Black Star
The black star is U+2605, the solid five-pointed star used in ratings. Paired with the white star U+2606 it renders a rating as plain text, which survives copying into a review, a spreadsheet or a plain text email where an image would not.
| Symbol | ★ | |
|---|---|---|
| Unicode | U+2605 | |
| Name | Black Star | |
| HTML (decimal) | ★ | |
| HTML (hex) | ★ | |
| CSS content | \2605 | |
| JavaScript / JSON | \u2605 | |
| UTF-8 bytes | 0xE2 0x98 0x85 | |
| UTF-16 units | 0x2605 | |
| Windows alt code | Alt 9733 |
How do you type the black star on each platform?
| Where | How to type it |
|---|---|
| Any device | Click the ★ at the top of this page. It goes straight to your clipboard, and you paste it with Ctrl+V on Windows or Cmd+V on a Mac. This is the only method that behaves identically everywhere. |
| Windows | Hold Alt and type 9733 on the numeric keypad, then release Alt. The number row above the letters does not work for this. |
| macOS | Add Unicode Hex Input under Keyboard settings, switch to it, then hold Option and type 2605. Without that input source, open the Character Viewer with Control+Command+Space and search for black star. |
| Linux and ChromeOS | Press Ctrl+Shift+U, type 2605, then press Enter or the space bar. This works in GTK applications and with IBus. |
| Microsoft Word | Type 2605 in the document, then press Alt and X together with the cursor immediately after the last digit. Word replaces the digits with ★. |
| Google Docs | Insert, then Special characters, then paste U+2605 or type black star in the search box. You can also draw the shape in the sketch pad on the right. |
| Excel and Google Sheets | Use the formula UNICHAR(9733) in a cell. Copy the cell and paste it as a value if you want the character rather than the formula. |
| HTML | Write ★ or ★. There is no standard named entity for this character. On a page served as UTF-8 the character itself also works. |
| CSS | Use content: "\2605" inside a ::before or ::after rule. Terminate the escape with a space if the next character is also a hexadecimal digit. |
| JavaScript | The escape \u2605 produces this character inside a string literal, and the same escape is valid in JSON. |
More detail per platform: Windows alt codes, special characters on a Mac, special characters in Word and HTML entities.
Which characters look like the black star?
Several characters render almost identically to this one, and picking the wrong one breaks search, sorting and screen readers even when it looks right on screen. The black star ★ is U+2605. These are the ones it is confused with.
| Character | Code point | Name | What it is really for |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☆ | U+2606 | White Star | The outlined star. The empty slot in a rating. |
| ⭐ | U+2B50 | White Medium Star | An emoji. Renders yellow and coloured on most platforms and ignores your text colour. |
| * | U+002A | Asterisk | A footnote marker, not a star. It sits high in the line box and is much smaller. |
| ✦ | U+2726 | Black Four Pointed Star | A four-pointed sparkle. Decorative rather than a rating glyph. |
Frequently asked questions
How do I write a four out of five rating in text?
Four black stars followed by one white star. Both are plain text characters, so the rating keeps working wherever it is pasted.
How do I copy the black star symbol?
Click the ★ above or the copy button and it is placed on your clipboard. Paste it anywhere with Ctrl+V or Cmd+V. It is a real text character, so it works in documents, chats and code.
What is the Unicode code point for black star?
The black star has the Unicode code point U+2605. In HTML you can write it as ★ or ★.
What is the alt code for the black star symbol?
On Windows, hold the Alt key and type Alt 9733 on the numeric keypad, then release Alt. Copying the ★ from this page is quicker and works on any device.
Is the black star an emoji or a text character?
It is a plain Unicode text character, not an image or an emoji sticker. That means the ★ inherits the surrounding font, size and color wherever you paste it, and it works in places emoji often do not, such as usernames, file names and code.
Related symbols
Browse the full star symbols hub, or return to the searchable symbol grid.