---
title: How do I interpret the genotype pictograms in the Variant Viewer?
description: Learn how to interpret the black-and-white pictograms that define a variant’s genotype.
---
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# How do I interpret the genotype pictograms in the Variant Viewer?
## Learn how to interpret the pictograms that define a variant’s genotype.
In the Variant Viewer and the Genotype filter, each variant's genotype is shown as a small pictogram. It carries two pieces of information: its **shape** shows the **zygosity**, and, in family (trio) analyses, its **color** shows the **inheritance**.
#### Genotype categories
- **Homozygous** (`1/1`). Solid circle: both alleles carry the same variant allele. On X and Y in male samples, labelled **Hemizygous**.
- **Heterozygous** (`0/1`, `1/0`). Half-filled circle: one reference allele and one variant allele.
- **Heterozygous phased** (`1|0`, `0|1`). Half-filled circle with a check mark: heterozygous with known phase (Cis or Trans).
- **None** (`0/0`). Empty ring: both alleles are reference (wild type), no variant.
- **Biallelic Variant** (`1/.`, `./1`, also written `None/1`). Hatched circle: **both alleles differ from the reference, but they are two different variant alleles**. Allele `1` is shown on this line; the second, different allele appears on its own line. Common at multiallelic positions. This is a real variant, **not** a genotyping failure.
- **Undeterminate** (`0/.`, `./0`). Lightly hatched circle: one reference allele and one allele that could not be determined.
- **Unknown** (`./.`). Cross-hatched circle: the caller could not confidently determine the genotype.
- **Null** (empty or `.`). Question mark: no genotype value is available.
#### When one allele is missing
`.` and `None` mean the same thing (a missing allele). What decides the category is the **other** allele:
- paired with a variant allele (`None/1`, `./1`): **Biallelic Variant**
- paired with the reference (`None/0`, `./0`): **Undeterminate**
- both alleles missing (`None/None`, `./.`): **Unknown**
#### Inheritance color (family analyses)
In trio analyses the pictogram is colored by the inferred transmission. Single-sample analyses stay neutral.
- **Neutral (grey):** no inheritance inferred.
- **Maternal (pink):** transmitted by the mother.
- **Paternal (blue):** transmitted by the father.
- **De Novo (red):** present in the child but in neither parent.
- **Mendelian Violation (warning triangle):** the child's genotype is incompatible with the parents' genotypes.
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