Drop characters below the line

Subscript characters sit below the normal text baseline. Unicode includes all ten subscript digits plus a useful set of lowercase letters and mathematical symbols, but it doesn't contain a complete subscript Latin alphabet. A good converter should show those gaps instead of replacing missing letters with unrelated lookalikes.

This tool therefore converts supported characters and leaves unsupported ones unchanged. For formulas, that is normally what you want: numbers such as the 2 in H₂O and CO₂ convert cleanly, while ordinary element symbols remain ordinary capital letters.

Subscript text is useful in chats, notes, spreadsheets and posts that do not have rich text buttons. It can help with short formulas, small labels and simple number or letter markers without turning the text into an image.

It is not a replacement for proper mathematical typesetting. For equations that must be unambiguous or accessible, use the formatting system intended for the document. The copy-paste version is best for short, informal notation where plain text is the limit.

Characters with strong support

Digits ₀–₉, plus ₊, minus ₋, equals ₌ and subscript parentheses ₍ ₎ are widely useful. Supported lowercase letters include forms such as ₐ, ₑ, ₕ, ᵢ, ⱼ, ₖ, ₗ, ₘ, ₙ, ₒ, ₚ, ᵣ, ₛ, ₜ, ᵤ, ᵥ and ₓ.

Subscript characters are still text, so they can look a little different in different apps and fonts. Common small numbers usually work well. If the text matters, paste it into the app and check it before you keep it.

For accessibility, keep context around the notation. A screen reader may announce the Unicode code name rather than describing visual position, so important scientific or mathematical information should not depend on appearance alone.

For H2O , the desired output is H₂O: only the 2 needs to drop. For x1 + x2 , the lowered digits make the indices clearer. If you type an ordinary English word, however, several letters may remain full-size because Unicode has no true subscript matching for them.

If some letters stay normal, the tool is not broken. There simply is not a true subscript version of every letter. We would rather leave a letter normal than swap it for a misleading lookalike.

Subscript versus small text

Subscript has a history in maths, speech sounds and chemistry. Small-text generators are decorative and often mix several Unicode sources. If you need H₂O, indices or notation, use subscript. If you simply want a tiny-looking username, use the Small Text Generator instead.

For documents you control

Use native superscript/subscript formatting in Word, Google Docs, HTML or equation tools when precision matters. Unicode subscript is valuable when the app or box you paste it into only accepts plain text.