LaTeX Brackets and Parentheses: Complete Printing Guide
Date Published
Printing Brackets in LaTeX
Brackets and parentheses are essential in mathematical writing. LaTeX offers powerful tools for perfectly sized delimiters.
Basic Bracket Types
Round Brackets (Parentheses)
Square Brackets
Curly Braces
Curly braces are special in LaTeX (they group content), so escape them:
Angle Brackets
Auto-Sizing with \left and \right
The most powerful feature—automatic sizing:
This creates perfectly sized parentheses around the fraction.
Important: \left and \right must be paired. Use \left. or \right. for invisible delimiters:
Manual Sizing Commands
Sometimes auto-sizing isn't what you want. Use manual sizes:
Each step increases size. Same applies to other bracket types:
Floor and Ceiling Brackets
Double Brackets and Bars
Mixed Delimiters
You can mix different brackets:
Common Mistakes
Wrong: Unmatched \left without \right Fix: Always pair them, use \left. or \right. for invisible
Wrong: \left{ instead of \left\{ Fix: Always escape curly braces
Wrong: Oversized brackets with simple content Fix: Use manual sizing or skip \left/\right
Bracket Shortcuts in Octree
Octree's AI helps with brackets:
Auto-completes bracket pairs
Suggests appropriate sizing
Fixes unmatched delimiters
Converts between bracket types
Try it at https://useoctree.com