TraditionalForm[expr]
prints as an approximation to the traditional mathematical notation for expr.
TraditionalForm
TraditionalForm[expr]
prints as an approximation to the traditional mathematical notation for expr.
Details and Options
- Output from TraditionalForm cannot necessarily be given as unique and unambiguous input to the Wolfram Language. »
- TraditionalForm inserts invisible TagBox and InterpretationBox constructs into the box form of output it generates, to allow unique interpretation.
- Graphics and Graphics3D are displayed graphically in TraditionalForm. »
- TraditionalForm can be edited in the notebook front end.
- TraditionalForm uses special characters as well as ordinary keyboard characters. »
- TraditionalForm incorporates a large collection of rules for approximating traditional mathematical notation.
- TraditionalForm prints functions in Global` context in the form f(x).
- ToExpression[boxes,TraditionalForm] will attempt to convert from TraditionalForm. »
- The notebook front end contains menu items for conversion to and from TraditionalForm.
- When an input evaluates to TraditionalForm[expr], TraditionalForm does not appear in the output. »
Examples
open all close allBasic Examples (3)
Formatting of a trigonometric function:
TraditionalForm[Sin[x]]Formatting of a hypergeometric function:
TraditionalForm[HypergeometricPFQ[{Subscript[a, 1], Subscript[a, 2]}, {Subscript[b, 1], Subscript[b, 2]}, x]]Partial derivative of an arbitrary function:
TraditionalForm[D[f[x, y], {x, 2}, {y, 3}]]Scope (9)
Basic Objects (2)
Integer, Rational, Real, and Complex numbers:
Map[TraditionalForm, {123, 1 / 23, 1.23, 1 + 23I}]Arbitrary-precision Real and Complex numbers:
TraditionalForm /@ N[{10 / 3, 10 / 3I}, 20]TraditionalForm /@ {I, Pi, E}Characters and strings of characters:
TraditionalForm /@ {"a", "α", "⊕"}Control characters for strings:
TraditionalForm["A first line
A second line"](x + y) ^ 6//Expand//TraditionalFormSpecial Input Forms (4)
Different ways of representing Power expressions:
TraditionalForm /@ {a ^ x, Sqrt[a], a^1 / 2, a^1 / 3, Exp[x], x^-1}TraditionalForm /@ {Subscript[∂, x ]y[x], ∫y[x]ⅆx, Subsuperscript[∑, k = 1, n]y[k], Subsuperscript[∏, k = 1, n]y[k], x∈Reals, x && y || z, Limit[f[x], x -> a]}The same expressions entered as typical input:
TraditionalForm /@ {D[y[x], x], Integrate[y[x], x], Sum[y[k], {k, 1, n}],
Product[y[k], {k, 1, n}], Element[x, Reals], (x && y) || z, Limit[f[x], x -> a]}TraditionalForm[{1, 2, 3}]TraditionalForm /@ {(| | | |
| - | - | - |
| a | b | c |
| d | e | f |), {{a, b, c}, {d, e, f}}}Mathematical functions with special representations:
Map[TraditionalForm, {Gamma[x], Floor[x], Zeta[x], DivisorSigma[k, n]}]Special Output Forms (3)
Some objects use a special output representation:
ser = Series[Sin[x], {x, 0, 3}]Compare the TraditionalForm with the underlying FullForm of the expression:
TraditionalForm[ser]FullForm[ser]Some objects use an elided output representation:
sp = SparseArray[{{1, 2} -> 1}, {5, 5}]TraditionalForm[sp]The elided information is visible in the InputForm:
InputForm[sp]Graphic objects display as graphics:
Plot[Sin[x], {x, 0, 10}, PlotLabel -> Sin[x]]//TraditionalFormPlot3D[Sin[x ^ 2 + y ^ 2], {x, -Pi, Pi}, {y, -Pi, Pi}]//TraditionalFormApplications (2)
Properties & Relations (4)
When an input evaluates to TraditionalForm[expr], TraditionalForm does not appear in the output:
TraditionalForm[Sin[x]]Out is assigned the value Sin[x], not TraditionalForm[Sin[x]]:
%TraditionalForm is two-dimensional:
TraditionalForm[Exp[I x / n]]StandardForm is two-dimensional and unambiguous for input:
StandardForm[Exp[I x / n]]OutputForm uses only keyboard characters:
OutputForm[Exp[I x / n]]InputForm and FullForm provide one-dimensional formatting:
InputForm[Exp[I x / n]]FullForm[Exp[I x / n]]Use ToBoxes to see the underlying box structure:
ToBoxes[1 / a + x ^ 2, TraditionalForm]Use ToExpression to convert the boxes to the original expression:
ToExpression[%, TraditionalForm]Add formatting via Format:
bin[x, y]//TraditionalFormFormat[bin[x_, y_], TraditionalForm] := MatrixForm[{{x}, {y}}]bin[x, y]//TraditionalFormPossible Issues (2)
TraditionalForm is ambiguous, i.e. different expressions can display similarly:
{{n}, {k}}//TraditionalFormBinomial[n, k]//TraditionalFormThe following box structure has similar display:
RowBox[{"(", GridBox[{{n}, {k}}], ")"}]//DisplayFormWhen interpreting the boxes, a particular interpretation is selected:
ToExpression[RowBox[{"(", GridBox[{{n}, {k}}], ")"}], TraditionalForm]Wolfram Language–generated formatting includes data for unambiguous interpretation:
ToExpression[ToBoxes[Binomial[n, k], TraditionalForm], TraditionalForm]ToExpression[ToBoxes[{{n}, {k}}, TraditionalForm], TraditionalForm]Even when an output omits TraditionalForm from the top level, it is not stripped from subexpressions:
e = TraditionalForm[Cos[x]]The output does not have TraditionalForm in it:
%However, the variable e does have TraditionalForm in it, which may affect subsequent evaluations:
FullForm[e]The integral is not evaluated due to the intervening TraditionalForm:
Integrate[e, x]Assign variables first and then apply TraditionalForm to the result to maintain computability:
(f = Cos[x])//TraditionalFormIntegrate[f, x]Related Guides
Related Workflows
History
Introduced in 1996 (3.0) | Updated in 2007 (6.0) ▪ 2008 (7.0)
Text
Wolfram Research (1996), TraditionalForm, Wolfram Language function, https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/TraditionalForm.html (updated 2008).
CMS
Wolfram Language. 1996. "TraditionalForm." Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center. Wolfram Research. Last Modified 2008. https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/TraditionalForm.html.
APA
Wolfram Language. (1996). TraditionalForm. Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center. Retrieved from https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/TraditionalForm.html
BibTeX
@misc{reference.wolfram_2026_traditionalform, author="Wolfram Research", title="{TraditionalForm}", year="2008", howpublished="\url{https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/TraditionalForm.html}", note=[Accessed: 13-June-2026]}
BibLaTeX
@online{reference.wolfram_2026_traditionalform, organization={Wolfram Research}, title={TraditionalForm}, year={2008}, url={https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/TraditionalForm.html}, note=[Accessed: 13-June-2026]}