The visual design of messages in the messenger plays a critical role in the perception of information. Agree, a continuous “sheet” of text is perceived much harder than a structured post with highlighted accents. On the platform Android users are often faced with the question of how to change the font style in order to highlight the main idea or add emotional overtones to the message. Italic style is one of the most popular tools for this.
Many beginners mistakenly believe that changing the text style requires delving into complex system settings or installing third-party keyboards. In fact, the developers have Telegram implemented simple and intuitive formatting mechanisms directly into the input field. However, in order for the text to be displayed correctly for all recipients, regardless of the version of their operating system, it is necessary to follow certain syntax rules.
In this article we will analyze in detail all the available methods for highlighting text in italics on devices running Android. We'll look at both automatic formatting through special characters and using the editor's built-in menu. We will also touch on the topic of customizing fonts, which is available in the latest updates to the application, and look at typical errors due to which formatting may not work.
Basic syntax for formatting messages
The fastest and most common way to make text italic is to use special marker characters. This method works in all versions of the client Telegram for Android and does not require an Internet connection for preliminary processing. The essence of the method is to frame the desired piece of text with certain characters, which the messenger interpreter converts into a font style.
To create italic you must use the underscore character. You need to put this symbol before the first word of the phrase and after the last word, without making spaces between the symbol and the text. If you leave a space, the system will treat it as plain text and no formatting will be applied. This is a fundamental rule that applies in all chats, channels and groups.
⚠️ Attention: Make sure you use the underscore (_) character and not the hyphen (-) or dash (—). These characters look similar, but have different codes in the symbol table, and the messenger does not recognize them as a formatting command.
Let's look at a practical example. Let's say you want to highlight the phrase "urgent message." You need to enter the following sequence of characters:
_urgent message_As soon as you send a message or simply put a space after the closing character (depending on the preview settings), the text inside will change its style. It is important to note that this method allows you to highlight both individual words and entire paragraphs. However, for large amounts of text, using italics can impair readability, so use it sparingly.
Using the editor's context menu
Not all users are comfortable remembering special characters or switching keyboard layouts to find the desired character. For such cases, the mobile application Telegram on Android provides a convenient context menu. This method is especially relevant if you are editing a message that has already been sent or working with a large amount of text copied from another source.
The process of selecting text through the menu is intuitive and takes just seconds. First you need to write the text in the usual way. Then select the desired fragment by holding your finger on the word and expanding the selection area with the sliders. After the text is highlighted with a blue marker, a pop-up toolbar will appear on the screen.
- 📱 Click on the selected text to bring up the menu.
- ✂️ In the panel that appears, find three vertical dots (the "More" menu).
- 🅰️ In the list of styles, select the item "Italic" (Italic).
- ✅ Confirm the action, the text will instantly change style.
This method has a significant advantage: you immediately see the result before sending the message. You can experiment with different styles by combining bold font, italics and strikethrough. In addition, through the same menu you can remove formatting if you accidentally applied it to the wrong section of text.
Setting up custom fonts
In the latest versions of the application for Android a function for global font settings has appeared. This allows you to change the text display style not only in a specific message, but throughout the entire application interface. However, it is worth distinguishing between system message formatting and personal display settings. Changing the font in the settings only affects how you see other people's messages, but does not change the style of your sent data for your interlocutors.
To change the display font on your device, you need to go to the settings section. The path to the desired menu may differ slightly depending on the version of the shell Android and the skin of your smartphone manufacturer, but the logic remains the same. You will need to find the section responsible for visual design.
Go to Settings → Appearance → Font size and style. Here you will see a list of available headsets. Some of them have a slanted style by default, which visually resembles italics. By choosing this font, all text in the messenger will be displayed at an angle. But remember: this is a purely local setting.
If you selected a specific font in the settings, your interlocutors will still see the text in the standard style if you did not use formatting markers (_text_) when writing.
Using non-standard fonts may result in some special characters or emoji being displayed incorrectly (as squares or question marks). Therefore, before applying global changes, test the new font in a test chat with yourself (“Favorites”).
Combining styles and complex formatting
Often there is a need to highlight text in several ways at the same time. For example, make it bold and italic at the same time. B Telegram this is possible, and for this you need to combine special characters. The order in which characters are nested matters, although in most cases the messenger parser can handle any order as long as symmetry is maintained.
To create bold italic you must use a combination of an asterisk and an underscore. The characters must surround the text on both sides. The correct sequence is as follows:
___bold italic___Here we use three underscores at the beginning and three at the end. An alternative is to nest one style within another. You first frame the text with characters for italics, and then surround the resulting construction with characters for bold. The result will be identical.
| Text style | Syntax (example) | Display result |
|---|---|---|
| Italic | _text_ | Italic font |
| Bold | text | Thick font |
| Monospaced | `text` | Font as in code |
| Strikethrough | ~text~ | Text with a line in the middle |
When combining styles, be especially careful about closing tags. If you forget to put one character at the end, the entire subsequent message may appear in the wrong format. This is a common mistake when typing quickly on a mobile device.
The Secret of Combination
If you are using a monospaced font (through backquotes), you cannot apply a bold or italic style inside it. Monospace mode disables other formatting.
Solving problems with formatting display
Sometimes users are faced with a situation where entered characters are not converted to the desired style, but remain visible in the text. This can happen for several reasons. The first and most common is the presence of spaces between the marker and the text. The parser Telegram strictly requires the absence of spaces within the structure.
The second reason may lie in the application version. If you have a very old version of the client installed on Android, some new formatting features may not be supported. In this case, it is recommended to update the application through the official store Google Play or Galaxy Store.
⚠️ Attention: If you copied text from another source (for example, from Word or a website), hidden formatting characters may be copied along with the text. They may conflict with Telegram markers. Before pasting, try pasting the text into Notepad first to clear it of hidden codes.
It is also worth checking your keyboard layout. Some third-party keyboards can automatically replace straight quotes with herringbone quotes or change the dash type. Use only standard ASCII characters for formatting. If the problem persists, try restarting the device - this often helps clear temporary application cache errors.
☑️ Diagnosing problems with italics
Third-party clients and interface features
Ecosystem Android allows you to install alternative messenger clients, such as Plus Messenger, Nicegram or Graph Messenger. These apps often offer advanced formatting options not available in the official version. They may have separate buttons on the input panel for quickly applying italics without typing characters.
Using such clients provides more flexibility, but carries certain risks. First, third-party apps may have access to your data if the developer is not trustworthy. Secondly, some functions may be unstable or conflict with the messenger servers. The official client guarantees full compatibility and security.
If you decide to use a third-party client, carefully study the privacy settings. Make sure the app doesn't ask for unnecessary permissions. Text formatting in such clients usually works according to the same principles, but the interface may differ in the presence of additional buttons on the toolbar above the keyboard.
The official Telegram application guarantees that your formatting will be displayed correctly for 100% of users, regardless of which client they use. Third-party applications may distort the appearance of messages for users of the official version.
Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
Is it possible to italicize just one letter in a word?
Technically, this is possible if you surround one letter with underscores (for example, _p_hivet). However, visually it will look strange and break the word. Messenger does not prohibit doing this, but from the point of view of typography and readability, this is considered an error. It is better to highlight the entire word or use bold font to emphasize a syllable, although this is rarely used.
Why doesn't italics work in a profile name or channel name?
The First Name, Last Name, Channel Name, and Profile Description fields support limited formatting. In most cases, only bold font and links work there. Italics in usernames are often ignored by the server to maintain consistency in the contact list. This is a platform limitation, not a bug in your device.
How do I remove italics if I accidentally turned it on?
If you used (_) characters, simply remove them manually. If you applied a style through the menu, select the text again, go to the formatting menu and select the "Plain Text" option or click on the active style button to deactivate it. You can also simply delete the entire fragment and write again.
Does using italics affect the size of the message?
The formatting characters themselves (_ or *) take up space in the message. One message in Telegram is limited to 4096 characters. If you actively use formatting, these special characters count toward the limit. For regular texts this is not noticeable, but when sending very long posts (longreads) it is worth considering that markers reduce the available space for useful content.