Symbol Hub

Subscript X

Subscript x (ₓ) is one of only thirteen subscript letters Unicode actually has — used for vector components like aₓ and Fₓ.

Also known as: subscript x, small x below, x component subscript, latin subscript small letter x.

Codes

Symbol
All subscript lettersₐ ₑ ₒ ₓ ₔ ₕ ₖ ₗ ₘ ₙ ₚ ₛ ₜ
UnicodeU+2093
HTML entity (decimal)ₓ
HTML entity (hex)ₓ
CSS\2093
LaTeXa_x
Windows Alt codeAlt + 8339

How to type (Subscript X)

WindowsAlt + 8339

Alt + 8339 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 ₓ above.

Mac

No default keystroke. Open Character Viewer (Control + Cmd + Space), search “latin subscript small letter x”, and double-click ₓ.

Microsoft Word2093, Alt + X

Type 2093, then press Alt + X to get the character ₓ.

Google Docs

Insert → Special characters, then search “subscript x” or “latin subscript”.

LaTeXa_x

In math mode write a_x for the x-component, or \vec{a}_x. Do not paste ₓ into LaTeX source.

Usage

  • ₓ marks a component along the x-axis: aₓ is the x-component of acceleration, Fₓ of force, vₓ of velocity.
  • Unicode has only thirteen subscript letters — 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, and no uppercase subscript letters at all. They were added for phonetics, not for maths, which is why the set looks arbitrary.
  • That gap is the reason a “subscript generator” cannot convert an arbitrary word: aᵢ and aⱼ, the two most common index letters in maths, have no subscript character. For those, use real subscript formatting or LaTeX a_i, a_j.
  • Like the digits, ₓ is a character rather than formatting, so it survives being pasted into plain text — a filename, a CSV cell, a code comment.

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