Subscript Generator — Subscript & Superscript Text

What this tool does

A subscript generator swaps each character you type for a dedicated Unicode character that sits below the baseline — like turning H2SO4 into H₂SO₄. Its twin, the superscript generator, raises characters above the baseline — x2 + y2 = z2 becomes ˣ² ⁺ ʸ² ⁼ ᶻ². No font is installed, no formatting is applied: the output is plain text made of real code points, so it survives copy and paste into Discord, Instagram, WhatsApp, Twitter/X, Google Docs, and any app that renders Unicode.

This page does both at once. Type once and you get the superscript and subscript versions side by side, each with its own copy button. Flip on formula mode to convert only digits and symbols (+ − = ( )) — handy when the letters should stay normal, as in chemical formulas (H2SO4 → H₂SO₄) or textbook exponents (E=mc2 → E⁼mc²).

Complete character reference

Unicode does not have a subscript or superscript for every letter — the coverage is fixed by the standard and identical in every honest generator. This tool supports 59 superscript and 32 subscript characters. Unsupported characters pass through unchanged instead of being faked with look-alikes, so what you copy is always standards-correct.

Worked examples

1. Chemical formula — sulfuric acid

Type H2SO4, choose subscript, and you get H₂SO₄. Each digit maps to its Unicode subscript: 2 → ₂ (U+2082), 4 → ₄ (U+2084). With formula mode on, the letters H, S, O stay upright and only the digits drop — exactly how H₂SO₄ is written in textbooks. Paste it into a lab report, a flashcard deck, or a Discord study group and it renders everywhere.

2. Math exponents — Pythagoras

Type x2 + y2 = z2 and the superscript output is ˣ² ⁺ ʸ² ⁼ ᶻ²: x → ˣ (U+02E3), 2 → ² (U+00B2), + → ⁺ (U+207A), = → ⁼ (U+207C). Scientific notation works the same way: 10-6 becomes ¹⁰⁻⁶, with the minus raised as ⁻ (U+207B). Tip: for classic exponent style where the base letter stays normal, use formula mode — E=mc2 becomes E⁼mc².

3. Ordinals and labels

1st place converts to ¹ˢᵗ ᵖˡᵃᶜᵉ — 1 → ¹ (U+00B9), s → ˢ (U+02E2), t → ᵗ (U+1D57). Handy for rankings, footnotes (Note¹), trademark-style marks, and isotope-style labels. Because these are single code points, the result counts as one character each on platforms with character limits.

Honest gaps: characters Unicode never encoded

Not every gap is a bug in the tool — some are gaps in Unicode itself, and every generator on the internet shares them:

• Superscript has no lowercase q. Twenty-five of twenty-six lowercase letters have modifier forms; q simply was never encoded, so it passes through as plain q.
• Superscript has no uppercase C, F, Q, S, X, Y, or Z. Nineteen uppercase letters exist (ᴬ ᴮ ᴰ … ᵂ); the other seven pass through unchanged.
• Subscript has only 17 lowercase letters (ₐ ₑ ₕ ᵢ ⱼ ₖ ₗ ₘ ₙ ₒ ₚ ᵣ ₛ ₜ ᵤ ᵥ ₓ) and no uppercase letters at all. Letters like b, c, d, f, g, w, y, z stay on the baseline — that is why the table above shows — for them.

We deliberately do not substitute look-alike characters from other scripts (a Cyrillic or Cherokee glyph that merely resembles a q). Fakes break search, confuse screen readers, and can render as tofu boxes on some devices. Pass-through is the honest behavior.

Where it works — and where it doesn't

Unicode sub/superscripts work in virtually every modern text field: Discord messages and nicknames, Instagram and TikTok bios, WhatsApp, Twitter/X, Slack, Reddit, Notion, Google Docs/Sheets, and plain-text emails. They are not the same as Word's Ctrl+= / Ctrl+Shift+= formatting: Word applies a style tag that disappears the moment you copy into another app, while these characters keep their position everywhere because the position is baked into the code point.

Two caveats. First, appearance depends on the device font — most systems render these blocks fine, but a rare old font may show a box. Second, screen readers may announce the character name ("superscript two") rather than the visual meaning, so for critical content — exam papers, legal documents — prefer your editor's native formatting.

How to use the generator

1. Type or paste your text into the box (up to 300 characters).
2. Optionally tick formula mode to convert only numbers and symbols.
3. Click copy under the Superscript or Subscript result — or copy both.
4. Paste anywhere with Ctrl+V / ⌘+V.

Practical tips

• Chemistry: write formulas in formula mode so element symbols keep their capitalization (CO₂, not ₍ₒ₂) — subscripts apply to counts, never to element letters.
• Math notes: formula mode gives textbook-style exponents (x²) from plain typing (x2); full mode raises everything for stylistic "tiny text" effects.
• Social bios: full superscript mode doubles as a small-text aesthetic; keep it to a few words — long passages in modifier letters are hard to read.
• Footnotes: ¹ ² ³ copy-paste cleanly into Google Docs comments and Markdown files where footnote syntax is unavailable.
• Character limits: each converted character is still one Unicode character (some are outside the Basic Multilingual Plane), so they count normally toward limits.

Frequently asked questions