# Parenthesis with arrow tips

I would like to use parenthesis that look like arrows:

Is there some way to get them that is simpler than drawing them in Tikz?

The alternative I see is taking some > symbol, rotating it and placing it properly, but this looks like the kind of thing that could break if the setting changes (i.e. the font changes, or we move from text mode to math mode, ...)

• \usepackage{MnSymbol} $\rcurvearrowdown \lcurvearrowdown$ works for you?
– user193767
Apr 21, 2020 at 15:32
• @JairoADelRio Yes! This is perfect. Thank you! Apr 21, 2020 at 16:15
• I’m voting to close this question because the user has accepted the comment of the user. Apr 22, 2020 at 11:15
• While I would agree to close the question if duplicate, I'd say that it can be left open for future reference. Also, @JairoADelRio can be invited to turn his comments into an answer, so that the OP can later accept it. ;) Apr 22, 2020 at 11:56

By suggestion of other users, I post my comment as answer. Those aren't really parentheses, but they look close enough:

\documentclass{standalone}
\usepackage{MnSymbol}
\begin{document}
%Use \! to avoid excessive spacing
$\rcurvearrowdown\! a\!\lcurvearrowdown$
\end{document}


In case Detexify does not help to catch a weird set of symbols, The Comprehensive LaTeX Symbol List is a nice reference to look up.

Why do you think this is not simple using tikz ? :)

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{tikz}
\usetikzlibrary{arrows.meta,bending}

\newcommand{\leftptharrowdown}{%
\tikz[baseline] {\draw[-{Stealth[length=0.8ex,width=0.8ex]}] (0,1.5ex) to[bend right=45] (0,-0.5ex);}%
}
\newcommand{\rightptharrowdown}{%
\tikz[baseline] {\draw[-{Stealth[length=0.8ex,width=0.8ex]}] (0,1.5ex) to[bend left=45] (0,-0.5ex);}%
}

\begin{document}
{\footnotesize Hello \leftptharrowdown{}World\rightptharrowdown{}}

{\small Hello \leftptharrowdown{}World\rightptharrowdown{}}

Hello \leftptharrowdown{}World\rightptharrowdown{}

{\large Hello \leftptharrowdown{}World\rightptharrowdown{}}

\end{document}


• +1 I prefer this ... Apr 22, 2020 at 14:38
• @MadyYuvi, thanks, but I guess this is a matter of taste. Apr 22, 2020 at 14:46
• Every time I try using Tikz to draw a symbol, I spend way too long adjusting the baseline, and the spacing, which is why I tend to prefer merging symbols that already exist (because then, they use the spacing etc. from the original characters and I don't have to think about it). These arrows do look good though! Apr 22, 2020 at 15:32

Just for the record, these symbols seem to also exist in unicode: ⤹⤸ (U+2938 and U+2939)