Strict inequalities (greater/less than) in text-mode

3 Comments

Strict inequalities are widely used in math equations as well as within text for comparisons. They can be produced using the ordinary (inline) math-mode ($...$) without loading a specific package.

c > d

$c > d$

d < c

$d < c$

In order to omit the math-mode within a text-paragraph, LaTeX knows text-mode commands for these symbols.

Greater than (>):

\textgreater

Less than (<):

\textless

Non-strict inequalities (\le and \ge), however, can only be produced using the inline math mode.

a \le b

$a \le b$

b \ge a

$b \ge a$

Finally, the equal symbol (=) is available in both text- and math-mode.

3 Comments

  2. Andy

    Is there a way to remove the space between the less/greater equal signs?

    It always makes a space between sign and number. I tried following:

    $\le200$
\le200
\le~200

    but doesn’t remove the space..

    Reply

    • tom

      Hi Andy,

      You could add a thin “negative space” space (\!) or two, if you’d rather not have the space:

      \documentclass{article}
\begin{document}

$\le200$

$\le\!200$

$\le\!\!200$

\end{document}
      Reply

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