Alpha Symbol
About Alpha Symbol
α is the Alpha Symbol, the lowercase form of the 1st letter of the Greek alphabet (Α / α). The Alpha Symbol α is among the most common Greek letters in scientific and technical literature, frequently used for In mathematics it denotes angles, coefficients, and regression intercepts, and also appears in alpha particles and significance levels.
【Pronunciation】 In English, α is most often pronounced AL-fuh (IPA: /ˈælfə/). This is simply the anglicized name of the Greek letter.
The lowercase Alpha Symbol α is written as a distinct Greek glyph and is assigned codepoint U+03B1 in the Greek and Coptic Unicode block. In plain or sans-serif fonts it can be mistaken for the Latin letter a, so verify the typeface or context.
【Historical Origin】 Alpha derives from the Phoenician letter aleph and was adopted by the Greeks as the first letter of their alphabet.
【Common Uses】 α is highly active across disciplines: In mathematics it denotes angles, coefficients, and regression intercepts, and also appears in alpha particles and significance levels. It often appears alongside the uppercase Sigma Σ and lowercase Sigma σ in formulas, papers, and engineering drawings.
How to Type Alpha Symbol
Windows Input
Method 1: Hold Alt and type 945 on the numeric keypad, then release Alt to get α.
Mac Input
Method 2: Press Control + Command + Space to open the Character Viewer, search for 'greek' or 'Alpha Symbol', then select α.
HTML/CSS Input
Method 3: HTML: α or α or α; CSS: content: "\03B1";
LaTeX Input
Method 4: Use the \alpha command in LaTeX math mode to produce α.
Alpha Symbol FAQ
How is α pronounced?
The English pronunciation of α is AL-fuh (IPA: /ˈælfə/). It is the anglicized name of the Greek letter, used directly rather than described as 'lowercase α'.
What is the difference between α and the Latin letter a?
α (U+03B1) is a Greek lowercase letter, whereas a is a Latin letter; their codepoints and glyphs differ. In a proper typeface α and a are clearly distinct, but in plain text or sans-serif fonts they can be confused, so rely on context.
How do I type α in Word, web pages, and LaTeX?
On Windows use Alt+945 on the numeric keypad; on Mac open the Character Viewer and search 'greek' or 'Alpha Symbol'; on the web use the HTML entity α; in LaTeX use \alpha. For bulk use, copy α directly from this page.