How to type an asterisk on iPhone and iPad
Tap 123 in the bottom-left corner of the keyboard, then tap #+=. The asterisk is in the top row, between ^ and +.
A quicker way: press and slide
Instead of three taps, press and hold 123, slide your finger onto #+= without lifting, wait for the second symbols page to appear, then slide to * and let go. It's one motion once you get used to it.
On iPad it works the same way: tap .?123, then #+=, and the asterisk is on that page.
Fancy asterisks on iPhone
The iPhone keyboard doesn't include ✱, ✳ or ❋, but you can make your own shortcut:
- Copy the asterisk you want from our list of every asterisk.
- Open Settings → General → Keyboard → Text Replacement and tap +.
- Paste the asterisk into Phrase. In Shortcut, type something you'd never type by accident, like
;ast. - Tap Save. Now typing
;astand a space gives you ✱ in any app.
If you use a Mac with the same Apple Account, the shortcut syncs there too.
The asterisk emoji
Open the emoji keyboard and search asterisk to find the keycap and the eight-spoked . Our asterisk emoji guide explains the difference and how they look on other phones.
Why does my asterisk text turn bold?
Some apps treat text between asterisks as formatting. In WhatsApp, *hello* is sent as hello in bold. To show the asterisks themselves, add a space inside them or use a different character like ✱. Our guide to asterisks in texting covers each app.