This is an
explanatory essay about the various Manual of Style pages linked below. This page provides additional information about concepts in the page(s) it supplements. This page is not one of
Wikipedia's policies or guidelines as it has not been
thoroughly vetted by the community. |
A superscript or subscript is text that is positioned slightly above or below the normal line of type. Superscripts and subscripts are often rendered in a smaller font size than the adjacent normal text. This part of the Manual of Style aims to achieve consistency in the use and formatting of superscripts and subscripts in Wikipedia articles.
Subscripts and superscripts should be wrapped in <sub>
and <sup>
HTML tags, respectively, with no other formatting info, with some exceptions (see
below). The {{
sup}}
and {{
sub}}
templates are useful shortcuts to the HTML markup. Do not use the
Unicode subscripts and superscripts ² and ³, or
XML/HTML character entity references (²
etc.). Rather, write <sup>2</sup>
and <sup>3</sup>
to produce the superscripts 2 and 3. The superscripted 2 and 3 are easier to read, especially on small displays, and ensure that exponents are properly aligned. Compare:
w<sup>i</sup>x<sup>2</sup>z<sup>(n + 6)</sup>
) orw{{sup|i}}x{{sup|2}}z{{sup|(n + 6)}}
)
²
) to<sup>2</sup>
) or{{sup|2}}
)These guidelines also apply in citations and template parameters; templates are responsible for cleaning up markup if needed for external consumption, e.g. for COinS.
Phonetic transcriptions in the International Phonetic Alphabet and Uralic Phonetic Alphabet (which are most often inside {{ IPA}}, {{ IPA link}}, {{ UPA}}, and related templates) should use Unicode subscripts and superscripts. This follows the recommendation of the International Phonetic Association [1] and is done by the tools, help pages, and articles referenced in Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Pronunciation. Tone should usually be marked with diacritics or IPA tone symbols, according to Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Pronunciation#Tone. Use {{ Needs IPA}} for any non-compliant articles.
Another exception where Unicode superscripts and subscripts are used is in the title of articles, though this is only rarely necessary. See Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Titles § Typographic effects.
Per WP:SDFORMAT, {{ short description}} cannot use HTML or wikitext formatting, leaving Unicode characters as the only option for superscripts and subscripts.
{{sub|radix}}
or <sub>radix</sub>
).{{
su}}
template: <math>C_6^4</math>
= , ''C''{{su|b=6|p=4}}
= C4°
, or by keying
Alt+0176 (Windows PCs). A superscript lower case "o" ({{sup|o}}
) may be used instead. The slashed o, "ø", which may not display correctly for all readers, is produced by superscripting the character produced by typing ø
, or by keying
Alt+0248 (Windows PCs). Diminished chords can also be indicated with {{music|dim}} and {{music|dimslash}}
.vii{{sup|o}}
, I{{sub|6}}
. This looks like: viio, I6.<sup>
tag or {{sup}}
template rather than the Unicode superscript characters such as ². Squared imperial and US unit abbreviations may be rendered with sq, and cubic with cu (15 sq mi, 3 cu ft).Descriptions of:
{{chem2|C2H5OH}}
{{
Nuclide2|He|3}}
2{{sup|2}} = 4
Special care is needed with subscripted labels to distinguish the purpose of the subscript (as this is a common error): variables and constants in subscripts should be italic, while textual labels should be in normal text font (Roman, upright). For example:
<math> x_\text{this one} = y_\text{that one} \,\!</math>
),and
<math>\sum_{i=1}^n { y_i^2 }\!</math>
),but not
r = x_{predicted} - x_{observed}
).Moreover, the TeX engine used on Wikipedia may format simple superscripts using <sup>...</sup>
depending on user preferences. Thus, instead of the image , many users see x2. Formulae formatted without using TeX should use the same syntax to maintain the same appearance.
This is an
explanatory essay about the various Manual of Style pages linked below. This page provides additional information about concepts in the page(s) it supplements. This page is not one of
Wikipedia's policies or guidelines as it has not been
thoroughly vetted by the community. |
A superscript or subscript is text that is positioned slightly above or below the normal line of type. Superscripts and subscripts are often rendered in a smaller font size than the adjacent normal text. This part of the Manual of Style aims to achieve consistency in the use and formatting of superscripts and subscripts in Wikipedia articles.
Subscripts and superscripts should be wrapped in <sub>
and <sup>
HTML tags, respectively, with no other formatting info, with some exceptions (see
below). The {{
sup}}
and {{
sub}}
templates are useful shortcuts to the HTML markup. Do not use the
Unicode subscripts and superscripts ² and ³, or
XML/HTML character entity references (²
etc.). Rather, write <sup>2</sup>
and <sup>3</sup>
to produce the superscripts 2 and 3. The superscripted 2 and 3 are easier to read, especially on small displays, and ensure that exponents are properly aligned. Compare:
w<sup>i</sup>x<sup>2</sup>z<sup>(n + 6)</sup>
) orw{{sup|i}}x{{sup|2}}z{{sup|(n + 6)}}
)
²
) to<sup>2</sup>
) or{{sup|2}}
)These guidelines also apply in citations and template parameters; templates are responsible for cleaning up markup if needed for external consumption, e.g. for COinS.
Phonetic transcriptions in the International Phonetic Alphabet and Uralic Phonetic Alphabet (which are most often inside {{ IPA}}, {{ IPA link}}, {{ UPA}}, and related templates) should use Unicode subscripts and superscripts. This follows the recommendation of the International Phonetic Association [1] and is done by the tools, help pages, and articles referenced in Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Pronunciation. Tone should usually be marked with diacritics or IPA tone symbols, according to Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Pronunciation#Tone. Use {{ Needs IPA}} for any non-compliant articles.
Another exception where Unicode superscripts and subscripts are used is in the title of articles, though this is only rarely necessary. See Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Titles § Typographic effects.
Per WP:SDFORMAT, {{ short description}} cannot use HTML or wikitext formatting, leaving Unicode characters as the only option for superscripts and subscripts.
{{sub|radix}}
or <sub>radix</sub>
).{{
su}}
template: <math>C_6^4</math>
= , ''C''{{su|b=6|p=4}}
= C4°
, or by keying
Alt+0176 (Windows PCs). A superscript lower case "o" ({{sup|o}}
) may be used instead. The slashed o, "ø", which may not display correctly for all readers, is produced by superscripting the character produced by typing ø
, or by keying
Alt+0248 (Windows PCs). Diminished chords can also be indicated with {{music|dim}} and {{music|dimslash}}
.vii{{sup|o}}
, I{{sub|6}}
. This looks like: viio, I6.<sup>
tag or {{sup}}
template rather than the Unicode superscript characters such as ². Squared imperial and US unit abbreviations may be rendered with sq, and cubic with cu (15 sq mi, 3 cu ft).Descriptions of:
{{chem2|C2H5OH}}
{{
Nuclide2|He|3}}
2{{sup|2}} = 4
Special care is needed with subscripted labels to distinguish the purpose of the subscript (as this is a common error): variables and constants in subscripts should be italic, while textual labels should be in normal text font (Roman, upright). For example:
<math> x_\text{this one} = y_\text{that one} \,\!</math>
),and
<math>\sum_{i=1}^n { y_i^2 }\!</math>
),but not
r = x_{predicted} - x_{observed}
).Moreover, the TeX engine used on Wikipedia may format simple superscripts using <sup>...</sup>
depending on user preferences. Thus, instead of the image , many users see x2. Formulae formatted without using TeX should use the same syntax to maintain the same appearance.