# \;

Adds a thick math space between nearby symbols for manual spacing in formulas.

https://texform.dev/latex/commands/-3b-

## Metadata

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Topic | [Spacing](https://texform.dev/latex/topics/spacing) |
| Packages | base, textmacros |
| Allowed mode | math, text |
| Tags | spacing |
| Commonality | medium |
| Kind | prefix |

## Syntax

### base

Argument specification: ``

Adds a thick math space between nearby symbols for manual spacing in formulas.

### textmacros

Argument specification: ``

Used to insert a thick manual space for stronger separation inside text fragments.

## Common tasks

### How to add a thick space before a condition

\; is a thick math space, wider than \, and narrower than \quad.

```latex
\{n\in\mathbb{N}\;:\; n>0\}
```

[Open in Playground](https://play.texform.dev/?input=%5C%7Bn%5Cin%5Cmathbb%7BN%7D%5C%3B%3A%5C%3B+n%3E0%5C%7D)

### How to separate two formulas on one line

```latex
a=b\;\; c=d
```

[Open in Playground](https://play.texform.dev/?input=a%3Db%5C%3B%5C%3B+c%3Dd)

### How to pad a binary operator with thick spaces

```latex
a\;+\;b
```

[Open in Playground](https://play.texform.dev/?input=a%5C%3B%2B%5C%3Bb)

## Examples

```latex
x = y \; \text{for all } x
```

[Open in Playground](https://play.texform.dev/?input=x+%3D+y+%5C%3B+%5Ctext%7Bfor+all+%7D+x)

```latex
\text{a\;b}
```

[Open in Playground](https://play.texform.dev/?input=%5Ctext%7Ba%5C%3Bb%7D)

## Package variants

| Package | Argument specification | Allowed mode | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| base |  | math | Adds a thick math space between nearby symbols for manual spacing in formulas. |
| textmacros |  | text | Used to insert a thick manual space for stronger separation inside text fragments. |

## Renderer support

| Package | MathJax | KaTeX | XeTeX |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| base | full | full | full |
| textmacros | full | full | full |

## Usage frequency

3.97% of formulas in the measured corpus contain this entry, rank 16 of 263 entries with frequency data.

## In TeXForm

TeXForm parses this entry as prefix syntax; the package determines its argument specification.

### [base/small-spacer-merge-to-enspace](https://texform.dev/rules/base/small-spacer-merge-to-enspace)

Merge exact half-em small-spacer chunks into enspace in one pass.

Level: authoring. Fidelity: render.

```latex
\,\,\,
```

→

```latex
\enspace
```

```latex
A\,\,\,B
```

→

```latex
A\enspace B
```

## See also

- [\\,](https://texform.dev/latex/commands/-2c-)
- [\\:](https://texform.dev/latex/commands/-3a-)
- [\\!](https://texform.dev/latex/commands/-21-)
- [\\>](https://texform.dev/latex/commands/-3e-)
- [\\enspace](https://texform.dev/latex/commands/enspace)
- [\\negmedspace](https://texform.dev/latex/commands/negmedspace)
- [\\negthickspace](https://texform.dev/latex/commands/negthickspace)
- [\\negthinspace](https://texform.dev/latex/commands/negthinspace)
- [\\qquad](https://texform.dev/latex/commands/qquad)
- [\\quad](https://texform.dev/latex/commands/quad)
- [\\thinspace](https://texform.dev/latex/commands/thinspace)

## Test cases

### base

| Input | Case | MathJax | KaTeX | XeTeX |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| \; | Positive: baseline | Pass | Pass | Pass |

### textmacros

| Input | Case | MathJax | KaTeX | XeTeX |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| \; | Positive: baseline | Pass | Pass | Pass |