How this calculator works
Unicode has superscript forms for the ten digits, for plus, minus, equals and parentheses, and for 25 letters. They are separate characters rather than raised versions of ordinary ones, so they keep the raised look in any app that renders them. The letter q has no superscript form, and there are no superscript capital letters, so upper case input uses the lower-case form. Accented letters and other scripts are left as typed.
Formula
Each character is replaced by its fixed Unicode superscript code point. Digits 0 to 9 become U+2070 and U+00B9 to U+00B3 and U+2074 to U+2079, the four symbols become U+207A to U+207E, and the letters use the modifier or superscript letter block. Unmapped characters are copied unchanged, and the unchanged count reports how many letters and digits had no form.
Worked example
E = mc2 becomes ᵉ ⁼ ᵐᶜ². The capital E uses the lower-case superscript e because no capital form exists, and the equals sign has its own superscript glyph. For a footnote-style marker, the sequence 1st becomes ¹ˢᵗ, which is why the result is not an ordinary raised number.
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Frequently asked questions
Can I write an exponent this way in a document?
For a chat message or a profile field, yes. For a document, spreadsheet or web page you control, use real superscript formatting on ordinary characters. That keeps the text searchable, accessible and compatible with equations and citations.
Why does q stay ordinary?
Unicode never encoded a superscript q. The nearest-looking characters are ordinary letters or symbols for other sounds, so substituting one would change the word. The converter leaves q as typed and counts it in the unchanged total.
What is the difference between superscript and small text?
Both use some of the same modifier letters, but superscript is the wider set: it includes digits and arithmetic symbols, which small text does not. Use this page for exponents and footnote markers, and the small text page when you want a whole phrase to look tiny.
Why are upper-case letters converted to small ones?
There are no superscript capital letters in Unicode, only lower-case forms. The converter uses the available form for both cases. A name written in capitals will therefore come out as a run of small superscript letters, which may not be what you want.
Will a search engine match the original word?
No. Superscript characters are different code points, so a search for squared does not match the superscript version. Do not use them for keywords or headings that must be found, and do not rely on them for mathematical content that a screen reader must read correctly.