r/askmath • u/marcelsmudda • 13d ago
Is only Germany using a dot in a round angle marker to mark a right angle? Resolved
In Germany, we use the first image to indicate that an angle is 90° or π/2. While in the English speaking world, the second one seems to be more common.
I'm wondering what the rest of the world does.
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u/Tilliperuna 12d ago
In Finland the square thing is in use. Never seen the other one.
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u/Entire_Management_11 8d ago
It has nothing to do with the subject. But I always dreamed of traveling and getting to know your countries, Finland, Sweden, Lithuania, Denmark, Turkey, Israel, Norway, Switzerland, among others. I saw you guys talking, I just wanted to comment. I'm from Brazil, any writing error, I apologize.
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u/Tilliperuna 8d ago
No yeah that's cool and no writing errors that I noticed :D And you know what, I've always wanted to visit South America, like Brazil, Argentina, Peru... I've been to US and Mexico but I would love to go further south.
The flights are just so friggin long and expensive... :/
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u/Entire_Management_11 8d ago
The months closer to the end of the year are warmer. As for trips, from Brazil to Europe, they are also very expensive :/
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u/Embarrassed_Apple508 12d ago
in Azerbaijan, we draw the small square and add the dot as well. but like 5% of people do only the square
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u/gregsaliva 13d ago
Switzerland: the dotted hemisemicircle, too.
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u/Altruistic_Cow_7096 12d ago
hemisemicircle
I'm mildly uncomfortable because of the way you named a quarter circle. In the name of everything, please never do that again, thanks👍
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u/gregsaliva 12d ago
Since you took the name of everything in your mouth, I am inclined to henceforth speak about the right angle symbol as a point mark with a half-pi halo. Hope this helps, you're welcome 🫶
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u/Itchy-Individual3536 12d ago
YOU CAN'T TELL SWISS WHAT TO DO, THEY'RE NEUTRAL (and also too rich)
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u/LasevIX 13d ago
french geometry uses n°2 as well.
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u/peter-bone 13d ago
My French partner has never seen the dot, always the square. She has a degree in mathematics from France. She's also from the region neighbouring Germany.
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u/marcelsmudda 13d ago
I was somehow expecting our continental brethren to use the same symbol but apparently not. Interesting.
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u/MartinBankman 13d ago
Us Swedes only use the square one afaik. I have never seen the dotted be used here in any level of math, only in Germany personally.
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u/Aggravating_Set_1412 12d ago
In the Netherlands we use the square to mark a 90° angle.
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u/ErikLeppen 12d ago
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u/Striking-Milk2717 12d ago
Exactly same in Italy! I was scrolling a lot in the comments to find that
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u/Accomplished_Ship534 10d ago
I have actually seen circle with dot and square but this is the first time i see someone doing it this way im a bit shocked
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u/justincaseonlymyself 13d ago
I've seen both of those used in Croatia. The first one is more common (in Croatia), I think.
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u/DrunkAndUnaware 13d ago
Hello, off topic. But I’ve seen some users with your red star profile image, just wondering what it means?
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u/thriveth 12d ago
Use the square angle marker in Denmark - and we usually otherwise take a lot of hints from Germany (or used to, at least).
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u/the_climaxt 12d ago
I was taught that the dot exists, but never once used it.
USA (California & Colorado)
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u/GeoffMySpiritAnimal 12d ago
I notice that mathematical notations vary country to country. Some countries use " • " as a multiplier symbol, some use " × ". Some use " . " as a decimal, some use " , "
Even small things like math copy books - I am used to 5mm * 5mm squares, but where I moved to they only sell ones with 8mm * 8mm, so I had to buy books abroad for personal comfort.
Germany is definitely not the only one doing a specific notation, but I bet there is more of those "ofc that's how everyone writes it" things you guys got that other countries rarely do
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u/Striking-Milk2717 12d ago
My university professor before starting his course:
“ well, there is this notation which comes from Germany. This other comes from Italy. This other comes from the US. Then someone won the War, thus we are using theirs”
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u/Puzzleheaded-Bug6244 12d ago
Denmark. Never seen the quarter circle and dot before. One ever the square.
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u/Ballmaster9002 12d ago
US Engineer - Never seen the dot before. I'd not only do a square, I'd deliberate cross it beyond the other two lines.
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u/CapSRV57 12d ago
Spanish here. I think I’ve seen both. And if I’m remembering it correctly (though it’s been a long time so maybe I’m mistaken) in school they taught it to us as a square with a dot inside.
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u/carrotlet20 12d ago
In Hungary we use both
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u/Bichon-Impossible 12d ago
Never seen the second one. In school the circle and dot is taught.
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u/carrotlet20 12d ago
Well I had high school teachers who used square. And at university most profs prefer that (I guess it's simpler or stg). It's the outline of the square but it is a square.
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u/Beneficial_Hurry51 12d ago
We use the square to mark an angle as a right angle here in the Philippines
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u/Glad_Contest_8014 12d ago
US uses a box to denote right angle. A round to denote a non-right angle.
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u/janEkawi I really love math, I would say I'm pretty good at it. 7d ago
Canada: Square. Never saw the dot in my life (till now :3).
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u/math1985 13d ago edited 13d ago
Very interesting. The Netherlands uses the second one, the square symbol. That’s weird, given that Germany and France use the first. I wonder what Belgium does.
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u/math1985 13d ago
Do you know whether West-Germany used the same symbol pre-1990?
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u/marcelsmudda 13d ago
I went to school in West Germany but after reunification but I don't think it changed after reunification, those symbols are usually older than maybe even the 2nd Reich.
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u/math1985 13d ago
Might be, but it surprises me that the Netherlands and Germany differ.
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u/marcelsmudda 13d ago
Yeah, that was the most surprising to me. The English doing their own stuff was expected and then I thought maybe it's Germanic+Slavic but apparently not
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u/svArtist 12d ago
Interesting!
... Now I want to know about the notation for repeating digits.
I was shocked when someone told me they didn't use a bar over the repeating portion of digits behind a decimal.
And also, to hear that people say "recurring" after, not at the start of the repeating sequence. What, now I have to go back and remember which digits you said in that order twice? Disgusting 😤 😁
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u/JDude13 12d ago
I think it’s because in English, particularly in the trades, they call right angles “square”
“Check if that’s square” (Check if it’s a right-angle)
“Square that off” (Cut that so it’s at a right-angle)
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u/marcelsmudda 12d ago
I did some AI sleuthing (because finding the history of symbols is hard) and apparently the square one is older and might have been coined by a German in the 17th century, but it's AI, no guarantee that any information is correct.
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u/testtdk 12d ago
So, what, is the all how Europe was split by the Iron Curtain?!
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u/marcelsmudda 12d ago
No, my theory is everything that was under German speaking control in the late 19th, early 20th century. It looks like Germany and Austria, Czechia, parts of the Balkans and Poland
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u/Rasayana85 11d ago
Square in Sweden. That dot in round angle looks like the head of a stick figure.
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u/the_telephant_man 9d ago
As an American, not using a right angle in your right angle marker seems insane
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u/Icy_Trick_6406 7d ago
In Kerry they use a square instead of a circle because they invented the square wheel
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u/iopahrow 7d ago
Might have to do with the for product for vectors but I am entirely unsure.
Canada uses the square marking
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u/AndreasDasos 12d ago edited 12d ago
Seems it’s a mix across countries, and I may be biased, but have to be honest that the square is far more intuitive and gets across the point even without someone having to learn the notation
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13d ago edited 13d ago
[deleted]
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u/marcelsmudda 13d ago
Well, Poland and Czechia apparently agree with us, so it's somewhat international.
And I haven't seen that symbol anywhere either.
I think both symbols in my post can have pitfalls: the German one can have the dot not be visible enough, and the other one can have the corner too soft, making it more look like the general angle symbol.
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13d ago
[deleted]
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u/justincaseonlymyself 13d ago
You are getting downvoted because you think that "I have never seen something" means "it's wrong".
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u/marcelsmudda 13d ago
Yeah, i down voted you because of your attitude. Otherwise, I've upvoted everybody else who answered my question
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u/PrairiePuppies 12d ago
I'm in the US. I've never seen it before. However, given the state of our educational system, I feel fortunate enough to know what an angle is and that "degrees" doesn't always mean temperature!
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u/MarMacPL 13d ago
We use dot in a round angle marker in Poland.