Fullwidth asterisk ＊
The full-width asterisk used in Chinese, Japanese and Korean text. It takes up a full character cell, as wide as a CJK character.
Fullwidth asterisk codes
| Unicode | U+FF0A |
| Official name | FULLWIDTH ASTERISK |
| Unicode block | Halfwidth and Fullwidth Forms |
| HTML (hex) | ＊ |
| HTML (decimal) | ＊ |
| CSS | content: "\FF0A"; |
| JavaScript | "\uFF0A" |
| Python | "\N{FULLWIDTH ASTERISK}" |
| URL-encoded | %EF%BC%8A |
| UTF-8 bytes | EF BC 8A |
How to type ＊
- Mac: press Control + Command + Space to open the Character Viewer and search for “fullwidth asterisk”. Or switch to the Unicode Hex Input keyboard, hold Option and type
FF0A. - Windows: in Word, type
FF0Aand press Alt + X. Windows has no Alt code for this character, so copying it from this page is the fastest route in other apps. - Chromebook and Linux: press Ctrl + Shift + U, type
ff0a, then press Space or Enter. - iPhone and Android: copy it from this page, then save it as a text replacement so a short code like
;asttypes it for you. Here's how on iPhone.
What the fullwidth asterisk is used for
- Japanese, Chinese and Korean text, where it lines up on the character grid.
- Typing an asterisk in full-width input mode on a Japanese or Chinese keyboard.
- Wide, evenly spaced decorative text.
Good to know
Like the small asterisk, it normalizes to * under NFKC, so search engines usually treat it the same. In Japanese, notes are also often marked with ※ (U+203B, the reference mark), which does a similar job to a footnote asterisk.
Will it show up? Supported by every Chinese, Japanese and Korean font, so it works on all major platforms.