Notation | CubeGuide

Every Rubik’s-cube tutorial uses the same little alphabet of moves. You do not need to memorize a giant list before starting. Learn the six face letters, understand primes and double turns, then keep this page open while you follow the beginner method.

If a sequence feels confusing, pause the demo and step one move at a time. That is the whole trick: read the next symbol, turn that face, then move on.

The six faces

The cube has six faces. Each one has a single letter:

U — Up
D — Down
F — Front
B — Back
L — Left
R — Right

Pieces and slots

Tutorials also talk about the small pieces that move around the cube:

Centers have one color. They stay in the same place, so they tell you which face is which.
Edges have two colors. There are 12 edge pieces.
Corners have three colors. There are 8 corner pieces.
Stickers are the colored squares on each piece. A corner has three stickers, but it is still one piece.
A slot is the home position where a piece belongs, like the front-right corner slot or the right middle edge slot.

When a lesson says “put the edge in its slot,” match both colors on that edge to the two center colors around the slot.

Move directions

A bare letter means “turn that face 90° clockwise, looking at the face from outside the cube.” Watch this:

The examples on this page start from a scrambled state. Press Play, or step one move at a time, to see the written moves fix that state.

Starts with the right face twisted; the move turns it 90° clockwise back into place.

Prime and double turns

R’ (“R prime”) — 90° counter-clockwise.
R2 — 180°, direction doesn’t matter.

A common four-move trigger: primes turn the matching face back the other way.

A double turn moves the right face halfway around.

You will see primes constantly in beginner algorithms. A good habit is to say the move out loud before turning: R’ means the right face goes the other way.

Whole-cube rotations

Lowercase letters (or x / y / z) rotate the entire cube without changing the state:

x — rotate around the R-L axis (like an R turn applied to the whole cube)
y — rotate around the U-D axis
z — rotate around the F-B axis

These let an algorithm be written from a single fixed viewpoint, even if you turn the cube in your hands.

Putting it together

A real six-move sequence from a scrambled case; read it one move at a time.

When you see a long sequence like this, just read it left-to-right, one symbol at a time:

RUR’URU2R’

Pause the player above and step through if it goes too fast.

Before moving on, make sure you can answer these:

Which face does U turn?
What changes when a move has ’ after it?
Why is R2 the same no matter which direction you turn?

Once notation feels natural, head to the beginner method — that’s where the real solving starts.