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Less Than Sign (<)

The less than sign (<) shows that the value on the left is smaller than the value on the right — as in 3 < 7.

Less-Than Sign · U+003C · Comparison Signs

Click the symbol or the button to copy it, then paste it anywhere — documents, messages, bios and code.

Less Than Sign codes

Code	Value
Unicode code point	`U+003C`
Unicode name	`Less-Than Sign`
HTML named entity	`<`
HTML decimal	`<`
HTML hex	`<`
CSS content code	`\3C`
JavaScript / JSON	`\u003C`
Windows Alt code	No standard Alt code — copy it from the card above
LaTeX	`<`

Less Than Sign variants (8)

8 related glyphs — click any tile to copy it. Tiles with a page open that symbol's own page.

≤Less-Than Or Equal To≪Much Less-Than>Greater-Than Sign ≥Greater-Than Or Equal To ≠Not Equal To«Left-Pointing Double Angle Quotation Mark‹Single Left-Pointing Angle Quotation Mark〈Left-Pointing Angle Bracket

Meaning & usage

The less than sign compares two values and says the left one is smaller. The point of the sign always aims at the smaller value, and the wide opening faces the bigger one — the easy memory trick is that the sign looks like a tilted letter L for 'less'. Programmers also use it constantly: in code it tests conditions, and paired with > it builds the tags of HTML and XML, such as <p> for a paragraph.

Examples in use

2 < 9 — two is less than nine
Temps < 0°C expected tonight
<b>bold</b> — HTML tags use less than and greater than

How to type the less than sign

Windows

Press Shift+comma — the Less Than Sign is a standard keyboard character.

Mac

Press Shift+comma — the same as on Windows.

iPhone & Android

Most phone keyboards have no built-in key for <. Open this page on your phone, tap Copy, then paste it into your message or bio. (On Android, Gboard's emoji search finds some symbols by name.)

Linux

Press Ctrl+Shift+U, type 003c and press Enter (works in most GTK apps and terminals with IBus). Or copy it from this page.

Frequently asked questions

How can I remember which way the less than sign goes?

The less than sign looks like a leaning capital L, and L stands for Less. The point also always aims at the smaller number.

What is the difference between < and ≤?

The sign < means strictly less than, so 4 < 4 is false. The sign ≤ means less than or equal to, so 4 ≤ 4 is true.

How do I type the less than sign?

On most keyboards it is Shift + the comma key. Or click the symbol on this page to copy it and paste it where you need it.

Why does < sometimes show as a box or question mark?

The box (called tofu) means the device or font viewing it has no drawing for U+003C (Less-Than Sign). The character itself is fine — try a different font or a newer device, or use one of the variants on this page.

Is the Less Than Sign free to use?

Yes. < is a standard Unicode text character published in the Unicode Character Database. You may use it in personal and commercial documents, designs and products without permission or payment.