Bold, Italic and Strikethrough Text Without an App

You do not need a special keyboard to write in bold. Depending on where you're typing, there are two different ways to do it, and they have almost nothing in common. Knowing which one to use saves a lot of fiddling.

Method 1: the app's own formatting

Many chat apps let you wrap text in special characters, and the app turns it into real formatting. The text is stored with the markers, and the app draws it bold or italic when it displays the message. Where it works, it's the best option: it's accessible, searchable and consistent.

WhatsApp

• Bold: put asterisks around the text, like *this*
• Italic: underscores, _this_
• Strikethrough: tildes, ~this~
• Monospace: three backticks before and after

Works in messages, groups and status text. Does not work in profile names or About lines.

Telegram

Telegram has a formatting menu: select the text and tap the three dots or use the toolbar to choose bold, italic, underline, strikethrough, monospace or spoiler. On desktop, Ctrl+B and Ctrl+I work. Telegram also understands markdown in some contexts.

Discord

Discord uses markdown-style markers:

• **bold**
• *italic* or _italic_
• ~~strikethrough~~
• __underline__
• single backticks around a word for monospace, like code
• ||spoiler||

These work in messages, not in nicknames or server names.

Slack, Notion, Google Docs, Word

These have proper formatting buttons and keyboard shortcuts (Ctrl+B for bold, Ctrl+I for italic, Ctrl+U for underline). That's real formatting, and it's all you need.

Instagram, TikTok, X (Twitter)

These generally have no formatting in posts, bios or names. That's the gap Unicode styles fill. (Some platforms have added limited rich text to certain surfaces over time, so check the current editor if you're unsure.)

Method 2: Unicode styles

When there's no built-in formatting, you can paste text that is already bold because its characters are bold. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐥𝐝, 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑖𝑠 𝑖𝑡𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑐, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒃𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒄, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚖𝚘𝚗𝚘𝚜𝚙𝚊𝚌𝚎. These aren't formatting; they're different characters from the maths block of Unicode, as described in what fancy text fonts are.

The advantage is that they work anywhere text works. The disadvantages are those covered in the accessibility article and the search article: they aren't real letters, so search, screen readers and spell checkers treat them differently.

You can generate all of these on the Clean Fonts page.

Strikethrough and underline

Strikethrough and underline are done differently again. Instead of swapping letters, they add a combining character after each letter:

• Strikethrough: U+0336 after each letter gives l̶i̶k̶e̶ t̶h̶i̶s̶
• Underline: U+0332 gives l̲i̲k̲e̲ t̲h̲i̲s̲

Because the base letters stay as normal letters, these are friendlier to search than bold or italic Unicode. They render a little differently on different devices, and the line sometimes breaks between words or looks too long or short. Try both on your device.

The Decorated page has several underline and strikethrough styles.

Which should you use?

The pattern: if the app has formatting, use it. If it doesn't, Unicode is the workaround.

Common problems

The asterisks are showing literally. You're in a field that doesn't support formatting, such as a profile name. Use a Unicode style.

The formatting broke halfway. Markers need to touch the text. * text * with spaces inside often fails.

Nested formatting. You can combine bold and italic in WhatsApp and Discord by nesting markers, but results vary.

Boxes. If a Unicode style shows boxes, see why stylish text shows boxes.

Pasted bold turns plain. Some apps strip rich text when pasting. If you copied from a document, the formatting was lost. Unicode styles survive because they're characters.

When bold is the right call

Bold works best for one or two words: a label, a keyword, a name. In a bio, a bold label followed by plain text creates hierarchy without clutter. Strikethrough works for jokes and corrections. Italic suits tone of voice or titles.

Overuse cancels the effect. If a whole paragraph is bold, there's nothing to draw the eye.

Copy-ready examples

• 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲 10–6
• ᴇꜱᴛ. 2019 · 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞
• M̶o̶n̶d̶a̶y̶ Friday plans
• 𝑁𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑠 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑟𝑜𝑎𝑑
• 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚝𝚞𝚜: 𝚘𝚗𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚎

Keyboard shortcuts that save time

In any app with real formatting, learn the shortcuts. On Windows and Linux: Ctrl+B for bold, Ctrl+I for italic, Ctrl+U for underline. On a Mac, use Command in place of Ctrl. Strikethrough varies: Google Docs uses Alt+Shift+5 on Windows (Command+Shift+X on a Mac), and Word uses a button on the toolbar. In Discord, you can select text and a small toolbar appears with the same options.

A tiny table of when each method breaks

One more caution

Don't use styled Unicode for anything people need to copy and reuse, such as a promo code, a link or an address. They can't search for it, and copying a bold character into a form will often fail validation. Plain text is the right format for anything functional.

Strikethrough for humour

Because a struck-through word still shows, it works as a quiet joke: you can write the thing you were supposed to say and the thing you actually mean. P̶r̶o̶d̶u̶c̶t̶i̶v̶e̶ Chaotic is a classic. In a bio or a caption it adds personality for almost no cost. Use it once and let it land.

Underline for links

Underline is the odd one out, since readers expect it to mean a link. On a platform with clickable text, an underlined word that does nothing can frustrate people. Use it for emphasis only where links are not clickable, such as profile names, and keep real links separate.

Related

If you want ideas for stylised names rather than formatted messages, how to make a stylish name walks through the whole process, and the generator has every style in one place.