How to Bold Text in WhatsApp: Formatting Examples You Can Copy

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Want a customer to notice a delivery date or your team to catch an important deadline? Bold text can help that detail stand out.

To bold text in WhatsApp, place one asterisk (*) directly before and after the words you want to highlight.

Type *Your order is ready* and send it. The words appear in bold.

You don’t need a font generator or another app. You can use WhatsApp’s own symbols or select your text and choose Bold from the formatting menu.

Let’s walk through the steps on your phone and computer, then try copyable examples for bold, italics, strikethrough, and more.

The basic formatting rules come from WhatsApp’s official formatting guide.

How to bold text in WhatsApp

The quickest method is to add the symbols yourself. It works for one word, a short phrase or a complete sentence.

1. Open a WhatsApp chat and type your message.
2. Place one asterisk before and after the part you want in bold.
3. Check that you’ve closed both ends, then send your message.

For example, type:

Your order will arrive on *Friday*.

The delivery day appears in bold, while the rest of the message stays normal.

Use a single asterisk on each side: *Friday*. You don’t need the double asterisks used by some other writing tools.

How to bold text on Android without typing asterisks

1. Type your message in the chat box.
2. Tap and hold to select the word or phrase you want to format.
3. Open the three-dot menu and choose Bold.

Need to highlight more than one word? Extend the selection before choosing Bold. If the menu looks different on your phone, use *text* instead.

Source: WhatsApp’s Android formatting instructions.

How to bold text on iPhone

1. Type your message, then double-tap the text to select it.
2. Choose Format from the selection menu.
3. Select Bold, check the selected words and send the message.

Older instructions may refer to a BIU menu. WhatsApp’s current iOS help page uses Format. If you can’t find it in your version, the *text* method is a simple alternative.

Source: WhatsApp’s iPhone formatting instructions.

How to bold text on WhatsApp Web, Mac and Windows

On a computer, the same typed shortcut works: put * before and after your selected words.

Please confirm your booking by *5 PM*.

To use the menu on Web or Mac, double-click the text you’ve entered and choose Bold. For WhatsApp on Windows, the help page also describes selecting text and right-clicking to see formatting options.

Menu options can differ between clients. If a control is missing, use the symbols rather than assuming a keyboard shortcut from Word or Google Docs will work in WhatsApp.

See WhatsApp’s Web, Mac and Windows formatting instructions.

WhatsApp text formatting cheat sheet

Copy the text in the middle column, including the symbols, into a WhatsApp message. The last column illustrates the intended style.

The symbols shown here are ordinary characters. Use a backtick (`) for monospace, not an apostrophe (').

How to write in italics on WhatsApp

Put an underscore on each side of the words you want in italics. It’s useful for a short note that should feel separate from the main message.

Your consultation is confirmed. _Please arrive 10 minutes early._

The arrival reminder appears in italics. You can also select the text and choose Italic from the available formatting menu.

How to use strikethrough on WhatsApp

Place a tilde (~) before and after the text you want to cross out. Strikethrough helps show a changed detail without removing the earlier information.

Our meeting has moved from ~3 PM~ to *4 PM*.

Here, the old time is crossed out and the new time is bold. That gives the reader both the change and the correct time.

How to use monospace on WhatsApp

Wrap your text in three backticks on each side. Monospace gives the text a different, evenly spaced appearance.

```ORDER4821```

Count all three backticks at the beginning and all three at the end. A single backtick is a different format: inline code.

Can you combine bold and italics?

Yes. Put the formatting symbols inside one another and close them in the reverse order.

*_Important update_*

In this example, the asterisk is outside the underscore at both ends. Keep the pattern consistent instead of mixing the closing symbols.

For everyday messages, one clear style is often enough. Use the combination for a short phrase rather than an entire paragraph.

More formatting options: lists, quotes and inline code

Need to share several steps or a quick checklist? These formats can organise your message without adding a long paragraph.

Bulleted lists

Start each item on a new line with a hyphen followed by a space:

- Confirm the delivery address

- Keep your order number ready

An asterisk followed by a space also creates a bullet. Notice the difference: *Deadline* is bold; * Deadline starts a list item.

Numbered lists

Start each line with a number, a period and a space:

1. Choose your preferred time

2. Reply with your booking reference

Quotes

For a quote block, start the line with > followed by a space:

> Please deliver after 6 PM.

Use this when you want to separate a quoted instruction from your response.

Inline code

Place one backtick on each side of a short piece of text:

Your reference is `BOOK4821`.

This differs from the three-backtick monospace shortcut. If a newer format doesn’t render on your client, check the relevant platform tab in WhatsApp’s formatting help and your installed app version.

Copyable WhatsApp formatting examples

Here are a few original examples you can adapt. Copy the symbols along with the message and change the details to match your situation.

Make a deadline easy to find

Please send your approval by *6 PM today*.

Keep the deadline bold so the reader can find the action quickly.

Highlight the useful part of an order update

Hi Riya, your order *#4821* is ready for pickup.

The order number stands out without putting the whole message in bold.

Separate an appointment note

Your appointment is confirmed for *Tuesday at 11 AM*. _Please arrive 10 minutes early._

Bold identifies the appointment time; italics separate the arrival note.

Show a corrected time

The team call is now at ~2 PM~ *2:30 PM*.

Strikethrough makes the correction visible. Bold points to the time to use.

Give an offer one clear point of emphasis

Get *15% off* your next order with code SAVE15.

Use this only for a genuine offer and an appropriate audience. Formatting makes the offer easier to read; it doesn’t replace clear terms or permission to send it.

Why is bold text not working in WhatsApp?

Start with the text itself before changing settings. Try a short message such as *Hello* in a chat with yourself.

• Check both ends. *Hello is missing its closing asterisk; use *Hello*.
• Remove spaces just inside the markers. Use *Hello*, rather than * Hello *. Spaces between words inside a phrase are fine: *Hello team*.
• Use the correct character. Bold uses *, italics use _, strikethrough uses ~ and monospace uses three backticks.
• Check how the example was copied. An article’s visually bold text may copy without WhatsApp markers. Copy the literal *text* example instead.
• Simplify combined styles. Try one style first, then add another with matching opening and closing symbols.
• If the basic example still doesn’t work, update WhatsApp, reopen it and check the instructions for your device.

Don’t clear your chat history or reinstall the app just to fix a formatting symbol. Start with the short test and the supported syntax.

Can you underline text or use fancy fonts in WhatsApp?

WhatsApp’s documented message-formatting controls don’t include a native underline option. Underscores create italics, not an underline.

Some text generators produce decorative or underline-style Unicode characters that you can paste into a chat. That changes the characters themselves; it isn’t WhatsApp’s built-in bold or underline formatting. The appearance can vary by device.

For customer messages, ordinary text with a little native bold or italics is usually the clearer choice. You also can’t use *text* to set a different text colour.

How to Bold Text in AiSensy’s WhatsApp Marketing and Engagement Platform

Want customers to notice a delivery date, offer or next step? You can bold that detail in your AiSensy template message by placing an asterisk (*) on each side of the text.

Here’s how:

1. Open the template editor. In your AiSensy dashboard, go to Manage → Template Message, then click + New.
2. Enter your template details. Choose the Template Category, Template Language and Template Type, and enter a Template Name.
3. Add your message. In the Template Format field, put asterisks directly around the words you want to bold.
   

Hi {{1}}, your order will arrive on *Friday*.

Here, {{1}} is the customer-name variable, and only Friday is bold.

• Review your template. Add sample values for any variables and check the Template Preview on the right.

• Submit for approval. Click Submit when your template is ready. It needs approval before you can use it in a campaign.

  Keep the emphasis focused. Bolding the delivery date or next action helps customers spot the useful detail. For the complete setup, follow AiSensy’s template-message guide.  

Make the important detail easy to spot

Start with one phrase: the deadline, delivery date or next action. Put it between asterisks, check the message and send it.

Preparing a customer template? Keep that same clarity when you create your WhatsApp message in AiSensy.

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