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An electrical schematic is a diagram that shows how all of the wires and
components in an electronic circuit are connected. They’re like a map for
building or troubleshooting circuits, and can tell you almost everything you
need to know to understand how a circuit works.

The ability to read electrical schematics is a really useful skill to have. To start
developing your schematic reading abilities, it’s important to memorize the
most common schematic symbols. Each physical component (i.e resistor,
capacitor, transistor) has a unique schematic symbol. The main goal of this
tutorial is to show you the essential schematic components you should know.

It’s not enough to just be able to recognize the components in a schematic.

You should also be able to get a rough idea of how the circuit works, just by
looking at the schematic. After this article, I recommend reading How to
Analyze Circuits, where we discuss more advanced circuit analysis techniques
like Kirchhoff’s Current Law and Kirchhoff’s Voltage Law.

POWER SOURCES
Power sources supply electrical energy to a circuit in the form of voltage and
current. Every functional electronic circuit needs to have a DC or AC power

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source.

DC POWER SOURCES
Direct current (DC) power sources provide electric current that flows in a
constant direction. This is the schematic symbol for a DC power source:

AC POWER SOURCES
Alternating current (AC) power sources provide electric current that flows in
two directions. This is the schematic symbol for an AC power source:

BATTERIES
A battery is a common type of DC power source. The schematic symbol for a
battery is made up of short and long parallel lines. The longer line represents
the positive terminal of the battery, while the shorter line represents the
negative terminal:

GROUND
Ground is the common return path of a circuit, where current returns to its
source. This is often referred to as the negative side in a circuit. This is the
schematic symbol for a ground connection:

TERMINALS 
Terminals are connection points to external circuits. For external connections,
terminals are denoted by empty circles:

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Terminal connections are different from nodes or junctions which have solid
circles:

SWITCHES
Switches make or break a connection in a circuit. They also let you change the
path of current flow.

SPST SWITCHES
A SPST (single pole, single throw) switch is an on and off switch. The two
schematic symbols below show the different states of an SPST switch. The top
symbol indicates that the switch is in the off position, which blocks the path of
current. The bottom symbol indicates that the switch is on, which allows
current to flow through the switch.

SPDT SWITCHES
SPDT (single pole, double throw) switches can direct the path of current to
different parts of a circuit. There are two routes for the current to flow in this
switch, depending on the position of the switch:

MOMENTARY SWITCHES
Momentary switches only remain open or closed while being pressed. Push
button switches are the most common type of momentary switch. These
switches are either normally open or normally closed. The top schematic
symbol below shows a normally open push button switch in the open position,
while the bottom symbol shows a normally closed push button switch in the
closed position:

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MULTI-POINT SWITCHES
Multi-point switches let you switch the path of an input current to multiple
different output paths.

DPST (double pole, single throw) switches have 2 inputs and 2 outputs. These
switches let you control the current flow to two outputs. Since the switches are
single throw, the two output terminals will both be switched on and off at the
same time. The schematic symbols below show an open DPST switch (left), and
a closed DPST switch (right):

DPDT (double pole, double throw) switches have two terminals for input
current and four terminals for output current. These switches let you switch the
path of two input currents to four separate output paths. Here is the schematic
symbol for a DPDT switch:

RESISTORS
A resistor is one of the most basic passive circuit components. Resistors have
electrical resistance, which restricts current flow. The schematic symbol for a
resistor is shown below. The symbol on the left is the convention used in the
United States, while the symbol on the right is the international standard:

VARIABLE RESISTORS
A variable resistor can increase or decrease its resistance depending on an
external input. Analog sensors like photoresistors and thermistors are types of
variable resistors because their resistance changes with varying levels of light 
or temperature. The schematic symbol of a variable resistor is similar to a fixed
resistor, but a diagonal arrow is placed across the middle:

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POTENTIOMETERS
A potentiometer is a three-terminal variable resistor that is used to adjust the
voltage and current in a circuit. The two terminals of the resistor are V+ and
ground. The arrow represents the potentiometer’s wiper, where the output
voltage is taken from:

PHOTORESISTORS
Also known as light dependent resistors (LDR), photoresistors are light-
sensitive variable resistors that change resistance with varying levels of light.
This is the schematic symbol of a photoresistor:

CAPACITORS
Capacitors are passive electronics components that store electrical
charge. There are two common types of capacitors – non-polarized and
polarized.

NON-POLARIZED CAPACITORS
Non-polarized capacitors don’t have polarity, so it doesn’t matter which side is
connected to positive and which side is connected to negative. These
capacitors usually have smaller values than polarized capacitors:


POLARIZED CAPACITORS
Polarized capacitors do have polarity, so it matters which side is connected to
positive and which side is connected to ground. Polarized capacitors generally

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have higher capacitance values compared to non-polarized capacitors. Here’s
the schematic symbol of a polarized capacitor:

INDUCTORS
Inductors are passive components that create a magnetic field when current
flows through them. Inductors can be as simple as a coil of wire. The schematic
symbol of an inductor looks similar to a coil:

TRANSFORMERS
Transformers are used to step up or step down voltages. They are made up of
two wire coils wrapped around an iron core, so the schematic symbol has two
coils with straight lines between them. The lines represent the iron core:

RELAYS
A relay is an electrically operated switch. Relays are basically electromagnets
connected to an actuator that opens and closes a switch when current is
applied to the coil:

DIODES
A diode is a polarized device that only lets current flow in one direction. Being
polarized, it has a positive lead (anode) and a negative lead (cathode). The flat
edge of the triangle is the anode, while the line is the cathode: 

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TRANSISTORS
Transistors are used to either amplify voltage or to switch electric currents. The
most common transistors are the bipolar junction transistors (BJT). There are
two basic types of BJT transistors – NPN and PNP. NPN transistors turn on
when current flows through the base of the transistor, while PNP transistors
turn on when there is no current at the base of the transistor. The top
schematic symbol shows an NPN transistor, while the bottom symbol shows a
PNP transistor:

INTEGRATED CIRCUITS
Integrated circuits are circuits that contain hundreds to millions of resistors,
capacitors, and transistors in a small package. Integrated circuits have many
functions. There are integrated circuits for audio amplifiers, timers,
microprocessors, and lots more. Three of the most commonly used integrated
circuits are the 555 timer, the LM386 audio amplifier, and the LM358
operational amplifier.

THE 555 TIMER

The most common use of the 555 timer is to provide timed electrical delays.
However, it can also be used as an oscillator and as a flip-flop element. The
diagram below shows the actual pin arrangement of the 555 timer with the
internal schematic diagram of the IC:

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The second image is the schematic symbol of the 555 timer used in diagrams:

OPERATIONAL AMPLIFIERS
Operational amplifiers are voltage amplifiers with inputs and usually one
output. They are also referred to as op-amps. The schematic symbol for an op-
amp looks like this:

THE LM386
The LM386 audio amplifier is an op-amp that is specifically designed for low
power audio amplification. Being low powered, it’s perfect for battery powered
audio devices like guitars, radios, and any other circuit that makes sound. Here
is a pin diagram of the LM386:

And this is the symbol used in schematic diagrams:

THE LM358
The LM358 is a dual operational amplifier IC powered by a common power
supply. Its commonly used as a transducer amplifier, integrator, differentiator,
or voltage follower. Here is a pin diagram of the LM358:


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And here is the symbol used in schematic diagrams:

The schematic symbols for op-amps usually don’t show the pins that aren’t
used in the circuit, as is the case for the LM358 symbol above where only five of
the eight pins are shown.

LOGIC GATES
Logic gates are electronic circuits that process signals that represent true or
false values. The four standard logic functions are AND, OR, NOT, and XOR. In
addition to these functions, there are also NAND, NOR, and XNOR logic gates.

AND
The output of the AND gate is true when all of its inputs are true. Here’s the
schematic symbol of an AND gate:

OR
The output of the OR gate is true when at least one of its inputs is true. Here’s
the schematic symbol of an OR gate:


NOT
The NOT gate outputs the opposite of its input, which is why it’s also called an
inverter. Therefore, the output is true when the input is false. Here’s the

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schematic symbol of a NOT gate:

XOR
The “exclusive-OR”, or XOR gate has two inputs. The output of the XOR gate can
only be true when one input is true and the other input is false. Here’s the
schematic symbol of an XOR gate:

NAND
The “NOT-AND”, or NAND gate can have two or more inputs. The output of the
NAND gate is true if any of the inputs are false. Here’s the schematic symbol of
a NAND gate:

NOR
The “NOT-OR”, or NOR gate has two or more inputs. The output of the NOR
gate is true when all of its inputs are false. Here’s the schematic symbol of a
NOR gate:

XNOR
The “exclusive-NOR”, or XNOR gate has two inputs. The output of the XNOR
gate is true only when both of its inputs are true, or when both of its inputs are
false. Here’s the schematic symbol of an XNOR gate:

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OPTOELECTRONIC DEVICES
Optoelectronic devices are devices that use light and electricity for various
purposes. Optoelectronic devices can be divided into two categories – light-
sensing and light-generating devices. For example, here is the schematic
symbol for a light-sensing device called a photodiode:

In contrast, here is the schematic symbol for a light-generating device called a

light emitting diode (LED):

SPEAKERS
A speaker converts electrical energy to sound energy. Its schematic symbol
kind of looks like a real-life speaker:

MICROPHONES
Microphones are a type of transducer that converts sound waves into an
electrical signal. Here’s the schematic symbol of a microphone:

FUSES
Fuses are safety devices that provide over-current protection in an electrical
circuit. The main element of a fuse is a narrow gauge wire that melts when
there is too much current flowing through it. Here’s the schematic symbol for a
fuse:

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MOTORS
A motor converts electrical energy into kinetic energy. Its schematic symbol is
a circle with the letter “M”, and positive and negative terminals on the left and
right:

ANTENNAS
An antenna is a device that receives or transmits radio signals. Here’s the
schematic symbol for an antenna:

WIRES AND CONNECTIONS IN SCHEMATICS

Now that you’re familiar with the common symbols used in schematic
diagrams, let’s take a look at how to read wire connections and wire crossings.
Wires are represented by lines, and connections are represented by dots.

The images below show the schematic symbols for wires when they are
physically connected in a circuit. The dots over the intersections are called
nodes:

The absence of a node means that the wires are not connected and just pass
by each other, like this:

There is another way to show unconnected wires in a schematic, with a semi- 

circle over the point where the wires cross, like this:

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Now that you’re familiar with the basic schematic symbols and wire
connections, you’re now ready to read a simple circuit. Remember to be
mindful of the polarities. Below is a simple circuit that consists only of three
elements – a battery, an LED, and a resistor:

The 9V battery powers the circuit, and the resistor limits the battery’s current so
it doesn’t burn out the LED. Remember that the positive side of a diode is the
flat edge of the triangle, and the negative side is the straight line.

Understanding how to read schematics will also help you modify a circuit if you
want. But it’s also essential for many other uses too, like troubleshooting
circuits and designing PCBs.

Lithium Battery
Connectors

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Hope you found this tutorial helpful! Feel free to leave a comment below if you
have a question about anything…

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6 COMMENTS

Jon on May 22, 2021 at 4:09 am

Can you refer me to a site that explains how to translate a
schematic into real world electronics? For example, if I see a
schematic with a series of lines going up and down and left and
right, how do those lines get translated into real wires and
connections?

REPLY

Scott on September 2, 2021 at 5:53 am

Hi Jon, the lines in a schematic represent the physical wires
used to connect a circuit. On a PCB, they represent the
copper traces.

REPLY

udueni sunday on December 27, 2022 at 5:04 am

Dear sir,
Please help me to understand:
In an Industral Ladder Control Schimatric drawing I am studying, I
see number like (3-5)
, (3-54), (68), (4-1), etc above Relay contacts in different rungs. What
do these numbers mean?

REPLY

James on August 23, 2023 at 5:19 pm

In the variable resistors you are using photoreister as an example
but then two spaces down you have an actual symbol for type
photoreister.

Can you provide an example of when one would use the variable
resistor symbol when using the photoreister.

REPLY

Kevin on October 12, 2024 at 7:42 pm

Great article! I noticed in some automotive wiring diagrams there
are wire segment terminal points with different shapes on them
that I believe represent male/female connectors. At first glance
they look like your polarized capacitor only with two curved sides,
but closer inspection reveals more trapezoidal or even triangular
edges (when internal to modules like an instrument cluster). This
would be a good addition I think. In text pictures: “—))—” vs. “–>>—” 
or “–>)–” etc.

REPLY

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lawuo on November 1, 2024 at 2:59 pm
What are the methods used to read the diagrams, usually people
read schematic diagrams from left to right or from top to bottom,
what about reading detailed diagrams or more complex drawings?
are there other ways? and are the basic types of reading skills can
be utilized? such as speed reading (skimming and scanning),
detailed reading, and deep reading skills, how these three types of
reading cab be involved in reading schematic diagrams

REPLY

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