The Unicode Character Guide: Widths, Bullets, and Arrows

Check out the differences between ASCII, ANSI, and Unicode. Let's delve into some of the most commonly requested unicodes!

The Long and Short of It: Character Widths

The Widest Characters

The longest or widest single Unicode character is often considered the Arabic ligature "Bismillah Ar-Rahman Ar-Raheem" (﷽), which has the Unicode U+FDFD. Despite representing a phrase, it is encoded as a single character. Other notably wide characters include certain CJK (Chinese, Japanese, Korean) ideographs and various ligatures.

The Narrowest Characters

Conversely, the shortest visible Unicode characters in terms of width are typically the various "space" characters. Among the narrowest non-spacing characters, you'll find the White Very Small Square (▫), with the Unicode U+2B1E.

Marking Points: Bullet Unicodes

Bullet points are commonly used for lists and emphasis. Unicode provides a few options beyond the standard:

• Standard Bullet ( • , U+2022 ) • White Bullet ( ◦ , U+25E6 ) • Triangular Bullet ( ‣ , U+2023 ) • Hyphen Bullet ( ⁃ , U+2043 )

These alternatives can add visual variety to your lists and help create hierarchical structures in your documents.

Pointing the Way: Arrow Unicodes

Arrows are a fundamental part of communication, and Unicode provides a vast collection to suit every need, from simple directions to complex mathematical symbols.

Simple Arrows:

• ← (Leftwards Arrow, U+2190) • → (Rightwards Arrow, U+2192) • ↑ (Upwards Arrow, U+2191) • ↓ (Downwards Arrow, U+2193) • ↔ (Left Right Arrow, U+2194)

Double Arrows:

• ⇐ (Leftwards Double Arrow, U+21D0) • ⇒ (Rightwards Double Arrow, U+21D2) • ⇑ (Upwards Double Arrow, U+21D1) • ⇓ (Downwards Double Arrow, U+21D3) • ⇔ (Left Right Double Arrow, U+21D4)

Harpoons:

• ↼ (Leftwards Harpoon with Barb Upwards, U+21BC) • ⇀ (Rightwards Harpoon with Barb Upwards, U+21C0)

This is just a small glimpse into the extensive arrow repertoire available in Unicode!

Celestial Glyphs: Star Unicodes

Stars are popular symbols with many uses, from ratings to decorative elements. Unicode offers a dazzling array of star symbols:

• Black Star ( ★ , U+2605 ) • White Star ( ☆ , U+2606 ) • Sparkles ( ✨ , U+2728 ) • Glowing Star ( 🌟 , U+1F31F ) • Shooting Star ( 🌠 , U+1F320 )

You can also find stars with various numbers of points, such as the Six Pointed Black Star ( ✶ , U+2736 ) and the Eight Pointed Black Star ( ✴ , U+2734 ).

Unicode's richness in characters is truly impressive, offering a precise way to represent virtually any symbol imaginable. Understanding these common characters can greatly enhance your ability to work with text and information across different platforms and languages.

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