Bold that works where you are pasting it.
Comments and community posts
- Bold
*Your text here* - Italic
_Your text here_ - Bold italic
*_Your text here_*
Titles, descriptions and About
- Bold饾悩饾惃饾惍饾惈 饾惌饾悶饾惐饾惌 饾悺饾悶饾惈饾悶
- Italic饾憣饾憸饾憿饾憻 饾憽饾憭饾懃饾憽 饾憰饾憭饾憻饾憭
- Bold italic饾拃饾拹饾挅饾挀 饾挄饾拞饾挋饾挄 饾拤饾拞饾挀饾拞
- Monospace饾殘饾殬饾殲饾殯 饾殱饾殠饾殹饾殱 饾殤饾殠饾殯饾殠
What this costs you
- A screen reader reads them out one letter at a time, or skips them entirely.
- Search will not match them against the normal spelling of the word.
- Some devices have no glyph and show empty boxes instead.
Reasonable for one word in a title. A whole title in bold letters is not searchable, which on YouTube is most of what a title is for.
Where each one works
| Surface | Asterisk syntax | Unicode letters |
|---|---|---|
| Comments and replies | ||
| Community posts | ||
| Video titles | ||
| Video descriptions | ||
| Channel About page |
Related tools
Questions about YouTube formatting
How do I bold text in a YouTube comment?
Wrap it in asterisks: *like this*. Underscores give italic, _like this_. It works in comments, replies and community posts, and it is the right answer wherever it works, because it is real text.
Why does that not work in a title or description?
YouTube only interprets the syntax in comments and community posts. In a title, description or About page the asterisks are shown literally, so the only way to get a bold glyph is to use different characters that happen to look bold.
What are those different characters?
Unicode Mathematical Alphanumeric Symbols. They exist for writing maths, and each one is a distinct character from the ordinary letter it resembles. So a bold B is not a B.
Should I use them in a title then?
For one word, sometimes. For a whole title, no. Search will not match them against the normal spelling, which on YouTube is most of what a title is doing, and a screen reader reads them letter by letter or skips them. Every other tool that offers this presents it as free. It is not.
Why do some of them show as empty boxes?
Because the device has no glyph for that character. It is more common on older Android and on some smart TVs, which is a meaningful share of YouTube viewing.
Does italic have numbers?
No. Unicode has no italic mathematical digits, so digits stay upright in italic. This tool passes them through unchanged rather than dropping them.