What is the difference between ★ and ⭐?

★ is a text character: it takes the colour and size of the surrounding text and can be formatted like a letter. ⭐ is an emoji, always rendered as a coloured image and slightly different on every device. For ratings and decorative frames the text character is usually the better choice.

Why do some characters show as an empty box?

The font in use does not contain that character. The character itself is still stored correctly – on another device or in another font it will appear normally. This happens more often with rare ornaments than with arrows or hearts.

✵ Special characters

Characters missing from every keyboard – and they are not emojis. They take the colour of the text and can be formatted like letters. Click to copy.

♥ Hearts

Heart symbols as text characters. They take the colour of the surrounding text, unlike the red emoji heart ❤️.

★ Stars

The classic for ratings and decoration. ★ and ☆ together make a star rating that works anywhere.

➤ Arrows

Arrows for lists, directions and pointers. The plain forms (← ↑ → ↓) exist in every font.

✓ Checks and crosses

For to-do lists. ✓ and ✗ take the text colour, while ✅ and ❌ are emojis and always green or red.

± Maths and units

Characters missing from most keyboards: the not-equal sign, the multiplication sign, fractions and the root.

€ Currencies

Currency signs for prices and forms.

§ Typography

Characters for properly set text: the correct quotation marks, the en dash, the ellipsis.

◆ Shapes and lines

Geometric shapes and block elements – the raw material for decorative frames and dividers.

♪ Music and games

Musical notes, card suits and chess pieces – all as text characters.

꧁ Ornaments

The characters decorated player names are built from. They are rare and not every font renders them.

Special characters are not emojis

The difference only shows when you put them side by side: ★ and ⭐ mean the same and behave completely differently. The first is a text character – set in the font of the surrounding text, taking its colour, and it can be made bold or larger. The second is an emoji, always a coloured image that every operating system draws differently.

For star ratings, bullet lists and decorative frames the text character is almost always the better choice. For a message to friends, the emoji.

To build decorated names, the matching parts are under Ornaments – or ready-made at nicknames.