Which bold to use
Bold sans (๐๐ผ๐น๐ฑ) looks closest to the bold button in most apps, because most apps use a sans-serif font. Bold serif (๐๐จ๐ฅ๐) looks like a book or newspaper. Both have bold digits (๐ญ๐ฎ๐ฏ and ๐๐๐), so dates and prices match the letters.
| Style | Capitals | Lowercase | Digits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bold (sans) | ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ก๐ข๐ฃ๐ค๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ง๐จ๐ฉ๐ช๐ซ๐ฌ๐ญ | ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ณ๐ด๐ต๐ถ๐ท๐ธ๐น๐บ๐ป๐ผ๐ฝ๐พ๐ฟ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ | ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ณ๐ด๐ต |
| Bold (serif) | ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ | ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ก๐ข๐ฃ๐ค๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ง๐จ๐ฉ๐ช๐ซ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ณ | ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ |
| Bold italic (sans) | ๐ผ๐ฝ๐พ๐ฟ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ | ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ก๐ข๐ฃ๐ค๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ง๐จ๐ฉ๐ช๐ซ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ฏ | ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ณ๐ด๐ต |
| Bold italic (serif) | ๐จ๐ฉ๐ช๐ซ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ณ๐ด๐ต๐ถ๐ท๐ธ๐น๐บ๐ป๐ผ๐ฝ๐พ๐ฟ๐๐ | ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ | ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ |
Good uses
- A heading line in a long post, where the app has no formatting.
- One key word in a caption or a comment.
- A name that stands out in a group chat or a game lobby.
Bold Unicode is a different set of characters, so search and hashtags treat ๐ฏ๐ผ๐น๐ฑ as a different word from bold. Keep words people search for, and hashtags, in plain text. Screen readers may also read bold Unicode letter by letter.
How these bold styles are made
Bold text generator: what Unicode block each style is built from, and which letters stay plain.
| Style | Example | Built from | Letters left plain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bold (sans) | ๐๐ผ๐น๐ฑ ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐ | Mathematical Sans-Serif Bold, with bold digits | none |
| Bold (serif) | ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ ๐ญ๐๐ฑ๐ญ | Mathematical Bold (serif), with bold digits | none |
| Bold italic (sans) | ๐ฝ๐ค๐ก๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ญ๐ฉ | Mathematical Sans-Serif Bold Italic | none |
| Bold italic (serif) | ๐ฉ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ | Mathematical Bold Italic (serif) | none |
| Bold gothic | ๐ญ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ | Mathematical Bold Fraktur, complete, with bold digits | none |
| Bold underlined | ๐ฬฒ๐ผฬฒ๐นฬฒ๐ฑฬฒ ๐ฬฒ๐ฒฬฒ๐ ฬฒ๐ฬฒ | Sans-serif bold letters with a combining low line (U+0332) | none |
| Black bubble | ๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ ฃ๐ ๐ ง๐ ฃ | Negative circled capitals from Enclosed Alphanumeric Supplement; lowercase becomes capitals | none |
| Black squares | ๐ ฑ๐ พ๐ ป๐ ณ ๐๐ ด๐๐ | Negative squared capitals from Enclosed Alphanumeric Supplement (some phones draw a few as emoji) | none |
Questions
How do I bold text on social media?
Most social apps have no bold button. Type here, copy the bold style, and paste it into your post or bio.
Why does my bold text not show in search?
Search engines and app search treat bold Unicode letters as different characters, so a word written in them is not matched with the plain word.
Does bold text work in WhatsApp?
Yes, it pastes as text. WhatsApp also has its own bold: put *stars* around a word. That version is easier for screen readers.
Is there bold for other alphabets?
Unicode has bold Latin letters, digits and Greek letters only. Accented letters (รฉ, รฑ) have no bold version and stay plain.