Serif or sans italic
Sans italic (๐๐ต๐ข๐ญ๐ช๐ค) matches the plain font of most apps and reads as an ordinary slanted word. Serif italic (๐ผ๐ก๐๐๐๐) looks like a maths formula or a printed book. Serif italic has one borrowed letter: Unicode had already encoded the italic h as the physics symbol โ (the Planck constant), so that letter comes from another block.
| Style | Capitals | Lowercase | Digits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Italic (sans) | ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ก | ๐ข๐ฃ๐ค๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ง๐จ๐ฉ๐ช๐ซ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ณ๐ด๐ต๐ถ๐ท๐ธ๐น๐บ๐ป | ๐ข๐ฃ๐ค๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ง๐จ๐ฉ๐ช๐ซ |
| Italic (serif) | ๐ด๐ต๐ถ๐ท๐ธ๐น๐บ๐ป๐ผ๐ฝ๐พ๐ฟ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ | ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐โ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ก๐ข๐ฃ๐ค๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ง | plain |
| Bold italic (sans) | ๐ผ๐ฝ๐พ๐ฟ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ | ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ก๐ข๐ฃ๐ค๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ง๐จ๐ฉ๐ช๐ซ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ฏ | ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ณ๐ด๐ต |
| Bold italic (serif) | ๐จ๐ฉ๐ช๐ซ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ณ๐ด๐ต๐ถ๐ท๐ธ๐น๐บ๐ป๐ผ๐ฝ๐พ๐ฟ๐๐ | ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ | ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ |
Unicode has no italic digits. Sans italic uses sans-serif digits (๐ฃ๐ค๐ฅ), which stay upright; serif italic leaves numbers plain.
When to use italic
- Titles of books, films and songs in a caption.
- A quote or a thought in a post.
- A softer emphasis than bold.
Like all Unicode styles, italic letters are separate characters. Screen readers may read them oddly and search will not match them with the plain word.
How these italic styles are made
Italic text generator: what Unicode block each style is built from, and which letters stay plain.
| Style | Example | Built from | Letters left plain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Italic (sans) | ๐๐ต๐ข๐ญ๐ช๐ค ๐ต๐ฆ๐น๐ต | Mathematical Sans-Serif Italic, with upright sans digits | none |
| Italic (serif) | ๐ผ๐ก๐๐๐๐ ๐ก๐๐ฅ๐ก | Mathematical Italic; the h is the Planck constant sign โ from Letterlike Symbols | none |
Questions
How do I write in italics on social media?
Copy an italic style here and paste it. Most social apps have no italic formatting of their own.
Why is the italic h different?
The serif italic h was encoded earlier as โ, the Planck constant symbol, so Unicode reuses it. Some fonts draw it slightly differently.
Can I combine italic and bold?
Yes. Use bold italic, in serif (๐ฉ๐๐๐ ) or sans (๐ฝ๐ค๐ก๐).