Zeta Symbol Ζ ζ Copy and Paste

Zeta Symbols — Copy Them Here

Uppercase Zeta: Ζ

Lowercase Zeta: ζ

What Is the Zeta Symbol?

Zeta (ζήτα) is the sixth letter of the Greek alphabet. In the Greek numeral system, it has a value of 7. The uppercase form is Ζ and the lowercase is ζ. It originated from the Phoenician letter zayin, which meant "weapon" or "sword."

Unicode Codes

• Uppercase Ζ: U+0396
• Lowercase ζ: U+03B6
• HTML uppercase: Ζ
• HTML lowercase: ζ

Keyboard Shortcuts

Windows

• Hold Alt and type 950 on the numeric keypad for lowercase ζ
• Hold Alt and type 918 on the numeric keypad for uppercase Ζ

Mac

• Lowercase ζ: Press Option + Z

iPhone and Android

Add the Greek keyboard in your phone settings. Then switch to it and type "z" to get ζ. Or copy-paste from above.

Where Zeta Is Used

Mathematics

• Riemann zeta function — one of the most important functions in number theory, connected to the distribution of prime numbers
• Weierstrass zeta function — used in complex analysis
• Dedekind zeta function — generalization of the Riemann zeta function for algebraic number fields

Physics and Engineering

• Damping ratio — in control theory and mechanical engineering, ζ describes how oscillations decay in a system
• Electrokinetic potential — the zeta potential measures the electrical potential at the slipping plane between a particle and liquid
• Dynamics — used in the configuration space formalism of classical mechanics

Statistics

• Used to represent the fourth standardized moment in some statistical contexts

Other Fields

• Meteorology — used in tropical storm naming as a Greek letter supplement
• Astronomy — designates the sixth-brightest star in a constellation (e.g., Zeta Orionis)
• Finance sometimes used in options pricing models

The Riemann Zeta Function Explained Simply

The Riemann zeta function ζ(s) is arguably the most famous use of the zeta symbol. It is defined as an infinite sum: ζ(s) = 1 + 1/2^s + 1/3^s + 1/4^s + ... and continues forever. When s = 2, the result is π²/6. The Riemann Hypothesis — about where this function equals zero — remains unproven and is one of the greatest unsolved problems in mathematics with a $1 million Millennium Prize.

How to Pronounce Zeta

In Modern Greek, it is pronounced "ZEE-tah"(with a short "ee" sound). In American English academic contexts, it is often pronounced "ZAY-tuh." Both are widely accepted.

Related Greek Letters

If you need other Greek symbols, check out our guides for Alpha (α), Gamma (γ), and Theta (θ).