In mathematics a Lie coalgebra is the dual structure to a Lie algebra.
In finite dimensions, these are dual objects: the dual vector space to a Lie algebra naturally has the structure of a Lie coalgebra, and conversely.
Let E be a vector space over a field k equipped with a linear mapping from E to the exterior product of E with itself. It is possible to extend d uniquely to a graded derivation (this means that, for any a, b ∈ E which are homogeneous elements, ) of degree 1 on the exterior algebra of E: