Discord Text Formatting Guide – Change Chat Text Color & Style

Discord Text Formatting Guide

Are you here because you’re curious how your friend is styling text in Discord?

Discord is the gamer’s fortress of solitude. If you’re a gamer, then you know it’s no fun without a challenge!

Discord offers several fundamental features, but why stop there?

Gaming pros out there are using colors and bold text to make their words stand out. It may sound a bit difficult at first but is very simple.

Without further ado, let’s see how you can type like a pro in Discord!

How Does Text Formatting Work in Discord?

Discord makes use of markdown for text formatting. Markdown was released in 2004 as a light-weight markup language with a plain-text-formatting syntax.

Initially, Markdown only supported HTML, but now it’s used everywhere. You see markdown formatting used on the online discussion forums, readme files, and to generate rich text using a plain text editor.

As for code block highlighting, Discord uses a JavaScript library called Highlight.js. We will discuss more details later in the blog post.

Discord Text Formatting: Basic Styles

Ready to spice up your Discord text with different styles?

The primary text formatting styles in Discord include:

  • Bold text
  • Italic text
  • Bold italic text
  • Underlined text
  • Strikethrough text

How to Italicize Text in Discord Chat

To write italic text in Discord, add one asterisk (*) before and after the text you want to italicize. The asterisk is Shift + 8 on your regular keyboard.

Let’s see how we used italic text in Discord:

*Italic Text!* example in Discord

Important: Make sure that there are no species between the asterisk and the text.

How to Bold Text in Discord Chat

To write bolded text in Discord, you need to put two asterisks (**) at the text’s start and end. Press Shift + 8 keys on the keyboard for asterisk.

In the example below, you can see the bolded text in action.

**Bolded Text** in Discord

How to Bold Italicize Text in Discord Chat (Bold + Italic)

Once you’ve tried bold and italicized styling, bold plus italic is easy to remember. It’s three asterisks before and after the text.

Yes! You simply add the asterisks from bold and italic styles and voila!

Here’s bold plus italic text in a Discord chat.

***Bold and italic Text*** in Discord

How to Strikethrough Text in Discord Chat

Using strikethrough in chats is pretty cool. You can use strikethrough in your text by adding two tildes (~~) on both ends of the statement.

The tilde (~) key is on the top-left corner of the keyboard.

Let’s look at an example of strikethrough text in a Discord chat.

~~strikethrough text~~ in Discord

How to Underline Text in Discord Chat

To underline text in Discord, you just need to add two underscores (__) at the beginning and end of the statement.

You can enter underscore by pressing the Shift + minus (-) key on the keyboard. (See the on-screen keyboard below)

Here’s an example of underlined text in Discord.

__underlined text__ in Discord

Mix and Match Text Styles in Discord

Now you know how to bold, underline, italicize, and strikethrough the text. If you want to take this one step further, add the different symbols (asterisks, underscores, and tildes) for more fun!

We did something similar with bold and italicized text in an example above.

Bold and Underlined Text

Let’s start with the bold and underlined text. We’ll simply include two asterisks (**) and two underscores (__) before the word.

__**bold and underlined text**__ in Discord

Italicized and Underlined Text

To italicize and underline a block of text, add only one asterisk (*) and two underscores (__) before and after the text.

__*italicized and underlined text*__ in Discord

Bold, Underline and Italicize Text

Combining two styles in one text message is cool, but how about three different styles in one text?

It’s pretty simple. We just add three asterisks (***) and two underscores (__) at the beginning and end of the text.

Let’s see how we can bold, underline, and italicize the same text in Discord.

***__bold, italicized, and underlined text__ *** in Discord

How to Skip Formatting in Discord?

Now you must be thinking, what if I want to send the asterisk itself without formatting!

That’s a good question and pretty easy too!

All you need to do to skip formatting in Discord is to use the backslash before each character.

Here’s an example to see the backslash in action.

\_\_\*\*\*Let's see everything!!\*\*\*\_\_\_

Although, if you have backslashes at the beginning of the text, then you can skip them in the end. The result will be the same as the example below.

\_\_\*\*\*Let's see everything!***___

If your text doesn’t need underscores, then one slash at the beginning will do!

\***Asterisk only***

Colored Text and Code Blocks in Discord Text Formatting

Do you want to text like a pro in Discord?

It’s (nearly) impossible without introducing colors in your text.

Colors spice up the message, add contrast, and focus where it’s needed.

Let’s discuss how conveniently you can add colors to your Discord chat.

Single Line Code Blocks

You can create a single line code block by adding backticks (`) before and after a message.

Now, a lot of people get confused between the apostrophe and a backtick. To avoid the confusion, you can see the image of an on-screen keyboard with the backtick key marked in red.

PS. the backtick key is (with a tilde) on the top-left corner of your keyboard.

Now that you’ve placed the backticks on your keyboard let’s move on to the single line code blocks.

In the following example, you can see a single line code block in Discord.

`One Line Code Block in Discord!`

Multi-line Code Blocks

Multi-line blocks are similar to the single-line blocks except, instead of one backtick (`), we use three backticks (“`) before and after a statement.

What’s cool about multi-line code blocks is that you can span your message across multiple lines.

Here’s how you can write multi-line blocks in Discord:

Line One of Multi-line Code Blocks in Discord!
Line Two of Multi-line Code Block in Discord!
Line Three of Multi-line Code Block in Discord!
Line Four of Multi-line Code Block in Discord!

You can add as many lines as you like in the multi-line code block. Even an entire poem if you want!

How to Write Colored Text in Discord?

The most awaited question!

Colored text in Discord.

Since Discord does not offer a built-in highlighting function, we have to go the extra mile for formatting.

With this guide, you will be writing highlighted text in no time.

Color Formatting Limitations in Discord

Color formatting in Discord is a long way from perfect. In some text styles, your statement needs to be interconnected. However, it’s not the same in all languages.

To elaborate further on connecting words, you can’t write: I am a sentence.

You need to write this as Iamasentence OR I_am_a_sentence.

Why this limitation in some languages?

It’s because we are coding in a programming language and exploring the syntax highlighting to highlight text. In some cases, the colors are stored in a variable, which cannot contain any spaces.

Let’s get started with Discord coloring to see the concept in action.

Syntax Highlighting in Discord

In Discord, you need to indicate a specific language by typing the name of the language. You can select from several languages that Discord supports for highlighting text.

Here’s a complete list of languages supported in Discord. https://highlightjs.org/static/demo/.

Note: syntax highlighting is not available in the Discord mobile app.

How to Write Red Colored Text in Discord

Red Syntax Highlighting with Diff

In Diff, the red color highlighting is the simplest. All you need to do is

  • Define a code block (```).
  • Diff (name of the language).
  • Add a single dash (-) before the statement.
```diff
- This is a code block in Red
```

Note: you can use both uppercase and lowercase alphabets for the language name.

Red Syntax Highlighting with CSS [Orange]

Here’s how you apply CSS syntax highlighting for red:

  • Define a code block (```).
  • CSS (name of the language).
  • Add a square bracket before and after the statement or word.
```CSS
[This is a code block in Red]
```

How to Write Yellow Colored Text in Discord

Yellow Syntax Highlighting with Fix

Yellow syntax highlighting is straightforward in Fix. You can even write a multi-line statement without any extra symbols. Here’s how you do it:

  • Define a code block (```).
  • Fix (name of the language).
  • Write your statement in the code block!
```fix
Multi-line
yellow colored text
In a fix!

```

Yellow Syntax Highlighting with Apache [No Spaces]

The yellow syntax highlighting with Apache is a bit complicated. You can’t write the statement usually. You need to add connecting symbols (like the underscore) to write a message.

  • Define a code block (```).
  • Apache (name of the language).
  • Add a percentage (%) symbol along with curly braces before and after each statement.
  • You can’t use spaces between each word. Each space is replaced with underscore (_) signs in the sentence.
```apache
%{yellow_no_spaces_allowed}%
```

How to Write Green Colored Text in Discord

Green Syntax Highlighting with Diff

The green syntax highlight is the same as red highlights in Diff. The only difference, so you use a plus (+) sign instead of a minus (-) sign.

  • Define a code block (```).
  • Diff (name of the language).
  • Add a plus (+) sign before the statement.
```diff
+ Code block is in Green color!
```

Green Syntax Highlighting with CSS

The green syntax in CSS is straightforward. Just define a code block, language name, and start typing your message!

  • Define a code block (```).
  • CSS (name of the language).
  • Start writing your message in the code block!
```css
Green text using CSS!
```

Green Syntax Highlighting with Bash

The green syntax highlight in bash only requires the sentence to be wrapped in quotes. Here’s how you do it:

  • Define a code block (```).
  • Bash (name of the language).
  • Enclose your message in quotation marks (“).
```bash
“Green text block using bash!”
```

Green Syntax Highlighting with JSON

The syntax for green highlight in JSON is the same as bash. Just change the name of the language.

  • Define a code block (```).
  • JSON (name of the language).
  • Type your message and enclose it in quotes (“).
```json
“Green text block using JSON!”
```

How to Write Blue Colored Text in Discord

Blue Syntax Highlighting with INI

The syntax for blue highlighting in INI is the same as the red one in CSS. All you need is to add square brackets before and after the statement.

  • Define a code block (```).
  • Ini (name of the language).
  • Wrap your message in square brackets.
```ini
[Blue text block INI!]
```

Blue Syntax Highlighting with CSS [No Spaces]

Here’s another no-space syntax highlighting. For blue highlights in CSS, you need to connect each word in the sentence with the next one using underscores.

  • Define a code block (```).
  • CSS (name of the language).
  • Start writing your message with a period (.).
  • Make sure that all spaces are replaced with underscores.
```css
.Blue_no_spaces_text_block
```

How to Add Block Quote in Discord?

Out-of-context messages can be a real pain!

You read a message and have no idea what your friend is referring to. This issue can result in missed deadlines, confusion, and general miscommunication.

To solve this issue, we have the block quotes. With the quote blocks in Discord, you can quote a previous message to the other person.

Now, there are two ways that you can use quotes, single-line quotes and multi-line quotes. In the next two sections, we will discuss the single and multi-line quote blocks in detail.

Single-line Quotes

As the name indicates, single-line quote blocks are used to quote a single line text. Let’s see how you can do it fast!

> A single-line Quote Block!

To type the message further, press Shift + Space (multiple times) to get out of the quote block.

> A single-line Quote Block!

Here’s the rest of the message

… and some more!

Multi-line Quotes

Multi-line quote blocks span across multiple lines instead of only one.

To create a multi-line quote block, you need to add three (>>>) greater than symbols at the beginning of each block.

>>> Hello People.

Hello Again!

Spoiler Tags

Don’t you hate it when you’re scrolling through messages and Bam! There’s the spoiler to the next episode that you were going to watch tonight!

So, how do you say SPOILER ALERT in Discord language?

There’s a pretty creative way for hiding Discord messages called Spoiler tags. When the spoiler tag is added, the reader can only see a grey or black box shining on the screen.

Are you intrigued?

Let’s explore spoiler tags so everyone can have limitless fun without spoilers!

To mark text as a spoiler:

  • Add two vertical lines (||) before and after the text.
  • Add /spoiler before the spoiler message

Spoiler Tags using Vertical Lines

Here’s how we can mark a message as a spoiler using two vertical lines before and after the spoiler.

|| Spiderman was bit by a Spider ||

You can also hide part of the message as a spoiler (instead of a complete statement). Here’s how you do it.

|| Spiderman|| was bit by a Spider

Important: you can’t use spoilers tags inside the code blocks.

Spoiler Tags using ‘/spoiler’

This method is much more fun than the vertical lines method.

You get to say spoiler (which has its thrill!), but there is a downside. You can’t mark a part of the message spoiler with this method.

/spoiler Spiderman was bit by a Spider

How to Read a Spoiler Tag?

It’s easy to peek through this veil.

Just click on the message, and you’ll be able to s through.

Remember!

There’s no going back! Once you’ve peeked through, you can’t hide it again!

Text Formatting with International Keyboards

We’ve discussed text formatting in the regular QWERTY keyboards, but people use a lot of different versions in different regions.

We’ll cover a few additional international keyboard layouts to avoid any confusion.

Keyboard Type Key Combination Key Location
German Shift + [+] key on the right of Ü
Spanish (Spain) Shift + [+] key right of `^
Spanish (Latin American) Shift + [+] key right of `
Italian Shift + [+] key right of èé
Swedish Shift + ’ key right of Ä
French (France) * (key right of ù%)
French (Belgium) Shift + $ key right of ^¨
French (Switzerland) Shift + 3

If you’re using one of the above keyboard layouts, please check the list above!

Key Takeaways

Discord text formatting is not easy to remember, but you get used to it.

All you need to remember is that you don’t need to remember it all. Just keep a tab open and check now and then. You’ll probably be typing like a pro in only a few days!

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