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Geometry › Symbols

Geometric symbols

A geometer's shorthand — once you know the marks, every diagram reads faster.

Symbol matching game

Drag each symbol onto its name. 0/8 matched.

Symbols deck

π
~
°

Drop on the matching name

Congruent

?

△ABC ≅ △DEF

Similar

?

△ABC ~ △DEF

Degrees

?

90°

Parallel

?

AB ∥ CD

Pi

?

π ≈ 3.14159

Perpendicular

?

AB ⊥ CD

Angle

?

∠ABC = 60°

Triangle

?

△ABC

Reading a labelled diagram

When you see hash marks on two sides of a triangle, those sides are the same length. When you see a small square in a corner, that corner is a right angle. Arrows in the middle of two lines mean the lines are parallel.

Naming things

  • Points — single capital letter: A, B, C.
  • Lines / segments / rays — by their two endpoints: AB.
  • Angles — by three points (vertex in the middle): ∠ABC.
  • Triangles — by their three vertices: △ABC.

Why notation matters

One labelled diagram can carry the equivalent of a paragraph of words. The symbols aren't decoration — they're how geometers compress logical relationships into a picture you can scan in a second.