Star emoji
⭐ for ratings and favourites, 🌟 for praise, 🌠 for wishes: every star emoji explained, with the one people mistake for a shooting star.
Published · Updated
Which star emoji is which
⭐ (star) is the plain yellow five-pointed star: ratings, favourites, “starred”, gold-star praise. 🌟 (glowing star) adds a glow and reads as a compliment (“you’re a star”) or a highlight. 💫 (dizzy) is a star with a swirl; its Unicode name gives away its original meaning, but most people use it as a shooting or whirling star. 🌠 (shooting star) is the literal night-sky version, for wishes and wonder. ✨ (sparkles) is not a star at all, and it has its own page in the sparkles emoji guide.
| Emoji | Name | Use it for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| starU+2B50 | Ratings, favourites, “starred”, gold-star praise | Plain; can look like a bullet point | |
| glowing starU+1F31F | “You’re a star”, highlights, VIP | Slightly dated in some circles | |
| dizzyU+1F4AB | Whirling, shooting star, wonder; also dizzy | Ambiguous between magic and dizziness | |
| shooting starU+1F320 | A wish, a night sky, something fleeting | Small and hard to read at small sizes | |
| eight-pointed star / sparkleU+2734 U+FE0F · U+2747 U+FE0F | Decorative bullets, emphasis | Text-style symbols; render inconsistently | |
| dotted six-pointed starU+1F52F | Six-pointed star symbol | Religious or decorative; not a rating star | |
| sparklerU+1F387 | Sparkler, fireworks | Celebration rather than a star | |
| star-struckU+1F929 | Star-struck face, excitement | A face, not a star |
Stars in ratings, reviews and captions
- Ratings: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ is universally read as five stars; use ⭐ not 🌟 so the count is clear.
- Praise: “you were a 🌟 tonight”, “gold ⭐ for you”.
- Highlights and pins: ⭐ at the start of a line marks an item as important in lists and bios.
- Night and dreams: 🌠, 💫 and 🌙 together; the moon emoji guide covers the moons.
- Achievements: 🏆⭐ or 🥇⭐ for a win; ✅⭐ for “done and done well” (see the check mark guide).
Chat examples
Real messages with ⭐, and a reply that fits.
you were the star tonight ⭐
the whole team was 🌟
five stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
wow, thank you
wish upon it 🌠
wished ✨
Questions people ask
What is the difference between ⭐ and 🌟?
⭐ is a plain star used for ratings and marking things. 🌟 glows and is used as a compliment or a highlight. They are separate characters (U+2B50 and U+1F31F).
Is 💫 a shooting star?
Its Unicode name is dizzy, from the stars-circling-the-head idea, but most people use it as a shooting or whirling star. Both readings are common; context decides.
Why does my star emoji look white or black?
✴️ and ❇️ are older text symbols and some apps draw them as plain glyphs. ⭐ is a dedicated emoji and shows in colour everywhere.
About this guide
Written and maintained by the Emoji Directory editorial team, without ads or sponsorship. Meanings describe how the emoji is commonly used in public posts and messages, not an official definition. Names, code points, versions, keywords and translations come from the Unicode Emoji 18.0 and CLDR data; shortcodes from the gemoji project. Last reviewed . Spotted a mistake or a new usage? Tell us, or read how the directory is made.
