HTML superscript element

Baseline Widely available

This feature is well established and works across many devices and browser versions. It’s been available across browsers since July 2015.

The  HTML element specifies inline text which is to be displayed as superscript for solely typographical reasons. Superscripts are usually rendered with a raised baseline using smaller text.

Try it

<p>
  The <em>Pythagorean theorem</em> is often expressed as the following equation:
</p>

<p>
  <var>a<sup>2</sup></var> + <var>b<sup>2</sup></var> = <var>c<sup>2</sup></var>
</p>

p {
  font:
    1rem "Fira Sans",
    sans-serif;
}

Attributes

This element only includes the global attributes.

The element should only be used for typographical reasons—that is, to change the position of the text to comply with typographical conventions or standards, rather than solely for presentation or appearance purposes.

For example, to style the wordmark of a business or product which uses a raised baseline should be done using CSS (most likely vertical-align) rather than . This would be done using, for example, vertical-align: super or, to shift the baseline up 50%, vertical-align: 50%.

Appropriate use cases for include (but aren't necessarily limited to):

Displaying exponents, such as "x3". It may be worth considering the use of MathML for these, especially in more complex cases. See Exponents under Examples below.
Displaying superior lettering, which is used in some languages when rendering certain abbreviations. For example, in French, the word "mademoiselle" can be abbreviated "Mlle"; this is an acceptable use case. See Superior lettering for examples.
Representing ordinal numbers, such as "4th" instead of "fourth." See Ordinal numbers for examples.

Examples

Exponents

Exponents, or powers of a number, are among the most common uses of superscripted text. For example:

html
<p>
  One of the most common equations in all of physics is <var>E</var>=<var>m</var
  ><var>c</var><sup>2</sup>.
</p>

Result

Superior lettering

Superior lettering is not technically the same thing as superscript. However, it is common to use to present superior lettering in HTML. Among the most common uses of superior lettering is the presentation of certain abbreviations in French:

html

Robert a présenté son rapport à Mlle Bernard.

Result

Ordinal numbers

Ordinal numbers, such as "fourth" in English or "quinto" in Spanish may be abbreviated using numerals and language-specific text rendered in superscript:

html
<p>
  The ordinal number "fifth" can be abbreviated in various languages as follows:
</p>
<ul>
  <li>English: 5<sup>th</sup></li>
  <li>French: 5<sup>ème</sup></li>
</ul>