# Slope Naming Convention

Source: https://www.yieldcurve.pro/learn/slope-naming-convention

Traders and analysts use a compact shorthand to name yield curve spreads. The convention encodes both tenors into a single label.

**Year tenors** use the number followed by **s** (for "years"): 2s = 2-Year, 5s = 5-Year, 10s = 10-Year, 30s = 30-Year. **Month tenors** use the number followed by **m** (for "months"): 3m = 3-Month, 6m = 6-Month. The **short tenor** comes first, the **long tenor** second. The spread itself is always long minus short.

Common examples:

- **2s10s** = 10-Year minus 2-Year (the most widely tracked slope)
- **3m10y** = 10-Year minus 3-Month (the Fed's preferred recession indicator; uses "y" instead of "s" to avoid ambiguity with "3s" meaning 3-Year)
- **2s30s** = 30-Year minus 2-Year
- **5s30s** = 30-Year minus 5-Year

The **y** suffix (as in 3m10**y** or 1**y**2y) appears when clarity requires distinguishing years from other units. In practice, context resolves most ambiguity, so 2s10s rather than 2y10y is standard.

A positive spread means the curve is upward-sloping between those two tenors. A negative spread means it is inverted. The absolute level, direction of change, and speed of change all matter for [regime classification](https://www.yieldcurve.pro/regimes) and trading decisions.