Bullet Point Symbols — Copy and Paste (• ◦ ▪ ‣ ●)

Bullet point symbols.

Round, square, triangle and diamond bullets plus pointers — tap any to copy.

Tap any symbol to copy it.

Bullets

Squares & diamonds

Pointers & stars

Bullets that paste anywhere

When you need a bulleted list somewhere that doesn't have list formatting — a social bio, a plain-text note, a form field, a chat message — a bullet character does the job. Tap one and paste it before each line. The round bullet (•) is the universal default; squares (▪ ■), diamonds (◆ ❖) and triangles (▶ ►) give a list a bit of style or signal a sub-level. They're real characters, so they survive copy-paste between apps and scale with the surrounding text. To start each line cleanly, put the bullet, then a space, then your text.

How to type a bullet point

Windows: hold Alt and type on the numeric keypad — 0149 for •, 0183 for ·, 0187 for ».
macOS: Option + 8 gives •, Option + Shift + 9 gives ·, and Option + Shift + \ gives » on the US layout.
Word and Outlook: type 2022 and press Alt + X for •; 25E6 gives ◦ and 2023 gives ‣.
Windows, any character: Win + . opens the emoji panel; the symbols tab has the bullets.
Linux: Ctrl + Shift + U, then 2022, then Enter.
HTML and CSS: • is • or •, · is ·, ⁃ is &hybull;, » is », and ‣ is numeric only, ‣. In CSS use content: "\2022". See the HTML entities page for more.

Bullet, middle dot and the ones to avoid

Three characters get mixed up constantly, and they are not interchangeable:

• U+2022 BULLET — designed as a list marker, sized and positioned to sit beside a line of text. This is the one you want for a list.
· U+00B7 MIDDLE DOT — much smaller, and a separator rather than a marker. It belongs between items on one line: breadcrumbs, bylines, tag lists.
∙ U+2219 BULLET OPERATOR — a mathematical operator meaning multiplication or a dot product. It is spaced like an operator and may be picked up by equation renderers, so keep it out of lists.

For nesting, word processors follow a convention worth copying: • at the first level, ◦ (U+25E6, white bullet) at the second, ▪ (U+25AA, black small square) at the third. ‣ (U+2023, triangular bullet) and ⁃ (U+2043, hyphen bullet) are alternatives with a stronger direction or a flatter, dash-like feel. » is really a French quotation mark borrowed as a marker — fine decoratively, but it will be announced as a quote by some screen readers.

On the web, use real list markup

Typed bullets are exactly right for a social bio, a chat message or any plain-text field with no formatting. In HTML they are the wrong tool. Use <ul> and <li>: you get the marker for free, wrapped lines indent under the text instead of sliding back to the margin, and a screen reader announces "list, four items" so the structure is conveyed. Typed bullets give you none of that — some screen readers read "bullet" before every line, others drop it silently.

If you want a different marker, style it rather than type it: list-style-type, or the ::marker pseudo-element with content: "‣ ". In Markdown, starting a line with -, * or + produces a real list too.

FAQ

How do I add bullet points without list formatting?

Copy a bullet symbol above and paste it at the start of each line, followed by a space. This works in places without a list button — social bios, plain-text fields, messages and spreadsheets.

What's the standard bullet point symbol?

The round bullet • (U+2022) is the default used by most word processors for first-level lists. White bullets (◦) and dashes (–) are common for sub-levels.

Should I type • in HTML or use a list?

Use a real list. <ul> and <li> give you the marker automatically, keep wrapped lines indented, and let screen readers announce the number of items. Typed bullets are for places with no formatting, such as social bios and plain-text fields.

Which bullet should I use for a sub-level?

The usual sequence is • at the top level, ◦ (white bullet) at the second and ▪ (black small square) at the third. That is what most word processors do by default, so it reads as intended.

Why does my typed bullet list lose its indent when a line wraps?

Because a typed bullet is just a character in the paragraph, there is no hanging indent behind it — the second line starts back at the left margin. A real list, or a manual line break before the wrap point, is the only fix.