unicode
Unicode provides subscripts and superscripts, so I can do this:
x²
And this:
x₅
However, combining these two I get:
x²₅ or x₅²
Which looks badly.
Any chance to get the superscript directly on top of the subscript in Unicode?
For clarity, this is what I'd like to achieve:
Setting "Language for non-Unicode programs" as suggested in https://superuser.com/a/497880/214569 helped.
Don't rely on Wikipedia.
Only the most commonly needed subscript characters are in the “Superscripts and subscripts” block.
Wikipedia is not a standard. You should look at the Unicode Standards for definitive references/answers.
The Wikipedia page explicitely says:
ə is included in the Unicode Standard Superscripts and Subscripts:
Superscripts and Subscripts: Range: 2070–209F
This file contains an excerpt from the character code tables and list of character names for The Unicode Standard, Version 8.0
The authoritative reference on what characters there are in Unicode is the Unicode Standard. You can find the relevant information in the PDF code charts. The most commonly needed subscript characters are in the “Superscripts and subscripts” block. To get a full list, check the Unicodedata.txt file and search for characters with
<sub>in their description. Beware that many of them are for specialized used, e.g. in phonetic notations, and may work poorly outside such usage, if the glyphs have been designed for the special use.
Source: Stackoverflow answer UTF8 symbols for subscript letters by Jukka K. Korpela
Best Answer
Your issue is not with Unicode but with the font you use. Technically, every font could use negative kerning to move subsequent super- and subscripts on top of each other. One font that does this is Linux Libertine (if you put the subscript first):
On the other hand, this is quite rare. Even STIX, which is specifically designed with mathematical typesetting in mind, does not have this feature.