How can I read this in English? m³ (3-small 3) - exponent (2025)

I am wondering how I can read this in English.

For example, m³ , m².

(triple m? double m?)

I have no idea. Please help me!

An easy way to remember this is that a square with side m has an area equal to m times m, or m^2 (m-squared), and a cube with side m has volume equal to m times m times m, or m^3 (m-cubed). If m is the unit "meter," then you read these as copyright stated.

(m^2 means m with an exponent (superscript) of 2.)

preppie said:

2 raised to the fourth(power); 2 raised to the fifth (power)

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Or simply: 2 to the fourth [power]; 2 to the fifth [power]

preppie said:

2 raised to the fourth(power); 2 raised to the fifth (power)

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..... or 2 to the fourth, 2 to the fifth.

(We're moving away from areas and volumes now, of course)

EDIT: Dang, I see becca got there first! Well at least that proves 2 to the fourth etc works on both sides of the Atlantic

Gisty said:

That's great lesson. I wonder if i may ask a few more questions: 2^-2, 2^2+3, 2^0, 2^2/3. I would really appreciate your help.

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2 to the negative 2 [power]
2 squared plus 3
2 to the zero power (I think, I've never seen this, was never a math buff)
2 squared divided by 3

I can't tell you

....

But for me it would be 2 to the minus 2.

As a mathematician, I rarely use the word 'power' here. We normally read the expression a^b as "a to the b". If b is a simple number, I would use the ordinal:

a^4 = a to the fourth
7^9 = seven to the ninth

After a point, however, it becomes too awkward to stick on that '-th', so we just use the plain b.

x^-1 = x to the minus one
a^(b + 1) = a to the b plus one
15^0.5 = fifteen to the nought point five

Panj, Yes there really is Santa Clause .. and a 2^0.. anything raised to the 0 power is 1. It comes up lot in applied math.

Like English, math requires punctuation (especially without fonts or parentheses). 2^2/3 is either 2 to the two-thirds or 2 squared divided by three. Without explicit instructions it's 2 squared divided by three but I am not sure that's what you intended.

Previous threads on this subject can be found by searching for exponent

2 to the power [of] 2 is 4 (reading exponent)
http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=1187690How to read this number (reading exponent)
Reading mathematical formulae with exponents (exponent)?
squared number / rooted number (reading exponent)

preppie said:

2 raised to the fourth(power); 2 raised to the fifth (power)

Click to expand...

We were taught '2 to the power of four' or '2 raised to four': we never used any ordinals.

One of many factors that influences how people say these things is familiarity. For some, these little superscripts were a topic of passing interest, and little interest at that. They remember the words and expressions used when they were taught about the concept.

For others, they became a topic of everyday conversation - an element of routine working activity. The wordy expressions used at first have been overwhelmed by the forms used in routine and rapid communication. In any case, those wordy expressions don't work when the exponent is something long and complex.
Hence etb's "a to the b" and my "X to the Y".