Black Star Symbol (★)
The black star symbol ★ is Unicode U+2605, the classic solid five-pointed star used for ratings, reviews, favorites and decorative accents. Press Copy to put it on your clipboard.
- Unicode
U+2605- HTML
★- Word
2605 Alt+X
How to type the black star symbol (★)
The quickest way is to press Copy above and paste. To type ★ yourself, use the method for your device below.
Windows
- In Word or Outlook, type 2605 and press Alt + X. Alt + X converts the hex code before the cursor into the character, and back again.
- Press Win + R, type charmap and press Enter. Tick “Advanced view”, search for Black Star, then Select and Copy. Character Map is built into every version of Windows.
Mac
- Press Control + Command + Space to open the Character Viewer, search for black star and double-click it.
- With the Unicode Hex Input keyboard enabled (System Settings → Keyboard → Input Sources), hold Option and type 2605.
Linux & ChromeOS
- Press Ctrl + Shift + U, type 2605, then press Enter or Space. Works in GTK and IBus apps (GNOME, Firefox, Chrome, LibreOffice) and on ChromeOS.
iPhone & iPad
- Copy ★ from this page, then go to Settings → General → Keyboard → Text Replacement and add it with a shortcut such as ;blac. The shortcut then turns into the symbol as you type, in every app.
Android
- Copy ★ here, then open Gboard settings → Dictionary → Personal dictionary and add it with a shortcut.
Microsoft Word
- Type 2605, then press Alt + X.
- Insert → Symbol → More Symbols. Set “from” to Unicode (hex), type 2605 in “Character code” and click Insert.
Google Docs
- Insert → Special characters, then search for “black star” or draw it in the box.
Excel & Google Sheets
- Enter
=UNICHAR(9733)in a cell. It works in Excel 2013 and later and in Google Sheets.
HTML
- Write
★or★in your HTML.
What does ★ mean?
The black star symbol ★ (Unicode name BLACK STAR, U+2605) is the quintessential five-pointed celestial emblem. Placed in the Miscellaneous Symbols block in Unicode 1.1, the glyph has transcended its origins in astronomy and heraldry to become one of the most recognizable graphic icons in digital commerce, social media, and software interfaces.
In modern e-commerce and consumer review platforms, ★ is universally employed to represent rating scores. Products, hotels, restaurants, and movies are evaluated on a five-star scale, where solid black stars represent earned points and hollow white stars ☆ (U+2606) denote unearned points (such as ★★★★☆ for a four-star rating). Before platforms shifted to heart icons, social media networks like Twitter utilized solid stars as the universal "favorite" action, while developer platforms like GitHub continue to use stars as the primary mechanism for bookmarking and endorsing open-source repositories.
Beyond consumer tech, the five-pointed black star holds deep cultural significance in military insignia, national flags, and decorative typography. In military uniform rankings, stars designate general officers, while in educational grading, a gold or black star rewards exemplary student work. In printed books, a centered star or row of three stars often marks a temporal scene transition within a chapter.
Typing the black star on Windows is simple: hold Alt and type 9733 on the numeric keypad, or type 2605 followed by Alt + X in Microsoft Word. On macOS, users can open the Character Viewer (Control + Command + Space) and search for "star". On web pages, the symbol can be generated using the HTML entity ★ or hex code ★.
Common uses
- Customer reviews and ratings: displaying product scores on a five-star rating scale (e.g. ★★★★☆)
- Software repositories: bookmarking and starring favorite projects on code platforms
- Editorial breaks: separating scenes or thematic shifts in literary chapters
- Military and civic honors: indicating general officer rank and commemorative citations
Black Star Symbol codes for HTML, CSS and programming
Every code below produces ★. Use the HTML entity in web pages, the CSS escape in content, and the escape sequence in source code.
| Unicode code point | U+2605 | |
|---|---|---|
| HTML entity (named) | ★ | |
| HTML decimal | ★ | |
| HTML hex | ★ | |
| CSS content | content: "\2605"; | |
| JavaScript | "\u2605" | |
| Python | "\u2605" | |
| Python (by name) | "\N{BLACK STAR}" | |
| Java / C# | "\u2605" | |
| LaTeX | \bigstar | |
| UTF-8 bytes | E2 98 85 | |
| UTF-16 | 2605 | |
| URL encoded | %E2%98%85 |
★ vs look-alike characters
These characters look similar to ★ but have a different meaning and code. Pasting the wrong one can break search, sorting and screen readers.
| Char | Name | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
White StarU+2606 | White star (U+2606), outline star used to indicate unearned rating points. | |
White Medium StarU+2B50 | White medium star emoji (U+2B50), renders as a full-color yellow emoji star. | |
Four Pointed StarU+2726 | Four pointed star (U+2726), a stylized decorative sparkle. | |
Circled White StarU+272A | Circled white star (U+272A), a star enclosed inside a dark circular badge. |
Symbols similar to ★
Click to copy, or open a symbol for its codes. See the full star symbols collection.
★ character properties
- Official Unicode name
- BLACK STAR
- Also known as
- solid star, five-pointed star, filled star, rating star
- Code point
- U+2605
- Unicode block
- Miscellaneous Symbols (U+2600–U+26FF)
- General category
- Other symbol (So)
- Added in
- Unicode 1.1 (1993)
- Plane
- Basic Multilingual Plane (0)
- Emoji
- No, it is a text symbol
Frequently asked questions
How do I type a solid star ★ on a Windows keyboard?
Hold the Alt key and enter 9733 on the numeric keypad, or in Microsoft Word type 2605 and press Alt + X.
What is the difference between ★ and ⭐?
★ is a standard monochrome text character that adopts your chosen font and text color, whereas ⭐ is an emoji that renders with yellow shading on smartphones and modern operating systems.
How do I create a 5-star review in text?
Combine solid and outline stars: write ★★★★☆ for a 4 out of 5 rating, or ★★★★★ for a perfect score.
Is there an alt code for the black star symbol?
No. ★ is outside the Windows-1252 and code page 437 character sets, so no Alt + number code produces it. Copy it from this page, type 2605 then Alt + X in Word, or find it in Character Map.
How do I type the black star symbol on a Mac?
There is no single Option shortcut for ★ on the US layout. Press Control + Command + Space to open the Character Viewer, search for “black star” and double-click it, or copy it from this page.
What is the HTML code for the black star symbol?
Use the named entity ★ or the numeric reference ★ (hex ★). All three display ★ in every browser.
What is the Unicode for the black star symbol?
★ is U+2605, officially named BLACK STAR, in the Miscellaneous Symbols block. It has been part of Unicode since version 1.1 (1993).