font-variant-position CSS property - CSS | MDN
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font-variant-position
CSS property
Baseline
Widely available
This feature is well established and works across many devices and browser versions. It’s been available across browsers since September 2023.
* Some parts of this feature may have varying levels of support.
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The
font-variant-position
CSS
property controls the use of alternate, smaller glyphs that are positioned as superscript or subscript.
The glyphs are positioned relative to the baseline of the font, which remains unchanged. These glyphs are typically used in
and
elements.
When the usage of these alternate glyphs is activated, if one character in the run doesn't have such a typographically-enhanced glyph, the whole set of characters of the run is rendered using a fallback method, synthesizing these glyphs.
These alternate glyphs share the same em-box and the same baseline as the rest of the font. They are merely graphically enhanced, and have no effect on the line-height and other box characteristics.
Syntax
css
/* Keyword values */
font-variant-position: normal;
font-variant-position: sub;
font-variant-position: super;
/* Global values */
font-variant-position: inherit;
font-variant-position: initial;
font-variant-position: revert;
font-variant-position: revert-layer;
font-variant-position: unset;
The
font-variant-position
property is specified as one of the keyword values listed below.
Values
normal
Deactivates alternate superscript and subscript glyphs.
sub
Activates subscript alternate glyphs. If, in a given run, one such glyph is not available for a character, all the characters in the run are rendered using synthesized glyphs.
super
Activates superscript alternate glyphs. If, in a given run, one such glyph is not available for a character, all the characters in the run are rendered using synthesized glyphs.
Formal definition
Initial value
normal
Applies to
all elements and text. It also applies to
::first-letter
and
::first-line
Inherited
yes
Computed value
as specified
Animation type
discrete
Formal syntax
font-variant-position =
normal
sub
super
Examples
Setting superscript and subscript forms
HTML
html
Normal!
Super!
Sub!
CSS
css
p {
display: inline;
.normal {
font-variant-position: normal;
.super {
font-variant-position: super;
.sub {
font-variant-position: sub;
Result
Specifications
Specification
CSS Fonts Module Level 4
# font-variant-position-prop
Browser compatibility
See also
font-variant
font-variant-alternates
font-variant-caps
font-variant-east-asian
font-variant-emoji
font-variant-ligatures
font-variant-numeric
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This page was last modified on
Apr 20, 2026
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