Squared symbol (²) and superscript numbers: copy and paste
The superscript two (²) is a single raised character used for squares (x², 25 m²) and footnote markers. Unlike superscript formatting in a word processor, it survives pasting into plain-text fields, chats and social media.
Unicode has superscript digits ⁰ through ⁹ plus ⁺ ⁻ ⁼ ⁽ ⁾ and ⁿ, so you can write 10⁻³ or 2ⁿ anywhere. For arbitrary exponents in documents, use real superscript formatting or LaTeX (x^{2}).
Squared symbol variants to copy
Click any character to copy it.
How to type ² on Mac, Windows and phone
There is no keystroke for ² on the US Mac layout. Press ⌃ Control + ⌘ Command + Space to open the Character Viewer, search “superscript two” and double-click it. No keystroke on the US layout. Set up a Text Replacement (System Settings → Keyboard) to turn ^2 into ² if you use it often.
On Windows, hold Alt and type 0178 on the numeric keypad (Num Lock on), then release Alt. ³ is Alt + 0179. Alt + 253 also gives ².
Not on the default keyboards. Paste from here, or use your keyboard’s text replacement.
| Platform | How to type ² |
|---|---|
| Mac (US layout) | Character Viewer → search “superscript two” |
| Windows | Alt + 0178 |
| Any Mac app | Emojibar: click the menubar icon, search “squared symbol”, click to copy |
Squared symbol codes for HTML, CSS and LaTeX
| Unicode | U+00B2 |
| HTML | ² · ² · ³ ³ |
| CSS content | "\00B2" |
| LaTeX | x^{2} |