Notation

Notation for the 3x3x3 cube.

Side Rotations

Sides are denoted by the uppercase initial letter of the side name, L for left, R for right, D for down, U for up, F for front, and B for back.

• Quarter turn clockwise—L R D U F B
• Quarter turn counterclockwise—append prime (′), e.g., L′ R′ D′ U′ F′ B′
• Half turns 180 degrees—append the numeral 2, e.g., L2 R2 D2 U2 F2 B2

Slice Rotations

In the 3x3x3 cube, slices are between two sides, denoted M for middle, E for equator, and S for standing.

• M—slice between L and R, turns like L (e.g., L′ and M′ are the same direction)
• E—slice between D and U,  turns like D (e.g., D′ and E′ are the same direction)
• S—slice between F and B, turns like F (e.g., F′ and S′ are the same direction)

double Layer rotations

Double layer (or wide) rotations are indicated by a lowercase w following the uppercase side letter. Turn the face as you would normally turn it, but include the adjacent slice. Here are some examples.

• Fw—quarter turn clockwise of both the F side and S slice.
• Rw′—quarter turn counterclockwise of both the R side and M slice.
• Uw2—Half turn of both the U side and E slice.

Note that some cube resources use lowercase side names for double layer rotations..

Whole Cube Orientation

Changes to the cube orientation in an algorithm are indicated with the letters x y and z.

• X—rotate around x axis, same direction as R
• Y—rotate around y axis, same direction as U
• Z—rotate around z axis, same direction as F

Note that some cube resources use uppercase X, Y, and Z.