The backslash (\) can be used to escape many Markdown elements. This is especially helpful when you're writing tutorials, documentation, or README files where you need to show Markdown syntax instead of applying it.
Let's look at the most common examples.
Escape Headings
A hash (#) creates a heading in Markdown.
For example:
# Introduction
Output
Rendered Output
Introduction
If you want to display the # character instead of creating a heading, add a backslash before it.
\# Introduction
Output
This is useful when teaching heading syntax or showing Markdown examples.
Deep dive: Read the complete Markdown Headings guide for hierarchy rules, anchor links, and README structure.
Escape Bold Text
Normally, two asterisks create bold text.
**Important**
Output
To display the asterisks as plain text, escape them.
\**Important\**
Output
Escape Italic Text
A single asterisk or underscore creates italic text.
*Markdown*
_Markdown_
To show the symbols themselves:
\*Markdown\*
\_Markdown\_
Output
Escape Links
Markdown links use square brackets and parentheses.
[Visit MDConvertHub](https://example.com)
If you're writing a tutorial and want readers to see the actual syntax, escape the special characters.
\[Visit MDConvertHub\]\(https://example.com\)
Output
This is one of the most common uses of escaping in Markdown documentation.
Deep dive: Read the complete Markdown Links guide for inline, reference, and relative link syntax.
Escape Images
Markdown images use almost the same syntax as links.
To display the syntax instead of rendering the image:
\!\[Logo\]\(logo.png\)
Output
This is particularly useful when explaining how Markdown images work.
Deep dive: Read the complete Markdown Images guide for syntax, URLs, alt text, and GitHub paths.
Escape Blockquotes
A greater-than sign (>) creates a blockquote.
> This is a quote.
Output
To display the > character instead:
\> This is a quote.
Output
Deep dive: Read the complete Markdown Blockquotes guide for syntax, nesting, and GitHub callouts.
Escape Lists
Markdown lists usually begin with:
- Hyphen (
-)
- Plus (
+)
- Asterisk (
*)
Example:
- Apple
- Banana
- Orange
If you want to show the list syntax itself:
\- Apple
\+ Banana
\* Orange
Output
Rendered Output
- Apple
+ Banana
* Orange
Deep dive: Read the complete Markdown Lists guide for ordered, unordered, nested, and task lists.
Escape Ordered Lists
Markdown creates numbered lists automatically.
1. First
2. Second
3. Third
To display the numbering without creating a list:
1\. First
2\. Second
3\. Third
Output
Rendered Output
1. First
2. Second
3. Third
Escaping the period prevents Markdown from treating it as an ordered list.
Escape Inline Code
Backticks create inline code.
`npm install`
To display the backticks:
\`npm install\`
Output
This is especially useful when teaching Markdown syntax.
Deep dive: Read the complete Markdown Code Blocks guide for fenced blocks, syntax highlighting, and escaping backticks.
Escape Horizontal Rules
Three hyphens create a horizontal line.
---
To display the characters instead:
\-\-\-
Output
Deep dive: Read the complete Markdown Horizontal Rules guide for section dividers with ---, ***, and ___.
Escape Markdown Tables
Table columns are separated by the pipe (|) character.
Example:
| Name | Role |
| ---- | ---- |
| Alex | Developer |
Sometimes you need to display a pipe as plain text.
\|
Output
Some Markdown parsers require different techniques inside tables, so always preview your document if you're displaying literal pipe characters within table cells.
Deep dive: Read the complete Markdown Tables guide for syntax, alignment, and GitHub GFM.
Escape HTML Tags
Markdown allows HTML in many implementations.
For example:
<div>Hello</div>
If you want readers to see the HTML instead of rendering it, escape the angle brackets where supported.
\<div\>Hello\</div\>
Output
Depending on the Markdown parser, using HTML entities such as < and > may provide more reliable results than escaping angle brackets.
Deep dive: Read the complete Markdown HTML guide for supported tags, GitHub restrictions, and when to use HTML instead of Markdown.
