Short answer: Discord formats text with Markdown — wrap words in markers: **bold**, *italic*, __underline__, ~~strikethrough~~, ||spoiler||, and backticks for `code`. Usernames can’t be formatted this way, so people add Unicode symbols (★ ♥) or fancy fonts to names instead — copy some below.
Tap to copy a symbol for your name
Discord has two separate things people mean by “symbols”: the Markdown formatting that styles your messages, and the Unicode symbols and fonts you paste into names and text. This guide covers both, in full. It’s part of the Office & Tech category.
Formatting cheat sheet
| Style | Type this | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Bold | **text** | text |
| Italic | *text* or _text_ | text |
| Bold italic | ***text*** | text |
| Underline | __text__ | underlined |
| Strikethrough | ~~text~~ | |
| Spoiler | ||text|| | click-to-reveal box |
| Inline code | `text` | text |
| Header | # text / ## text / ### text | large / medium / small |
| Subtext | -# text | small caption |
| Quote | > text | blockquote |
Bold, italic, underline, strikethrough
These four are the everyday styles — a pair of markers around your text:
- Bold:
**important** - Italic:
*emphasis*(or_emphasis_) - Underline:
__note__— a Discord addition; standard Markdown doesn’t underline - Strikethrough:
~~oops~~
They stack — nest the markers and close them in reverse order, so __***text***__ is underlined, bold and italic at once. On desktop you can also use the shortcuts Ctrl + B, Ctrl + I, Ctrl + U and Ctrl + Shift + X (⌘ on Mac) on selected text.
Spoilers, quotes and subtext
- Spoiler: wrap text in double bars —
||plot twist||— and it shows as a black box until clicked. To spoiler an image, tick Mark as Spoiler in the upload dialog. - Quote: start a line with
>for a single-line blockquote, or>>>to quote everything that follows. - Subtext: start a line with
-#for small, muted caption text — handy for footnotes and “last updated” lines.
Headers and lists
- Headers:
# Big,## Medium,### Smallat the start of a line (three sizes; anything smaller just shows the # as text). - Bulleted list: start lines with
-(or*). - Numbered list: start lines with
1..
Combine them for tidy server rules or command lists: a # title, ## sections, and - bullets read far better than a wall of text.
Code blocks and inline code
- Inline code: wrap a word or command in single backticks —
`!play`— to show it in monospace, untouched by other formatting. - Code block: put triple backticks (
```) on their own lines above and below your text. - Syntax highlighting: add a language right after the opening backticks —
```pythonor```js. The colour highlighting appears on desktop and web; mobile shows the monospace block without colours.
Because Discord has no native coloured-text feature, syntax-highlighted code blocks (and the ansi language for manual colours) are the common workaround.
Symbols and fancy fonts in your name
Here’s the key point for “Discord symbols”: usernames, display names and server nicknames can’t use Markdown. So to decorate a name, you use actual Unicode characters — a star ★, heart ♥, or a divider bar — pasted straight in. Copy them from the tool above (or see heart and star symbols for more).
“Discord fonts” work the same way: the bold or script “fonts” from online generators aren’t fonts at all — they’re Unicode look-alike characters you paste in. They display in names and messages, but the same caveats apply as anywhere: they aren’t searchable and screen readers can’t read them, so use them as a light accent. (More on how those work: fancy text.)
Desktop, mobile and escaping
- Everything works on mobile — the same markers on your phone keyboard produce bold, italic, spoilers, headers and quotes. The only gap is code-block colour highlighting, which is desktop and web only.
- Show a marker literally: put a backslash before it.
\*not italic\*displays the asterisks. Or wrap the text in backticks. The same escaping is why the shrug ¯\(ツ)/¯ often arrives with an arm missing — the backslash gets consumed doing its job. Kaomoji and how to type them covers the fix. - Stop a link preview: wrap the URL in angle brackets —
<https://example.com>— to post it without the big embed. - Masked link:
[click here](https://example.com)shows tidy link text (in most message contexts and embeds).
What Discord doesn’t support
Discord uses a subset of Markdown, so a few things are missing: tables, images via Markdown, footnotes, horizontal rules, task lists and raw HTML don’t render. There’s also no built-in coloured text — the only ways to get colour are a syntax-highlighted or ansi code block.
If you paste Markdown from elsewhere and the tables vanish, that’s why. Slack is the opposite trap: its syntax looks like Markdown but bold takes one asterisk instead of two, so text copied between the two apps comes out wrong in both directions — see how to type symbols in Slack.
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Fix |
|---|---|
| Strikethrough isn’t working | Use two tildes each side with no spaces: ~~text~~. |
| A filename got italicised | Single _ and * are italic markers. Escape them (file\_name) or wrap in backticks. |
| My header shows the # as text | Only #, ##, ### are headers; put a space after the # and start the line with it. |
| Code block has no colours on my phone | Syntax-highlight colour is desktop/web only; mobile shows plain monospace. |
| My fancy name shows as boxes for others | Their device lacks the font. See symbol showing as a box. |
| A pasted table didn’t appear | Discord doesn’t render tables — reformat as a list or code block. |
Frequently asked questions
How do you make text bold in Discord?
Wrap the text in double asterisks: **text**. On desktop you can also select the text and press Ctrl + B (Cmd + B on Mac). For bold italic, use three asterisks, ***text***.
How do you do spoiler, underline and strikethrough in Discord?
Wrap the text in the right markers: ||text|| makes a click-to-reveal spoiler, __text__ underlines, and ~~text~~ strikes through. These work on desktop, web and mobile.
How do you make a code block with syntax highlighting in Discord?
Put triple backticks on the lines above and below your text, and add a language name after the opening backticks — for example ```python. The colour highlighting shows on desktop and web; mobile displays the block in monospace without colours.
How do you get a fancy username or symbols in your Discord name?
Usernames and nicknames can’t use Markdown, so you paste actual Unicode characters instead — a star ★, a heart ♥, or “fancy font” look-alike letters from a generator. Copy the symbol you want and paste it into your name; note these aren’t searchable and screen readers can’t read them.
Does Discord text formatting work on mobile?
Yes. All the Markdown markers — bold, italic, underline, strikethrough, spoilers, headers, quotes and lists — work on iOS and Android. The only exception is the colour in syntax-highlighted code blocks, which appears on desktop and web only.
What formatting does Discord not support?
Discord uses a subset of Markdown, so tables, images via Markdown, footnotes, horizontal rules, task lists and HTML don’t render, and there’s no built-in coloured text. Coloured text is only possible through a syntax-highlighted or ansi code block.
Recap
- Style messages with Markdown:
**bold**,*italic*,__underline__,~~strike~~,||spoiler||, backticks for code. - Structure:
#/##/###headers,-#subtext,>quotes,-/1.lists. - Names can’t be formatted → paste Unicode symbols (★ ♥) or fancy characters instead.
- Not supported: tables, images, coloured text (use a code block).
Written by Igor R.. Tested on Discord desktop, web, iOS and Android, plus Windows and Mac. Last updated July 2026. Symbol code points follow the Unicode Standard.