ or ≠
• LaTeX: \neq or \ne

How to write “not equal” in Excel and code

Computers usually do not use the ≠ symbol in formulas or code. Instead, they use two keyboard characters:

Where	Not equal operator	Example
Excel and Google Sheets	<>	=IF(A1<>B1,"Different","Same")
SQL	<> (most also accept !=)	WHERE status <> 'done'
Python, C, Java, PHP, R	!=	if x != 0:
JavaScript	!== (strict) or !=	if (a !== b)
Lua and MATLAB	~=	if x ~= 0 then
Haskell and Fortran	/=	x /= y

Use ≠ only when you want to show the sign as text, for example in a document or on a web page.

Frequently asked questions

What is the shortcut for not equal on a Mac?

Press Option and the equals key (Option+=). The ≠ sign appears right away.

Is there an Alt code for ≠ on Windows?

There is no standard Alt code for ≠ that works in every app. Copy it from this page, or in Word type 2260 and press Alt+X.

How do I write “not equal” in Excel?

Use <> inside formulas, for example =A1<>B1. Excel does not understand the ≠ symbol as an operator.

What is the difference between ≠ and ≢?

≠ means “not equal”. ≢ means “not identical”, a stronger statement used in logic and number theory, for example when two numbers are not congruent modulo n.

What does != mean?

!= is how most programming languages write “not equal”. It is the keyboard version of ≠.

More math signs: plus-minus ±, greater than or equal to ≥, and degree °. You can also browse all symbols.

Written by Muhammad Ilyas. Every code on this page is checked against the Unicode Standard. Found a mistake? Email hellomyaisteps@gmail.com.