Not equal sign (≠)
The not equal sign (≠) means the two sides do not have the same value. a ≠ b is read “a is not equal to b”.
How to read it
It is the equals sign with a slash through it, as OpenStax’s Prealgebra describes it, and is read “is not equal to”. NIST’s Guide for the Use of the International System of Units lists it among the standard mathematical signs, with the same reading. Its code point is U+2260, NOT EQUAL TO; Unicode defines it as = with a combining slash (U+0338) laid over it.
Also searched as: ≠, does not equal sign, not equal to symbol.
Look-alikes
Unicode cross-refers ≠ to ǂ (U+01C2), the Latin letter alveolar click, which also has two bars crossed by an upright stroke. ≢ (U+2262), NOT IDENTICAL TO, has three lines under its slash and is the negation of ≡.
More math symbols
Browse symbols drawn with lines.
Sources
- Mathematical Operators: Range 2200–22FF (code chart), The Unicode Standard, Version 18.0, Unicode Consortium, Mathematical Operators, 2260–2262
- Prealgebra 2e, 2.1 Use the Language of Algebra, OpenStax (Rice University), Inequality; Table 2.2
- Guide for the Use of the International System of Units (SI), NIST Special Publication 811 (2008), National Institute of Standards and Technology, Sec. 10.1.2
- Earliest Uses of Symbols of Relation, Jeff Miller, Earliest Uses of Various Mathematical Symbols, MacTutor History of Mathematics, University of St Andrews, Not equal to, not greater than, not less than
Last reviewed September 30, 2026 by Rory Hansen. How we research