C# Operators – Comprehensive Guide to Operators in C#

C# Operators

Explore every category of operators in C# and learn how to apply them effectively in your code.

Operators are symbols that perform actions on one or more operands—variables, constants, or expressions. In C#, operators are grouped by the type of operation they execute, such as arithmetic, logical, bitwise, and more.

1. Basic Assignment Operator

The assignment operator (=) stores a value in a variable.

double x;
x = 50.05;

Example 1: Using the Assignment Operator

using System;

namespace OperatorDemo
{
    class AssignmentOperator
    {
        public static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            int firstNumber, secondNumber;
            firstNumber = 10;
            Console.WriteLine("First Number = {0}", firstNumber);
            secondNumber = firstNumber;
            Console.WriteLine("Second Number = {0}", secondNumber);
        }
    }
}

Output:

First Number = 10
Second Number = 10

2. Arithmetic Operators

Arithmetic operators perform mathematical calculations.

int x = 5;
int y = 10;
int z = x + y; // z = 15

C# Arithmetic Operators
Operator	Name	Example
+	Addition	6 + 3 = 9
-	Subtraction	10 - 6 = 4
*	Multiplication	4 * 2 = 8
/	Division	10 / 5 = 2
%	Modulo (remainder)	16 % 3 = 1

Example 2: Arithmetic Operations

using System;

namespace OperatorDemo
{
    class ArithmeticOperator
    {
        public static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            double firstNumber = 14.40, secondNumber = 4.60, result;
            int num1 = 26, num2 = 4, rem;

            result = firstNumber + secondNumber;
            Console.WriteLine("{0} + {1} = {2}", firstNumber, secondNumber, result);
            result = firstNumber - secondNumber;
            Console.WriteLine("{0} - {1} = {2}", firstNumber, secondNumber, result);
            result = firstNumber * secondNumber;
            Console.WriteLine("{0} * {1} = {2}", firstNumber, secondNumber, result);
            result = firstNumber / secondNumber;
            Console.WriteLine("{0} / {1} = {2}", firstNumber, secondNumber, result);
            rem = num1 % num2;
            Console.WriteLine("{0} % {1} = {2}", num1, num2, rem);
        }
    }
}

Output:

14.4 + 4.6 = 19
14.4 - 4.6 = 9.8
14.4 * 4.6 = 66.24
14.4 / 4.6 = 3.1304347826087
26 % 4 = 2

3. Relational Operators

These operators compare two operands and return a boolean result.

C# Relational Operators
Operator	Name	Example
==	Equals	6 == 4 → false
>	Greater than	3 > -1 → true
<	Less than	5 < 3 → false
>=	Greater than or equal	4 >= 4 → true
<=	Less than or equal	5 <= 3 → false
!=	Not equal	10 != 2 → true

Example 3: Relational Checks

using System;

namespace OperatorDemo
{
    class RelationalOperator
    {
        public static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            bool result;
            int firstNumber = 10, secondNumber = 20;

            result = (firstNumber==secondNumber);
            Console.WriteLine("{0} == {1} returns {2}",firstNumber, secondNumber, result);
            result = (firstNumber > secondNumber);
            Console.WriteLine("{0} > {1} returns {2}",firstNumber, secondNumber, result);
            result = (firstNumber < secondNumber);
            Console.WriteLine("{0} < {1} returns {2}",firstNumber, secondNumber, result);
            result = (firstNumber >= secondNumber);
            Console.WriteLine("{0} >= {1} returns {2}",firstNumber, secondNumber, result);
            result = (firstNumber <= secondNumber);
            Console.WriteLine("{0} <= {1} returns {2}",firstNumber, secondNumber, result);
            result = (firstNumber != secondNumber);
            Console.WriteLine("{0} != {1} returns {2}",firstNumber, secondNumber, result);
        }
    }
}

Output:

10 == 20 returns False
10 > 20 returns False
10 < 20 returns True
10 >= 20 returns False
10 <= 20 returns True
10 != 20 returns True

4. Logical Operators

Logical operators evaluate boolean expressions.

C# Logical Operators
Operand 1	Operand 2	OR (\|\|)	AND (&&)
true	true	true	true
true	false	true	false
false	true	true	false
false	false	false	false

If either operand is true, the OR operator yields true.
Both operands must be true for AND to return true.

Example 4: Logical Operators

using System;

namespace OperatorDemo
{
    class LogicalOperator
    {
        public static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            bool result;
            int firstNumber = 10, secondNumber = 20;
            result = (firstNumber == secondNumber) || (firstNumber > 5);
            Console.WriteLine(result);
            result = (firstNumber == secondNumber) && (firstNumber > 5);
            Console.WriteLine(result);
        }
    }
}

Output:

True
False

5. Unary Operators

Unary operators act on a single operand.

C# Unary Operators
Operator	Name	Description
+	Unary plus	Leaves sign unchanged
-	Unary minus	Negates sign
++	Increment	Increase by 1
--	Decrement	Decrease by 1
!	Logical NOT	Invert boolean

Example 5: Unary Operators

using System;

namespace OperatorDemo
{
    class UnaryOperator
    {
        public static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            int number = 10, result;
            bool flag = true;
            result = +number; Console.WriteLine("+number = " + result);
            result = -number; Console.WriteLine("-number = " + result);
            result = ++number; Console.WriteLine("++number = " + result);
            result = --number; Console.WriteLine("--number = " + result);
            Console.WriteLine("!flag = " + (!flag));
        }
    }
}

Output:

+number = 10
-number = -10
++number = 11
--number = 10
!flag = False

Example 6: Prefix vs. Postfix Increment

using System;

namespace OperatorDemo
{
    class UnaryOperator
    {
        public static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            int number = 10;
            Console.WriteLine(number++); // 10
            Console.WriteLine(number);   // 11
            Console.WriteLine(++number); // 12
            Console.WriteLine(number);   // 12
        }
    }
}

Output:

6. Ternary Operator

The ternary operator (? :) condenses an if‑else statement into a single line.

variable = Condition ? Expression1 : Expression2;

If Condition is true, Expression1 is evaluated; otherwise Expression2 is used.

Example 7: Using the Ternary Operator

using System;

namespace OperatorDemo
{
    class TernaryOperator
    {
        public static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            int number = 10;
            string result = (number % 2 == 0) ? "Even Number" : "Odd Number";
            Console.WriteLine("{0} is {1}", number, result);
        }
    }
}

Output:

10 is Even Number

Learn more about the C# ternary operator.

7. Bitwise & Bit Shift Operators

These operators manipulate individual bits of integral types.

C# Bitwise & Bit Shift Operators
Operator	Name
~	Bitwise complement
&	AND
\|	OR
^	XOR
<<	Left shift
>>	Right shift

Example 8: Bitwise Operations

using System;

namespace OperatorDemo
{
    class BitOperator
    {
        public static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            int firstNumber = 10, secondNumber = 20, result;
            result = ~firstNumber; Console.WriteLine("~{0} = {1}", firstNumber, result);
            result = firstNumber & secondNumber; Console.WriteLine("{0} & {1} = {2}", firstNumber, secondNumber, result);
            result = firstNumber | secondNumber; Console.WriteLine("{0} | {1} = {2}", firstNumber, secondNumber, result);
            result = firstNumber ^ secondNumber; Console.WriteLine("{0} ^ {1} = {2}", firstNumber, secondNumber, result);
            result = firstNumber << 2; Console.WriteLine("{0} << 2 = {1}", firstNumber, result);
            result = firstNumber >> 2; Console.WriteLine("{0} >> 2 = {1}", firstNumber, result);
        }
    }
}

Output:

~10 = -11
10 & 20 = 0
10 | 20 = 30
10 ^ 20 = 30
10 << 2 = 40
10 >> 2 = 2

For deeper insight, visit the C# Bitwise and Bit Shift operators guide.

8. Compound Assignment Operators

These operators combine an arithmetic operation with assignment.

C# Compound Assignment Operators
Operator	Name	Example	Equivalent To
+=	Addition assignment	`x += 5`	`x = x + 5`
-=	Subtraction assignment	`x -= 5`	`x = x - 5`
*=	Multiplication assignment	`x *= 5`	`x = x * 5`
/=	Division assignment	`x /= 5`	`x = x / 5`
%=	Modulo assignment	`x %= 5`	`x = x % 5`
&=	Bitwise AND assignment	`x &= 5`	`x = x & 5`
\|=	Bitwise OR assignment	`x \|= 5`	`x = x \| 5`
^=	Bitwise XOR assignment	`x ^= 5`	`x = x ^ 5`
<<=	Left shift assignment	`x <<= 5`	`x = x << 5`
>>=	Right shift assignment	`x >>= 5`	`x = x >> 5`
=>	Lambda operator	`x => x * x`	Returns x squared

Example 9: Compound Assignment Usage

using System;

namespace OperatorDemo
{
    class CompoundOperator
    {
        public static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            int number = 10;
            number += 5; Console.WriteLine(number);
            number -= 3; Console.WriteLine(number);
            number *= 2; Console.WriteLine(number);
            number /= 3; Console.WriteLine(number);
            number %= 3; Console.WriteLine(number);
            number &= 10; Console.WriteLine(number);
            number |= 14; Console.WriteLine(number);
            number ^= 12; Console.WriteLine(number);
            number <<= 2; Console.WriteLine(number);
            number >>= 3; Console.WriteLine(number);
        }
    }
}

Output:

Later tutorials will cover lambda expressions in detail.

Master C# Variables & Primitive Data Types: A Complete Guide Mastering C# Operator Precedence & Associativity: A Practical Guide

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