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Subscript Three

Subscript three (₃) is the character for the third index and for chemical formulas like O₃ and NH₃.

Also known as: subscript 3, subscript three, small 3 below, nh3 subscript.

Codes

Symbol
Full run 0-9₀₁₂₃₄₅₆₇₈₉
UnicodeU+2083
HTML entity (decimal)₃
HTML entity (hex)₃
CSS\2083
LaTeXx_3
Windows Alt codeAlt + 8323

How to type (Subscript Three)

WindowsAlt + 8323

Alt + 8323 works in apps that accept decimal-Unicode Alt input (Word among them). There is no short Alt + 0nnn code. Elsewhere press Win + . (period) and search “subscript”, or copy ₃ above.

Mac

No default keystroke. Open Character Viewer (Control + Cmd + Space) and search “subscript three”, or copy ₃ above.

Microsoft Word2083, Alt + X

Type 2083, then press Alt + X to get the character ₃.

Google Docs

Insert → Special characters, then search “subscript three”.

LaTeXx_3

In math mode write x_3, or \ce{NH3} with the mhchem package for chemistry.

Usage

  • ₃ appears in chemical formulas — O₃ (ozone), NH₃ (ammonia), CaCO₃ — and as the third index x₃ in a sequence or vector.
  • The digits ₀₁₂₃₄₅₆₇₈₉ are a complete run in Unicode's Subscripts and Superscripts block (U+2080–U+209C), so any number can be written out of characters alone: x₁₀, x₄₂.
  • The letters are *not* complete. Unicode has only ₐ ₑ ₒ ₓ ₔ ₕ ₖ ₗ ₘ ₙ ₚ ₛ ₜ — there is no subscript b, c, d, f, g, i, j, q, r, u, v, w, y or z. This is why “subscript generators” break on some inputs: the characters simply do not exist.
  • Same character-vs-formatting rule as the rest of the run: ₃ survives being pasted into plain text, a word processor's subscript button does not.

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