Math symbols · U+2264

≤Less than or equal symbol

≤ is the Less than or equal character. It is text, not a picture — it takes the colour of the type around it and pastes into anything.

How to type it
Unicode
U+2264
Alt code
Alt+8804
HTML
≤
Unicode name
Less-Than Or Equal To
U+2264Your font
≤

01 — Origin

Where the Less than or equal symbol comes from

The inequality signs < and > are Thomas Harriot’s, published posthumously in 1631. The versions with a bar underneath, meaning “or equal to”, came two centuries later from Pierre Bouguer, who wanted a single mark for a condition that previously took a sentence.

Constraints and thresholds — n ≤ 10, age ≤ 18, price ≤ 50. In documentation it beats <= because a reader never has to work out whether the two characters are one operator or two.

Worth knowing
Unicode also carries ≦ with a doubled bar, used in East Asian typesetting. It means the same thing but is spaced for full-width text and looks wrong in Latin.

02 — Codes

Less than or equal symbol codes

Copy whichever form your tool expects. The character behind them does not change.

03 — How to type

How to type ≤ on any keyboard

Pick the route that matches the program in front of you.

Windows
Hold Alt and type 8804 on the numeric keypad, then release. Without a keypad, use the Character Map app (search “charmap”).
Mac
Press Control + Command + Space to open the character viewer, then search “less than or equal”. Double-click to insert.
Phone
There is no shortcut on a phone keyboard. Tap the symbol at the top of this page, then long-press in any text field and choose Paste.
Web and code
In HTML write &#8804; or &#x2264;. In CSS content: "\2264". Make sure the page is served as UTF-8 and the raw character works too.

04 — Font support

Will ≤ actually show up?

We checked 147 fonts installed on a normal machine and counted how many of them contain this character. A symbol missing from a font is drawn as an empty box — the text is still correct, it just cannot be drawn.

87% 128 of 147 fonts

Safe in most places. Common fonts have it. Older or decorative fonts sometimes do not, so a fallback font will kick in.

05 — Similar

Symbols people confuse with ≤

Lookalikes that are not the same character at all — separate codes, separate fonts, and here they number 8.

≠ Not Equal ToU+2260 · has its own page

06 — Related

Other mathematical symbols

The rest of the family, one page each — origin, typing routes and font support, across all 6.

± Plus-minus symbolIn 97% of system fonts ÷ Division symbolIn 97% of system fonts × Multiplication symbolIn 97% of system fonts µ Micro symbolIn 95% of system fonts ° Degree symbolIn 97% of system fonts ∞ Infinity symbolIn 89% of system fonts

07 — Same block

Math symbols

Operators, set theory, logic, calculus — everything past the number row.

All math symbols →

08 — FAQ

Less than or equal symbol — questions

How do I type the Less than or equal symbol?
On Windows hold Alt and type 8804 on the numeric keypad. On Mac open the character viewer with Control + Command + Space and search “Less than or equal”. Or just tap the symbol on this page — it goes straight to your clipboard.
What is the HTML code for ≤?
Write it as &#8804; or &#x2264; in HTML, \2264 in CSS content, and \u2264 in JavaScript. All four produce the same character.
Is ≤ an emoji?
No. ≤ is a text character — it takes the colour of the text around it and works in usernames, filenames and documents. An emoji is replaced by a colour picture and is sometimes stripped by forms and systems.
Why does ≤ show as a box on some devices?
Because that font has no drawing for this character. We checked 147 fonts on a normal machine and 128 of them include it. The character itself is always correct; only the drawing is missing.