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Italic Text Converter

Convert plain text into Unicode mathematical italic letters that you can paste into posts and messages.

What this tool does

Convert plain text into Unicode mathematical italic letters that you can paste into posts and messages. You fill in these fields: Text. It shows italic text, characters changed, and characters left as typed.

Inputs

  • Text: Longer text, up to 5000 characters. Any character the style has no form for is kept as typed.

How to use

  1. Type the text.
  2. Read the result: italic text, characters changed, and characters left as typed. It appears once every required field has a valid value.
  3. Use the copy button to copy the text.

Worked examples

Example 1. Inputs:

  • Text: "Hello"

Results:

  • Characters changed: 5
  • Characters left as typed: 0

How this is worked out: Mathematical italic capital A is U+1D434 and small a is U+1D44E. H is the 8th letter so U+1D434+7 = U+1D43B. e is a+4 = U+1D452, l is a+11 = U+1D459, o is a+14 = U+1D45C. Five letters, all changed.

Example 2. Inputs:

  • Text: "h 1"

Results:

  • Characters changed: 1
  • Characters left as typed: 2

How this is worked out: The italic small h slot U+1D455 is reserved, so Unicode uses U+210E (PLANCK CONSTANT). The space and the digit 1 have no italic form (no italic digits exist), so 1 changed and 2 kept out of 3 characters.

Example 3. Inputs:

  • Text: "Café!"

Results:

  • Characters changed: 3
  • Characters left as typed: 2

How this is worked out: C is A+2 = U+1D436, a = U+1D44E, f is a+5 = U+1D453. The accented e and the exclamation mark have no italic form and are kept. 5 characters: 3 changed, 2 kept.

Example 4. Inputs:

  • Text: "A1"

Results:

  • Characters changed: 1
  • Characters left as typed: 1

How this is worked out: Mathematical italic capital A is U+1D434. Unicode has no italic digits, so 1 is kept. 1 converted, 1 kept.

Where this comes from

Restyle text with look-alike Unicode letters. Each character the chosen style has a Unicode form for is replaced by that form. Every other character is kept as typed. Two counts are returned: characters changed and characters kept. Source: The Unicode Standard code charts: Mathematical Alphanumeric Symbols (U+1D400 block), Halfwidth and Fullwidth Forms (U+FF00 block), Enclosed Alphanumerics (U+2460 block), and the small capital letters of the IPA Extensions, Phonetic Extensions and Latin Extended-D blocks.

Limitations

  • Only characters the style has a Unicode form for are changed. Everything else, including accented letters, other alphabets and emoji, is kept as typed.
  • The two counts are of Unicode characters, so an emoji built from several joined characters, or a letter typed with a separate accent mark, counts as more than one.
  • Some apps, fonts and screen readers do not handle these characters well, so avoid them for anything that must be accessible or searchable.
  • The italic style uses mathematical italic letters, not script or cursive styles.
  • Text longer than 5,000 characters is not accepted.

FAQs

Q: Are these real fonts?
A: No. Each styled character is a separate Unicode character that looks like a styled letter, so the look stays when you copy and paste the text. No formatting is attached to it.
Q: Why did some characters stay as typed?
A: A style has a styled form for only some characters. Any character it has none for, such as an accented letter, an emoji or a line break, is copied as typed. The two counts show how many characters were changed and how many were kept.
Q: Are line breaks kept?
A: Yes. A line break is copied exactly as you typed it and counts as a character left as typed.
Q: Will it display everywhere?
A: Most current phones and computers show these characters. Some apps and older fonts show empty boxes instead, and a font may draw them differently from another.
Q: Will screen readers and search understand it?
A: Often not. Screen readers may read the styled characters out one symbol at a time, and search engines may not match them to the plain words, so avoid them for anything people need to hear or find.
Q: Can I turn the styled text back into plain text?
A: Not with this tool. Each styled character is a different Unicode character from the plain one, so you would need to type the plain text again.
Q: Which characters does the italic style change?
A: Unicode has italic forms only for the letters A to Z and a to z. Digits, punctuation, spaces and accented letters are kept as you typed them.
Q: Is the lowercase italic h different?
A: The italic h uses the Planck constant sign, because the matching slot in the mathematical italic block is reserved. It looks the same as the other italic letters in most fonts.

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