How it works
- Type a title, a quote or the word you want to stress.
- Compare sans-serif and serif italic, with and without bold.
- Copy the style you want and paste it in.
Sans-serif or serif italic
Sans-serif italic is plain and modern and sits well next to the default text in most apps. Serif italic has more curves and looks closer to book type or handwriting.
The missing italic h
The serif italic alphabet has a gap where the small h should be. The Planck constant sign, β (U+210E), was already in the Letterlike Symbols block, so Unicode left the space empty and that sign is used instead.
In some fonts it looks slightly different from the letters around it. Sans-serif italic has no gap, so every letter there comes from the same block.
Bold italic
Bold italic combines both and comes in sans-serif and serif. Unicode has no italic digits, so numbers stay normal in every italic style.
Why long italic text is harder to read
Slanted letters are fine for a word or a title, but long passages in italic tend to be slower to read, especially on small screens.
Styled letters add another problem: screen readers may read them one by one, and search may not find the words. Keep italic for a short quote, a title or one word of emphasis.
To italicise a word inside a draft, the Twitter text formatter and the LinkedIn text formatter let you select it and press Italic. For a correction or a deleted word, you can cross letters out with a strikethrough instead.
More text styles
Frequently asked questions
How do I get italic text to copy and paste?
Type above and copy the italic style you want. The slanted letters are Unicode characters, so they keep their look when pasted.
Why does the h look different in serif italic?
Unicode stores the serif italic small h as the Planck constant sign (U+210E), so some fonts draw it a little differently from the other letters.
Can italic text include numbers?
Unicode has no italic digits, so numbers stay as normal digits in every italic style.
What is the difference between italic and bold italic?
Bold italic letters are slanted and heavier. Both come in a sans-serif and a serif version.
Is italic text bad for accessibility?
It can be. Screen readers may read styled letters one at a time or skip them, so use italic for a few words and keep important details in plain text.