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\approx is the everyday 'about equal'. \sim is looser and also reads as 'distributed as' in statistics (X ∼ N(0,1)). \simeq and \cong carry specific meanings in asymptotics and geometry.
All ways to write it
| Command | Use | Package | Copy |
|---|---|---|---|
\approx | approximately equal, ≈ | none | |
\sim | similar / of the order of, ∼ | none | |
\simeq | asymptotically equal, ≃ | none | |
\cong | congruent, ≅ | none | |
\thickapprox | — | amssymb |
Commands marked with a package need that \usepackage line in a LaTeX document.
Example
\pi \approx 3.14159, \qquad X \sim \mathcal{N}(\mu, \sigma^2)Numeric approximation, and a random variable's distribution.
Questions
What is the difference between \approx and \sim?
\approx means numerically close. \sim means similar in some looser sense, or 'is distributed as' in probability.
Related symbols
- Not equal ≠
\neq - Equivalent ≡
\equiv - Proportional ∝
\propto - Tilde ∼
\sim
Using approximately in Confluence
Confluence Cloud has no built-in LaTeX. With LaTeX Math for Confluence you add a math macro to any page, type \approx and it renders inline or as a block, with a live preview while you edit. Every command on this page renders there without extra packages.