Superscript Generator

What is a superscript generator?

A superscript generator turns the characters you type into small raised ones, like the ² in x² or the ˢᵗ in 1ˢᵗ. The result is superscript text made of real Unicode characters, not formatting, so you can copy and paste it into places that have no superscript button: an Instagram bio, a Discord message, a form field, a file name.

How to use it

1. Type your text the normal way, for example x2 or 10 m2, or with a caret: x^2, 10^-3.
2. For exponents, use the first row, Smart exponents. It raises only the exponent and leaves everything else alone, so x^2 becomes x², E = mc2 becomes E = mc² and 12th becomes 12ᵗʰ.
3. Click or tap the row, or its Copy button, and paste the result where you need it. For a document, Copy for Word & Docs pastes real superscript formatting instead.

The Tiny (Superscript) row raises everything you give it. The sample E = mc2 and x2 + y2 comes out as ᵉ ⁼ ᵐᶜ² ᵃⁿᵈ ˣ² ⁺ ʸ² there, with every character raised. That is right for tiny text and wrong for a formula, where only the exponent should be small.

Two more rows sit around it. Numbers only (exponents) raises every digit, the number in front included, so 2x2 becomes ²x². Smart formula (chemistry) writes chemical formulas, with the counts below the line and the charge above it: H2O becomes H₂O and Ca2+ becomes Ca²⁺. Under the rows, the exponent keys copy one raised character at a click.

How to type exponents

In plain text, an exponent is written with a caret, the ^ sign (Shift + 6 on most keyboards): x^2 means x to the power of 2. Type it that way and the Smart exponents row turns it into raised characters. It raises what comes right after the caret, a number with its sign or a single letter, and keeps everything in front of it full size, so a coefficient or a base like 10 is never raised by mistake.

A few rules make the results predictable. For a longer exponent, put it in braces or round brackets: 2^(n-1) gives 2ⁿ⁻¹. Characters that have no raised form stay full size, so e^(iπ) gives eⁱπ, with the π on the line. A caret with nothing after it stays a caret, and a caret inside braces raises once more: e^{-x^2} gives e⁻ˣ².

Without a caret, a number is raised only when it follows a short lowercase variable or unit (x2, m2, cm3) or a closing bracket, as in (a+b)2, which gives (a+b)². Text that only looks like an exponent stays as typed: a number with a letter after it (h2o, b2b), common codes (mp3, x86, i7, 4k), a number in e notation (1.5e3) and numbered variables, so x1 + x2 stays x1 + x2. Ordinals work with letters too: the nth term gives the nᵗʰ term.

Decimal exponents are the one case Unicode cannot write. There is no raised period, so x^2.5 stays x^2.5 in the row. Copy for Word & Docs raises it properly: x<sup>2.5</sup>.

Chemical formulas are the one thing to keep out of this row. In H2O the 2 belongs below the line, so the row leaves it alone (H2O) and a link to the Subscript Generator appears under the results, which writes it as H₂O.

Superscript numbers and signs to copy and paste

Every digit has a superscript form, and so do five signs and the letter n. These are the characters people look for most, including the squared symbol (²) and the cubed symbol (³). Click one in the table to copy it, or type the digit into the tool.

On a Windows keyboard with a number pad you can type three of them directly: hold Alt and type 0185 for ¹, 0178 for ² and 0179 for ³. Those three come from an older character set than the rest, which is why they sometimes look a little different in size next to ⁴ to ⁹.

Superscript letters: which ones exist

The tool has 25 superscript letters, every one except q. No raised q is widely supported by the fonts on phones and computers, so a q stays full size: “equation” comes out as ᵉqᵘᵃᵗⁱᵒⁿ. The letters are lowercase only. Unicode has raised forms for only some capital letters, so the tool turns capitals into the lowercase set to keep words even. Typing TM or tm both give ᵗᵐ.

Punctuation is limited to the five signs in the table above. Periods, commas, question marks and apostrophes stay full size, and so do accented letters such as é.

Most of these letters were added to Unicode for phonetic notation, where linguists write things like ʰ for a puff of air after a consonant. They were never designed as a matching alphabet, so in some fonts a few sit slightly higher or look slightly heavier than their neighbors.

What superscript is used for

• Squares, cubes and units: x², a² + b² = c², 25 m², 500 ft², 10 cm³.
• Exponents and scientific notation: 10⁶, 10⁻³, 2ⁿ, 6.02 × 10²³.
• Footnote markers: a small number after a claim¹ that points to a note below.
• Ordinals: 1ˢᵗ, 2ⁿᵈ, 3ʳᵈ, 4ᵗʰ.
• Trademark-style marks: a raised ᵗᵐ after a joke brand name. The real trademark sign, ™, is its own character.
• Ion charges in chemistry: Na⁺, Ca²⁺, Cl⁻. The numbers that go below the line, as in H₂O, come from the Subscript Generator.
• Tiny text: whole words in raised letters, like ᵗⁱⁿʸ ᵗᵉˣᵗ, for bios and nicknames. The Small Text Generator has more tiny styles.

How to type superscript in Word, Google Docs and HTML

In a real document you don't need special characters. Select the text and use the program's own superscript command:

Press the same shortcut again to go back to normal text. In Google Docs the command is also under Format, then Text, then Superscript. In Excel, select the characters inside the cell, open Format Cells with Ctrl + 1 and tick Superscript. Where none of this is available, the plain-text convention is a caret: x^2.

To skip the selecting, type the whole line here with carets and press Copy for Word & Docs under the Smart exponents row. It puts formatted text on the clipboard, so 2x^2 + 3x - 5 pastes into a document with a real superscript 2, and it can raise every character, q and capitals included. Programs that only take plain text get the Unicode version instead. Copy HTML gives the markup for a web page: 2x<sup>2</sup> + 3x - 5.

Unicode superscript or real formatting?

Use real formatting in documents, school work and academic writing. It can raise any character, including q and capitals. The text underneath stays normal, so search, spell check and screen readers still work, and citation styles expect it. Its weakness is that it lives in the document. Paste x² from Word into a plain-text box and it arrives as x2.

Use Unicode superscript where formatting can't follow: social media bios and captions, chat messages, comments, display names, spreadsheet labels, plain-text notes. The raised characters are part of the text itself, so they stay raised after copy and paste.

A simple rule: if the text will live in a document that someone reads, prints or grades, use real formatting. If it goes into a name, a bio, a chat or any field without a superscript button, use the Unicode characters. Real formatting is also kinder to screen readers, which read the raised text as normal letters and numbers, while a Unicode ² may be read as “superscript two” or skipped.

Limits to know about

• They are text, not numbers. A spreadsheet or calculator won't read 5² as 25. In a formula, use the caret instead: =5^2.
• Search may miss them. Someone searching for “m2” won't always find “m²”, and hashtags written in raised letters don't join the normal hashtag.
• Screen readers are uneven. Some announce ² properly; others read raised letters one by one or skip them. Keep important information in normal text.
• Usernames: Instagram and TikTok handles only accept plain letters, numbers, underscores and periods, and X handles only letters, numbers and underscores. Superscript works in the name field and bio, not in the @handle.
• Old devices can show an empty box for the rarer letters. The digits are the safest.

More text tools

For lowered characters and chemical formulas, use the Subscript Generator. The Small Text Generator puts tiny text and small caps side by side, and the Fancy Text Generator shows every style at once. To cross text out instead, try the Strikethrough Text Generator.

Is anything sent to a server?

No. The superscript generator runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you type is uploaded or stored, and it is free with no sign-up.