A superscript is a small character raised above the normal line of text. It marks exponents (a² + b² = c², 10⁻⁶), ion charges (Ca²⁺, SO₄²⁻), isotopes (¹⁴C), ordinal indicators in some languages, trademark-like signs and footnote references in Chicago and AMA citation styles. Typographically, superscripts are about 50–75% of the body size and often drawn slightly heavier so they do not look faint.
Formatting buttons in word processors produce superscripts that vanish when text is pasted into a plain field such as a chat, a spreadsheet cell, a tweet or a code comment. Unicode superscript characters do not: ² is a character in its own right. All digits and the signs + − = ( ) exist, as do nearly all lowercase letters (except q) and many capitals; missing capitals (C, F, Q, S, X, Y, Z) fall back to the lowercase form.
If you write maths in plain text with a caret, the “Math formatting” output converts only what follows ^ – x^2 becomes x², 10^-3 becomes 10⁻³ and e^{i·π} becomes eⁱ·π with braces grouping several characters – and leaves the rest of the line alone.
How to use the Superscript Generator
- Text to convert
Everything is calculated in your browser, so results appear instantly and nothing you type is sent to a server.
How it works
Characters are looked up in a superscript table built from the Latin-1, Superscripts and Subscripts, Phonetic Extensions and Spacing Modifier blocks. The math output converts only the characters after a caret (^), using braces {…} for longer exponents.
Worked example
“E = mc^2, 10^-3” becomes E = mc², 10⁻³ in the math output: the caret disappears and 2 and −3 are raised. Converting the whole line instead gives ᴱ ⁼ ᵐᶜ^², ¹⁰^⁻³ – handy for a tiny caption, but the caret and comma have no superscript form.
Superscript characters
| Normal | 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 | + − = ( ) | n i a b c d e |
|---|---|---|---|
| Superscript | ⁰ ¹ ² ³ ⁴ ⁵ ⁶ ⁷ ⁸ ⁹ | ⁺ ⁻ ⁼ ⁽ ⁾ | ⁿ ⁱ ᵃ ᵇ ᶜ ᵈ ᵉ |
Formula
Digits → ⁰ ¹ ² ³ ⁴ ⁵ ⁶ ⁷ ⁸ ⁹ (¹ ² ³ from Latin-1, the rest U+2070–U+2079)
Signs + − = ( ) → ⁺ ⁻ ⁼ ⁽ ⁾ · letters → ᵃ ᵇ ᶜ … (no superscript q)
Worked example
Inputs — Text to convert: E = mc^2, 10^-3.
Results — Superscript text = ᴱ ⁼ ᵐᶜ^², ¹⁰^⁻³; Math formatting (x^2 → x²) = E = mc², 10⁻³; Chemistry formatting (Ca2+ → Ca²⁺) = E = mc², 10⁻³; Subscript version = ₑ ₌ ₘc^₂, ₁₀^₋₃; Characters with no superscript form = ^ ,; Characters = 15.
Key terms
- Superscript
- A small character raised above the baseline.
- Exponent
- The power a number is raised to, written as a superscript (2³ = 8).
- Caret notation
- Plain-text way to write exponents, e.g. x^2.
Frequently asked questions
How do I type x squared?
Type x^2 and copy the “Math formatting” output: x². The character ² can also be typed with Alt + 0178 on Windows.
Is there a superscript q?
Not in common fonts. Unicode added one only recently, so q stays normal.
How do I write 10 to the minus 3?
10^-3 becomes 10⁻³ in the math output.
What is the shortcut for superscript in Word?
Ctrl + Shift + = (⌘ + Shift + = on Mac); in Google Docs Ctrl + . (⌘ + .).
Why do ¹ ² ³ look different from ⁴ ⁵ ⁶ in some fonts?
¹ ² ³ come from the older Latin-1 block and some fonts design them differently.
Can I write ion charges?
Yes – Ca2+ becomes Ca²⁺ in the chemistry output and SO4^2- becomes SO₄²⁻.
How large is a superscript?
Usually 50–75% of the body size, raised so its top roughly aligns with capital letters.