Basic Syntax

Learn the fundamental markdown syntax for creating formatted text documents.

Headings

Create headings using the # symbol. The number of # symbols determines the heading level.

# Heading 1
## Heading 2
### Heading 3
#### Heading 4
##### Heading 5
###### Heading 6

Heading 1

Heading 2

Heading 3

Heading 4

Heading 5

Heading 6

Paragraphs

Create paragraphs by writing text with blank lines between them.

This is the first paragraph.
 
This is the second paragraph with multiple sentences. 
It will be rendered as a single paragraph.
 
This is the third paragraph.

This is the first paragraph.

This is the second paragraph with multiple sentences. It will be rendered as a single paragraph.

This is the third paragraph.

Text Formatting

Bold

Make text bold using ** or __:

**This text is bold**
__This is also bold__

This text is bold This is also bold

Italic

Make text italic using * or _:

*This text is italic*
_This is also italic_

This text is italic This is also italic

Bold and Italic

Combine bold and italic:

***Bold and italic***
**_Also bold and italic_**
*__Still bold and italic__*

Bold and italic Also bold and italic Still bold and italic

Strikethrough

Strike through text using ~~:

~~This text is struck through~~

This text is struck through

Blockquotes

Create blockquotes using the > symbol:

> This is a blockquote.
> It can span multiple lines.
 
> You can also have multiple paragraphs.
>
> Like this.

This is a blockquote. It can span multiple lines.

You can also have multiple paragraphs.

Like this.

Nested Blockquotes

> This is the first level.
>> This is nested.
>>> This is deeply nested.

This is the first level.

This is nested.

This is deeply nested.

Horizontal Rules

Create horizontal rules using three or more -, *, or _:

---
***
___

Inline Code

Highlight inline code using backticks:

Use the `console.log()` function to print output.

Use the console.log() function to print output.

Line Breaks

Create a line break by ending a line with two or more spaces, or use a backslash \:

This is the first line.  
This is the second line.
 
This is another line.\
With a break using backslash.

This is the first line.
This is the second line.

This is another line.
With a break using backslash.

Escaping Characters

Escape markdown characters using a backslash \:

\*This is not italic\*
\[This is not a link\]

Result: Text appears with literal asterisks and brackets, not formatted as markdown.

Comments

HTML comments work in markdown:

<!-- This is a comment and won't be visible -->

Note: HTML comments will not be visible in the rendered output.