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Exercise 822Logic, sets and proofs › Countability and cardinalityL1Added 3 Nov 2026

$\mathbb{N}^2$ is countable

#N squared#diagonal#bijection

Statement

Show that N2\mathbb{N}^2 is countably infinite.

Hint

Use Cantor's pairing function.

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Solution

Pairing function. π(m,n)=(m+n)(m+n+1)2+m\pi(m,n)=\frac{(m+n)(m+n+1)}{2}+m is a bijection N2→N\mathbb{N}^2\to\mathbb{N}.

Surjectivity. Every nonnegative integer is uniquely π(m,n)\pi(m,n) for some (m,n)(m,n) (enumerate the diagonals m+n=km+n=k).

Conclusion. ∣N2∣=ℵ0|\mathbb{N}^2|=\aleph_0.