What it means
The twenty-first Greek letter, printed as φ or ϕ. It is an angle or a phase, the golden ratio (about 1.618), Euler's totient function and the standard normal density. Capital Φ is the cumulative standard normal distribution, and magnetic or electric flux.
Read aloud in real formulas
φ = (1 + √5) / 2
Aethel says
phi equals the quantity 1 plus the square root of 5, over 2
the golden ratio
P(Z ≤ z) = Φ(z)
Aethel says
the probability that Z is less than or equal to z, equals capital phi of z
the standard normal distribution function
Φ = BA
Aethel says
capital phi equals B A
magnetic flux through an area
Typing it
- LaTeX
- \phi, \varphi, \Phi
- Unicode
- U+03C6, U+03D5, U+03A6
Questions
How do you pronounce phi (φ)?
It is said “phi”, roughly FIE (rhymes with "pie"), also FEE.
What does φ mean in maths?
The twenty-first Greek letter, printed as φ or ϕ. It is an angle or a phase, the golden ratio (about 1.618), Euler's totient function and the standard normal density. Capital Φ is the cumulative standard normal distribution, and magnetic or electric flux.
How do you type φ?
In LaTeX, write \phi, \varphi, \Phi. Its Unicode code point is U+03C6, U+03D5, U+03A6.