Pronunciation of mathematical symbols

http://www.uefap.com/speaking/symbols/symbols.htm

Common pronunciations (in British English - Gimson,1981) of mathematical and scientific symbols are given in the list below. (all the pages in this section need a unicode font installed - e.g. Arial Unicode MS, Doulos SIL Unicode, Lucida Sans Unicode - see: The International Phonetic Alphabet in Unicode).

Symbols
+ x / = > <
4 n

plus minus plus or minus multiplied by over; divided by divided equals approximately, similar equivalent to; identical not equal to greater than less than greater than or equal to less than or equal to not greater than not less than much greater than much less than perpendicular to parallel to not equivalent to, not identical to not similar to squared cubed to the fourth; to the power four to the n; to the nth; to the power n root; square root

/'pls/ /'mans/ /'pls : 'mans/ /'mltplad ba/ /'v/ /d'vadd/ /d'vadd/ /':kwlz/ /'prksmtl/ /'sml t/ /k'wvlnt t/ /a'dentkl t/ /'nt 'ikwl t/ /'gret n/ /'les n/ /'gret n r 'ikwl t/ /'les n r' ikwl t/ /'nt 'gret n/ /'nt 'les n/ /'m 'gret n/ /'m 'les n/ /ppn'dkjl t/ /'prlel t/ /'nt k'wvlnt t/ /'nt a'dentkl t/ /'nt 'sml t/ /'skwed/ /'kju:bd/ /t 'f/ /te 'p f/ /t en; t d en; t pr en/ /ru:t/ /skwe ru:t/

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Pronunciation of mathematical symbols

http://www.uefap.com/speaking/symbols/symbols.htm

! % : f(x) fx f'(x) f''x f'''(x) f(4) w.r.t. log logx / cos x sin x

cube root fourth root factorial percent infinity varies as; proportional to dot double dot is to, ratio of f; function f dash; derivative f double-dash; second derivative f triple-dash; f treble-dash; third derivative f four; fourth derivative partial derivative, delta integral sum with respect to log log to the base 2 of x therefore because gives, leads to, approaches per belongs to; a member of; an element of

/kju:b ru:t/ /f rut/ /fk'trl/ /p'sent/ /n'fnt/ /'vrz/ /pr'pnl/ /dt/ /dbl dt/ /re/ /ef/ /'fkn/ /d/ /d'rvtv/ /'dbl d/ /'seknd d'rvtv/ /'trpl d/ / trebl d/ /:d d'rvtv/ /f d'rvtv/ /pal d'rvtv/ /delt/ /'ntgrl/ /sm/ /w 'rspekt/ /lg/ /lg t bes tu: v eks/ /'f/ /b'kz/ /gvz/ /li:dz t/ /prz/ /p:/ /b'lz/ /'memb/ /'elmnt/

does not belong to; is not a member of; is /nt b'l/ /nt 'memb/ /nt n not an element of 'elmnt/ contained in; a proper subset of contained in; subset intersection union for all cos x; cosine x sine x /kn'tend n/ /'prp 'sbset/ /'sbset/ /'ntsekn/ /'junn/ /f r:l/ /kz/ /san/

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Pronunciation of mathematical symbols

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tan x cosec x sinh x cosh x tanh x |x| K 0K, 273.15 C mm cm cc, cm m km mg g kg AC DC

tangent x cosec x shine x cosh x than x mod x; modulus x degrees Centigrade degrees Fahrenheit degrees Kelvin absolute zero millimetre centimetre cubic centimetre, centimetre cubed metre kilometre milligram gram kilogram A.C. D.C.

/tan/ /'ksek/ /'an/ /'k/ /n/ /md/ /'mdjls/ /d'gri:z 'sentgred/ /d'gri:z 'frnhat/ /d'gri:z 'kelvn/ /abslu:t zi:r/ /'mlmit/ /'sentmit/ /'kjubk 'sentmit/ /'sentmit 'kju:bd/ /'mit/ /k'lmt/ /'mlgrm/ /grm/ /'klgrm/ /e si:/ /di: si:/

Examples
x+1 x -1 x1 xy (x y)(x + y) x/y xy x plus one x minus one x plus or minus one x y; x times y; x multiplied by y x minus y, x plus y x over y; x divided by y; x divided by y

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Pronunciation of mathematical symbols

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x=5 xy xy xy x>y x<y xy xy 0<x<1 0x1 x x x4 xn x-n

x equals 5; x is equal to 5 x is approximately equal to y x is equivalent to y; x is identical with y x is not equal to y x is greater than y x is less than y x is greater than or equal to y x is less than or equal to y zero is less than x is less than 1; x is greater than zero and less than 1 zero is less than or equal to x is less than or equal to 1; x is greater than or equal to zero and less than or equal to 1 x squared x cubed x to the fourth; x to the power four x to the n; x to the nth; x to the power n x to the minus n; x to the power of minus n root x; square root x; the square root of x the cube root of x the fourth root of x the nth root of x

(x + y) (x/y) n! x% xy x 1/y f(x) fx f'(x) f''x f'''(x) f(4)

x plus y all squared x over y all squared n factorial; factorial n x percent infinity x varies as y; x is (directly) proportional to y x varies as one over y; x is indirectly proportional to y x dot x double dot f of x; the function of x f dash x; the (first) derivative of with respect to x f double-dash x; the second derivative of f with respect to x f triple-dash x; f treble-dash x; the third derivative of f with respect to x f four x; the fourth derivative of f with respect to x

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Pronunciation of mathematical symbols

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v v v dv dv d dv d

the partial derivative of v delta v by delta theta, the partial derivative of v with respect to delta two v by delta theta squared; the second partial derivative of v with respect to the derivative of v d v by d theta, the derivative of v with respect to theta d 2 v by d theta squared, the second derivative of v with respect to theta, integral integral from zero to infinity

sum the sum from i equals 1 to n

w.r.t. logey x 0 lim

with respect to log to the base e of y; log y to the base e; natural log (of) y therefore because gives, approaches delta x approaches zero the limit as delta x approaches zero, the limit as delta x tends to zero the limit as delta x approaches zero, the limit as delta x tends to zero metres per second x belongs to A; x is a member of A; x is an element of A x does not belong to A; x is not a member of A; x is not an element of A A is contained in B; A is a proper subset of B A is contained in B; A is a subset of B A intersection B A union B cos x; cosine x sine x tangent x, tan x cosec x

Lt
x0

m/sec xA x A A B AB AB AB cos x sin x tan x cosec x

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Pronunciation of mathematical symbols

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sinh x cosh x tanh x |x| 18 70

shine x cosh x than x mod x; modulus x eighteen degrees Centigrade seventy degrees Fahrenheit

Greek alphabet
alpha beta delta zeta /'lf/ /'bi:t/ /'delt/ /'zit/ /'it/ /'it/ /a't/ /'kp/ /'lmd/ /'mju/ /'nju/ /'ksa/ /'pa/ /'r/ /'sgm/ /'t/ /'fa/ /'ka/ /'psa/

gamma /'gm/ epsilon /'epsiln/

eta theta iota kappa lamda nu xi

mu

omicron /'mkrn/ pi rho sigma tau

upsilon /'jpsln/ phi chi psi

omega /'mg/

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Pronunciation of mathematical symbols

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Roman alphabet
A a /'e/ B b /'bi/ C c /'si/ D d /'di/ E e /'i/ F f /'ef/ G g /'i/ H h /'e/ I i /'a/ /'e/ /'el/ J j L l

K k /'ke/ M m /'em/ N n /'en/ O o /'/ P p /'pi/ Q q /'kju/ R r /'/ S s /'es/ T t /'ti:/ U u /'ju:/ V v /'vi:/ W w /'dblju/ X x /'eks/ Y y /'wa/ Z z /'zed/

Fractions

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Pronunciation of mathematical symbols

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a half a quarter a third two thirds a fifth two fifths three fifths four fifths a sixth five sixths an eighth five eighths

/ 'h:f/ / 'kwt/ / ':d/ /tu: ':dz/ / 'ff/ /tu: 'ffs/ /ri 'ffs/ /f 'ffs/ / 'sks/ /fav 'skss/ /n 'et/ /fav 'ets/

three quarters /ri 'kwtz/

three eighths /ri 'ets/ seven eighths /sevn 'ets/

Decimal Fractions
0.1 0.01 0.0001 1.1 1.2 1.23 1.0123 10.01 21.57 2.6666666666.... 2.5 million nought point one nought point oh one nought point oh oh oh one one point one one point two one point two three one point oh one two three ten point oh one twenty-one point five seven two point six recurring two point five million /n:t pnt wn/ /n:t pnt wn/ /ten pnt wn/ /wn pnt wn/ /wn pnt tu:/ /wn pnt tu: ri:/ /wn pnt wn tu: ri:/ /ten pnt wn/ /'twent wn pnt fav 'sevn/ /tu: pnt sks r'k:r/ /tu: pnt fav 'mljn/

2.612361236123... two point six one two three recurring /tu: pnt sks wn tu: ri: r'k:r/

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Pronunciation of mathematical symbols

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SI Units: Prefixes
10-24 yocto y /'jkt/ 10-21 zepto z /'zept/ 10-18 atto 10-12 pico a /'at/ /'femt/ p /'pi:k/ 10-15 femto f

10-9 nano n /'nan/ 10-6 micro /'makr/ 10-3 milli 10-2 centi 10-1 deci 103 106 109 kilo giga m /'ml/ c /'sent/ d /'des/ k /'kl/ G /'gg/ T /'ter/ P /'pet/ E /'eks/

mega M /'meg/

1012 tera 1015 peta 1018 exa

1021 zetta Z /'zet/ 1024 yotta Y /'jt/ 1027 xona X /'zn/ 1030 weka W /'wek/ 1033 vunda V /'vnd/

Cardinal Numbers
1 2 3 4 one two three four /wn/ /tu:/ /ri:/ /f/

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Pronunciation of mathematical symbols

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5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 101

five six seven eight nine ten eleven twelve thirteen fourteen fifteen sixteen seventeen eighteen nineteen twenty twenty-one twenty-two twenty-three twenty-four twenty-five twenty-six twenty-seven twenty-eight twenty-nine thirty forty fifty sixty seventy eighty ninety a hundred; one hundred a hundred and one

/fav/ /sks/ /'sevn/ /et/ /nan/ /ten/ /'levn/ /twelv/ /:'ti:n/ /f'ti:n/ /ff'ti:n/ /skst'i:n/ /seven'ti:n/ /e'ti:n/ /nan'ti:n/ /'twent/ /twent'wn/ /twent'tu:/ /twent'ri:/ /twent'f/ /twent'fav/ /twent'sks/ /twent'sevn/ /twent'et/ /twent'nan/ /':t/ /'ft/ /'fft/ /'skst/ /'sevnt/ /'et/ /'nant/ / 'hndrd/ /wn 'hndrd/ / 'hndrd n wn/

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Pronunciation of mathematical symbols

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102 110 120 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1 000 1 001 1 010 1 020 1 100 1 101 1 110 9 999 10 000 15 356 100 000 1 000 000 100 000 000 1 000 000 000 100 000 000 000 1 000 000 000 000 1 000 000 000 000 000

a hundred and two a hundred and ten a hundred and twenty two hundred three hundred four hundred five hundred six hundred seven hundred eight hundred nine hundred a thousand, one thousand a thousand and one a thousand and ten a thousand and twenty one thousand, one hunded one thousand, one hundred and one one thousand, one hundred and ten nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine ten thousand fifteen thousand, three hundred and fifty six a hundred thousand a million a hundred million a billion a hundred billion a trillion a quadrillion

/ 'hndrd n tu:/ / 'hndrd n ten/ / 'hndrd n 'twent/ /tu: 'hndrd/ /ri: 'hndrd/ /f 'hndrd/ /fav 'hndrd/ /sks 'hndrd/ /'sevn 'hndrd/ /et 'hndrd/ /nan 'hndrd/ / 'znd/ /wn 'znd/ / 'znd n wn/ / 'znd n ten/ / 'znd n 'twent/ /wn 'znd wn 'hndrd/ /wn 'znd wn 'hndrd n wn/ /wn 'znd wn 'hndrd n ten/ /nan 'znd nan 'hndrd n 'nant 'nan/ /ten 'znd/ /'ffti:n 'znd ri: 'hndrd n 'fft sks/ / 'hndrd 'znd/ / 'mljn/ / 'hndrd 'mljn/ / 'bljn/ / 'hndrd 'bljn/ / 'trljn/ / kwdrljn/ / kwn'tljn/ / seks'tljn/

1 000 000 000 000 000 000 a quintillian 1 000 000 000 000 000 000 a sextillion 000

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Pronunciation of mathematical symbols

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1 000 000 000 000 000 000 a septillion 000 000 1 000 000 000 000 000 000 an ocillion 000 000 000 1 000 000 000 000 000 000 a nonillion 000 000 000 000 1 000 000 000 000 000 000 a decillion 000 000 000 000 000

/ sep'tljn/ /n kt'tljn/ / nn'ljn/ / de'sljn/

Ordinal Numbers
1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th 13th 14th 15th 16th 17th 18th 19th 20th 21st 22nd 23rd first second third fourth fifth sixth seventh eighth ninth tenth eleventh twelfth thirteenth fourtheenth fidteenth sixteenth seventeenth eighteenth nineteenth twentieth twenty-first twenty-third /f:st/ /'seknd/ /:d/ /f:/ /ff/ /sks/ /'sevn/ /et/ /nan/ /ten/ /'levn/ /'twelf/ /:'ti:n/ /f'ti:n/ /ff'ti:n/ /sks'ti:n/ /seven'ti:n/ /e'ti:n/ /nan'ti:n/ /'twent/ /twent'f:st/ /twent':d/

twenty-second /twent'seknd/

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Pronunciation of mathematical symbols

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24th 25th 26th 27th 28th 29th 30th 31st 40th 50th 100th 1 000th

twenty-fourth twenty-fifth twenty-sixth twenty-eighth twenty-ninth thirtieth thirty-first fortieth fiftieth hundredth thousandth

/twent'f:/ /twent'ff/ /twent'sks/ /twent'et/ /twent'nan/ /'t/ /t'f:st/ /'f:t/ /'fft/ /'hndrd/ /'znd/ /'mljn/

twenty-seventh /twent'sevn/

1 000 000th miilionth

Chemicals

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