# Mnemonic for which of $\vee$ and $\wedge$ means OR and which means AND

I can never remember which is which. What's a good mnemonic?

(In the 15 minutes so far this question has existed, I've seen one answer be edited and one comment be deleted for mixing them up, which I guess comes to show how easy it is to do that.)

• Well $\wedge$ already looks like the beginning of a letter A for And – Triatticus Jun 7 '17 at 18:50
• If you already know $\cup$ is union and $\cap$ is intersection, then $\vee$ is in the same direction as $\cup$ since $x \in A \cup B$ is equivalent to $x \in A \vee x \in B$, and $\wedge$ is in the same direction as $\cap$ since $x \in A \cap B$ is equivalent to $x \in A \wedge x \in B$. – Daniel Schepler Jun 7 '17 at 18:53
• Same question for $\Delta$ and $\nabla$. – Dietrich Burde Jun 7 '17 at 19:17
• $\lor$ resembles $\cup,$ the first letter of $\cup$nion.... $(x\in A \lor x\in B)\iff (x\in A\cup B)$ – DanielWainfleet Jun 7 '17 at 19:52
• It goes to show you that sometimes English, for all its shortcomings, is often the clearest way to express something. – Robert Soupe Jun 8 '17 at 3:19

I just remember that $\wedge$ looks like an A for And.

• good one.............. – DanielWainfleet Jun 7 '17 at 19:57

$\vee$ and $\wedge$ correspond to $\cup$ and $\cap$, respectively, so if you can remember which is union and which is intersection, it may help you remember which is OR and which is AND, because they look similar. The union symbol looks like a U so that may help, too.

• You could also take the $\lor$ to be like a bucket, which fills itself up with everything on its left side and its right side, similar to a union operation you're talking about.. – Gaurang Tandon Feb 5 '18 at 10:40

the 'or' is smiling cause it's easier to satisfy.

• Briliant.............. – DanielWainfleet Jun 7 '17 at 19:57
• I can only accept one answer, but I think this one is the best suggestion for $\vee$. A nice thing about it is that it suggests a corresponding mnemonic for $\wedge$: it's a frown because it's picky. – Kodiologist Jun 8 '17 at 14:22
• I like how this one and Bram28's don't depend on the language used. – Jonas Meyer Jul 26 '17 at 6:10

$\vee$ resembles the letter v, which is the first letter of "vel", the Latin word for "or".

• Has "vee", the latex symbol for it, to do with "vel"? – Dietrich Burde Jun 7 '17 at 19:08
• Or with velcro, which sticks together? – DanielWainfleet Jun 7 '17 at 19:58

I see the $\lor$ as a physical structure that precariously balances on a point, but will easily tip to one side or the other.

• Also, $\wedge$ is a structure standing firm on its left leg and it's right leg. This is an amusing answer. +1 – user137731 Jun 7 '17 at 23:29

$\wedge$ looks like A for and, and $\vee$ looks like r for or. Totally subjective.

• You must write your r's pretty weird. ;P – user137731 Jun 7 '17 at 19:01
• @Bye_World I mean, if you decrease the first derivative of the left part, and decrease the second derivative of the right part, $\vee$ starts to look like an r. :) – peterwhy Jun 7 '17 at 19:05
• Fair enough. +1 ;) – user137731 Jun 7 '17 at 19:05

Actually the latex-commands for these symbols are a good mnemonic. Pronouncing $\vee$ sounds like "wedge", so you type it in, and it gives $\wedge$, the other one. You only need to remember that the wrong one was AND.

• How does pronouncing $\vee$ sound like "wedge"? – Jonas Meyer Jun 7 '17 at 21:00
• @JonasMeyer The letter $V$ (for $\vee$) is pronounced as "w" in the beginning of the word wedge. – Dietrich Burde Jun 8 '17 at 18:08
• In what language/dialect? I'm confused. – Jonas Meyer Jun 9 '17 at 3:10
• @JonasMeyer In English. How do you pronounce the letter $V$ with the first sound? How do you pronounce $w$ in the beginning of "wedge"? For me this is the same, but you are right, I am not native English, so I could be wrong (also with "w"). – Dietrich Burde Jun 9 '17 at 12:13
• IPA for the English pronunciation of "V" is [vi:]. IPA for the English pronunciation of "wedge" is [wɛdʒ], I copied these from Wiktionary but these agree with my experience as native English speaker (US). Typically in English "v" and "w" match with IPA. (Further confusion can arise because although I know little German or Latin, I think "w" in German is pronounced as "v" in English, and "v" in Latin is pronounced as "w" in English.) – Jonas Meyer Jun 9 '17 at 13:09