How do I bold text in Discord?
Wrap the text in double asterisks: **your text**. Discord renders it bold as soon as you send the message. For bold and italic together, use three asterisks: ***your text***.
Discord Text Formatting: Bold, Italics, Underline & More
Every way to style text in Discord — bold, italic, underline, strikethrough, headers, small subtext, and all the stacking combinations — with copy-paste examples
To format text in Discord, wrap it in Markdown markers: **bold**, *italic*, __underline__, and ~~strikethrough~~. Start a line with #, ##, or ### for headers and -# for small subtext. Styles stack, so __***text***__ is underlined bold italic.
Part of our Discord series. This page covers text styling in depth — for code blocks, quotes, links, timestamps, and colored text, see the full guide.
Full Discord Markdown guide →Test your formatting before you send it
Type a message and see exactly how Discord will render it — including the stacking combinations below, headers, subtext, and the escaping rules. Nothing is sent anywhere.
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How it looks in Discord
MarkdownToolsToday at 9:41 AM
Server update
Deploy went out successfully tonight. Details in .
Remember: no pings after midnight
Posted by the automation bot
const status = "deployed";Bold, Italic, Underline & Strikethrough
The four core styles cover almost everything you type in Discord. Each one is a pair of markers wrapped around the text — no menus needed, and they work identically on desktop, web, and mobile.
Bold
Wrap text in double asterisks
Syntax
**bold text**
Looks like in Discord
bold text
Italic
Wrap text in single asterisks (single underscores also work: _italic_)
Syntax
*italic text*
Looks like in Discord
italic text
Underline
Wrap text in double underscores (Discord-specific)
Syntax
__underlined text__
Looks like in Discord
underlined text
Strikethrough
Wrap text in double tildes
Syntax
~~strikethrough~~
Looks like in Discord
Stacking Styles Together
Styles combine by nesting the markers. The rule: close markers in the reverse order you opened them, like brackets. Underline markers usually go on the outside because they are the easiest to keep balanced.
Bold + Italic
Three asterisks combine bold and italic
Syntax
***bold and italic***
Looks like in Discord
bold and italic
Underline + Bold
Put the double underscores on the outside, asterisks inside
Syntax
__**underlined bold**__
Looks like in Discord
underlined bold
Underline + Italic
Double underscores around single asterisks
Syntax
__*underlined italic*__
Looks like in Discord
underlined italic
Underline + Bold + Italic
Double underscores around triple asterisks
Syntax
__***all three***__
Looks like in Discord
all three
Bold + Strikethrough
Nest tildes inside the asterisks (or the other way round)
Syntax
**~~crossed-out bold~~**
Looks like in Discord
Everything combined
Underline, bold, italic, and strikethrough together
Syntax
__***~~everything~~***__
Looks like in Discord
Headers: Big Text in Discord
Discord supports three header sizes. The # must be the very first character of the line, followed by a space — mid-sentence # characters are left alone (so #hashtags are safe). Headers are great for structuring rules, announcements, and event posts.
Header 1 (largest)
# Server rules
Header 2
## Voice channel etiquette
Header 3 (smallest)
### Notes
Header with formatting
Bold, italics, and emoji all work inside headers.
# **Season 5** launch day
Small Text (Subtext)
Subtext is the opposite of a header: smaller, grayed-out text for asides, footnotes, and disclaimers. Start the line with -# and a space. Like headers, it only works at the start of a line.
Subtext
The only official way to make text smaller in Discord.
-# This renders as small gray subtext
Footnote under an announcement
Pair a bold line with a subtext disclaimer underneath.
**Giveaway ends Friday!** -# One entry per person. Mods excluded.
Why __Underline__ Is Discord-Only
In standard Markdown (and on GitHub, Reddit, and most other platforms), __double underscores__ mean bold — Markdown has no underline syntax at all, because underlined text looks like a link on the web. Discord deliberately repurposed the double underscore for underline since chat messages rarely contain links styled by hand.
- In Discord:
__text__= underline,**text**= bold. - In standard Markdown:
__text__and**text**both = bold. - Single underscores (
_text_) mean italic in both.
This is why text pasted from Discord can render differently elsewhere. Converting a document for Discord? The Markdown to Discord converter handles the differences automatically, and the Markdown cheat sheet shows the standard syntax side by side.
The Big Emoji Trick
Send a message that contains only emoji — no text — and Discord renders them at jumbo size (up to 27 emoji). Add even one letter or punctuation mark and they shrink back to inline size. Combine it with a header line above for maximum-impact announcements.
Jumbo emoji
Emoji-only messages render large. Adding any text shrinks them to normal size.
🎉🎉🎉
Announcement with jumbo emoji
The emoji is on its own line with no text, so it still renders jumbo under the header.
# Server anniversary! 🎂
What About Discord "Fonts"?
Discord has no font picker — every message uses the same typeface for everyone. When you see "fancy fonts" like 𝓈𝒸𝓇𝒾𝓅𝓉 or 🅱🆄🅱🅱🅻🅴 text in Discord, those are Unicode look-alike characters from a font generator site, not real formatting. They work anywhere text is allowed (including usernames), but come with caveats:
- Screen readers often spell them out character by character or skip them.
- They break search — nobody can find the message by typing normal letters.
- Some characters render as boxes on older devices.
The only real alternate typeface in Discord is monospace, via inline code (`text`) or code blocks — see the Discord code block guide.
Escaping: Show the Characters Literally
Put a backslash before a marker character to stop Discord from treating it as formatting — essential for file names with underscores or when you want visible asterisks.
Escape asterisks
Renders as *not italic* with the asterisks visible.
\*not italic\*
Escape underscores
Stops _file_ from turning italic. Wrapping in backticks works too: `my_file_name.txt`.
my\_file\_name.txt
Escape a header
A backslash before the # keeps the line normal size.
\# not a header
Formatting on Mobile
Type the markers — they work everywhere
All the syntax on this page is identical on iOS and Android. Asterisks and underscores are on the symbols keyboard; the tilde (~) and backtick (`) are usually behind a long-press on the apostrophe or hyphen keys.
Use the selection toolbar
Select text you have typed in the message box and Discord offers formatting options (bold, italic, and more) in the pop-up menu — on desktop, a floating toolbar appears with B, I, S, and code buttons.
Watch out for autocorrect
Phone keyboards sometimes convert straight apostrophes and quotes to curly "smart" versions — those never trigger formatting. If a marker is not working, retype it from the symbols keyboard.
Edit instead of reposting
Broken formatting? Long-press your message and choose Edit (or press the up arrow on desktop) to fix the markers without sending a duplicate.
Quick Reference
| Style | Syntax | |
|---|---|---|
| Bold | **text** | |
| Italic | *text* | |
| Underline | __text__ | |
| Strikethrough | ~~text~~ | |
| Bold italic | ***text*** | |
| Underline bold | __**text**__ | |
| Header (large) | # text | |
| Header (medium) | ## text | |
| Header (small) | ### text | |
| Subtext (small) | -# text | |
| Spoiler | ||text|| | |
| Inline code | `text` |
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I italicize text in Discord?
Wrap the text in single asterisks (*your text*) or single underscores (_your text_). Both render as italics in Discord.
How do I underline text in Discord?
Wrap the text in double underscores: __your text__. This is Discord-specific — in standard Markdown, double underscores mean bold, and most other apps have no underline syntax at all.
How do I strike through text in Discord?
Wrap the text in double tildes: ~~your text~~. The tilde (~) is usually on the key to the left of 1 on US keyboards (Shift + `), or behind long-press on mobile symbol keyboards.
How do I make big text (headers) in Discord?
Start a line with #, ##, or ### followed by a space: # is the largest header, ### the smallest. The # must be at the very start of the line, and the header ends at the line break.
How do I make small text in Discord?
Start the line with -# followed by a space: -# your text. Discord renders it as smaller, muted subtext — the only official way to shrink text. It must be at the start of the line.
Can I combine bold, italic, underline, and strikethrough in Discord?
Yes — nest the markers. For example __**bold underline**__, **~~bold strikethrough~~**, or __***~~all four at once~~***__. Keep the markers properly nested (close them in the reverse order you opened them) or the formatting breaks.
Can I change the font in Discord?
No. Discord has no font picker for messages — everyone sees the same font. The choices you do have are the monospace font via inline code or code blocks, header sizes, and subtext. "Discord fonts" from online generators are actually Unicode look-alike characters, which can break screen readers and search.
Why is my underscore or asterisk text turning italic in Discord?
Single asterisks and single underscores are italic markers, so file_name_here or *starred* text gets formatted. Escape the character with a backslash (\_ or \*) or wrap the text in backticks to show it literally.
How do I format text in Discord on mobile?
Type the same Markdown markers — **bold**, *italic*, __underline__, ~~strikethrough~~ — on your phone keyboard. On desktop you can also select text in the message box to get a formatting toolbar; on mobile, select text and use the pop-up menu, or just type the markers.