Rubik's Cube notation is a short code for turning the cube. Each letter is a face: R (right), L (left), U (up), D (down), F (front) and B (back). A letter on its own means turn that face a quarter turn clockwise, as you look straight at it. An apostrophe (R') means counterclockwise, and a 2 (R2) means a half turn.
Press Watch next to any move to see it on an animated cube. Every demo starts from a solved cube held with white on top and green in front.
The Six Face Turns
Hold the cube still, with one face toward you. That's the front, and the other five are named from it. "Clockwise" always means clockwise as if you were looking straight at that face. That's why R and L turn opposite ways from where you're standing.
| Move | Face | What you see from the front |
|---|---|---|
| R | Right | The right column of the front goes up to the top. |
| L | Left | The left column of the front goes down to the bottom. |
| U | Up (top) | The top row of the front goes to the left. |
| D | Down (bottom) | The bottom row of the front goes to the right. |
| F | Front | The front turns like a steering wheel to the right. |
| B | Back | The back turns clockwise as seen from behind, so the top's back row goes to the left. |
Tip: for R, think "right hand pushes the front up". For U, think "the top slides to the left". Those two are in almost every algorithm.
Prime and Double Moves
An apostrophe, read as "prime", turns the face the other way. R' sends the right column of the front down, and U' slides the top to the right. Doing a move and then its prime, like R R', puts the cube back exactly as it was.
A 2 means a half turn: U2 is the same as U U. It doesn't matter which way you turn, since two quarter turns either way end up in the same place. Some sheets write U2', which is still just a half turn.
Wide Moves
A lowercase letter turns two layers together: the face and the slice next to it. r turns the right two columns as one, so the front's right two columns go up. Many sheets write the same move as Rw ("R wide"). u, f, l, d and b work the same way. You'll see wide moves in many OLL algorithms, for example r U R' U R U2 r' .
Slice Moves
Slice moves turn only a middle layer.
- M : the middle column between L and R. It turns the same way as L, so the front's middle column goes down.
- E : the middle row between U and D. It turns the same way as D, so the front's middle row goes right.
- S : the middle layer between F and B. It turns the same way as F.
A wide move is a face turn plus a slice: r is the same as R M'. Slices appear in a few well-known algorithms, such as the H perm M2 U M2 U2 M2 U M2 .
Cube Rotations
Rotations turn the whole cube in your hands. Nothing gets scrambled, you just look at it from a different side. Algorithms use them to bring a piece to where the next moves expect it.
- x : turn the whole cube like R. The front goes to the top.
- y : turn the whole cube like U. The front goes to the left.
- z : turn the whole cube like F. The top goes to the right.
As with face turns, x' goes the other way and y2 is a half rotation.
How to Read an Algorithm
An algorithm is just moves in a row. Do them left to right, one at a time, without turning the whole cube unless the algorithm says so with x, y or z. Here's one of the best known, the "sexy move": R U R' U' . Doing it six times in a row brings the cube right back to where it started. For more practice reading moves, try the Rubik's Cube tricks: each pattern is a short algorithm.
- Brackets only group moves to make them easier to remember. (R U R' U') (R' F R F') is the same as the moves without brackets.
- Repeats are written like (R U R' U') × 3: do the bracketed part three times.
- To undo an algorithm, do it backwards with every move reversed. The undo for R U R' U' is U R U' R'.
Common Mistakes
- Turning R and L the same way. R lifts the front of the right side, and L drops the front of the left side. Each is "clockwise" from its own side.
- Getting B backwards. B is clockwise as seen from behind. From the front, the top's back row moves to your left.
- Turning the cube between moves. If you rotate the cube by accident, every later move lands on the wrong face. Keep your grip until the algorithm is done.
Notation for Other Puzzles
A 2x2 uses the same face letters. There are no middle layers, so you won't see slices or wide moves. The Pyraminx has its own letters for its four corners: U, L, R and B. There, a lowercase letter means only the tiny tip, not two layers (see the Pyraminx algorithms). Our cube timer has scrambles for all three, and the 2x2 solver and Pyraminx solver write their solutions in this notation.
FAQ
What does the apostrophe mean in Rubik's Cube notation?
It means counterclockwise, as you look at that face. R' is read "R prime".
What's the difference between r and Rw?
Nothing. Both mean the right two layers turned together. Different sheets just write it differently.
Is U2 clockwise or counterclockwise?
Either. A half turn ends up in the same place both ways.
Where do I start?
Learn the six face turns and the prime, then follow our beginner guide. It only uses R, L, U, D, F and their primes. Once you're comfortable, browse the Rubik's Cube algorithms.