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Rose ASCII Art

Ascii art rose designs in text, from the classic sideways @}->-- to roses with leaves and a bouquet. Tap to copy.

By Maya Chen, lettering designer and type educator · Checked by Jordan Hale · · How we review content

One-line roses

Classic sideways roses; read them with your head tilted left.

One line, 6 wide · traditional
One line, 9 wide · traditional
One line, 8 wide · traditional
One line, 9 wide

Roses with stems

5 lines, 6 wide
7 lines, 11 wide
7 lines, 11 wide

Made with our image converter

We drew a simple rose shape and ran it through the image to ASCII converter on this site. Braille pieces pack eight dots into each character, so they look smoother but rely on a font with Braille Patterns.

14 lines, 14 wide
11 lines, 10 wide
6 lines, 6 wide

10 pieces on this page. All are drawn for this site except those marked traditional, which have been shared online for years without a known author. Copy one and paste it into a code block, a terminal or any app that uses a monospace font; in a proportional font the lines drift apart. Make your own with the text to ASCII generator or the image to ASCII converter.

Key facts

  • @}->-- is one of the oldest pieces of text art still in daily use: @ is the bloom, } the sepals, - the stem and > a thorn or leaf.
  • One-line roses use only punctuation, so they work in SMS, email, game chats and comment boxes.
  • Variations of the one-line rose add more stem (--) or more thorns (->-).
  • A stemmed rose needs a rounded bloom and a vertical stem directly under its centre; in a proportional font that column moves.
  • The rose emoji is U+1F339, and ❦ and ❧ are floral heart dingbats; text roses look the same everywhere, but emoji do not.

What does the one-line rose mean?

@}->-- is one of the oldest pieces of text art still in daily use. The @ is the bloom seen from the side, } is the green sepals underneath, - is the stem and > is a thorn or a leaf. Variations add more stem (--), more thorns (->-) or a leaf (;-'). Because it is only punctuation, it works in SMS, email, game chats and comment boxes.

How do I draw an ASCII art rose with a stem?

A stemmed rose needs two things to read correctly: a rounded bloom, drawn with brackets or @, and a vertical stem directly under its centre. Leaves go on either side of the stem, which is why the stem has to stay exactly in the middle column. In a proportional font that column moves, so paste these into a code block or a monospace document.

Rose Width Best for
@}->-- 6 Any message
Small rose 5 Chats with code blocks
Rose with leaves 10 Cards, Discord, notes
Bouquet 11 Cards and printouts

Frequently asked questions

Basics

Which way does the text rose point?
Either. @}->-- has the bloom on the left and reads like a rose being handed to you; --<-<-<@ has the bloom on the right. The < and > marks are thorns. Pick the direction that suits who the rose is for, since both mean the same.
Is there a rose symbol instead?
Yes: 🌹 is the rose emoji (U+1F339), and ❦ and ❧ are floral heart dingbats. Emoji are drawn differently on each platform; text roses look the same everywhere. Emoji are drawn differently on each platform, so the rose you send may not be the rose they see, while text roses look the same everywhere.
What do the characters in @}->-- stand for?
The @ is the bloom seen from the side, } is the green sepals underneath, - is the stem and > is a thorn or a leaf. Because it is only punctuation, the rose needs no special font and works in any app.

Where it works

How do I send a rose in a text message?
Use a one-line rose such as @}->-- or @}-;-'---. They need no special font and survive any messaging app. Multi-line roses need a monospace font, so use them in a code block or a document. The one-line rose is the safe choice for texts, because there is only one row of characters to line up.
Which rose fits a code block on a phone?
The small rose is 5 characters wide and suits chats with code blocks, the rose with leaves is 10 wide and works in Discord, cards and notes, and the bouquet is 11 wide. All three fit comfortably on a phone screen.
Which rose is best for a card or printout?
The bouquet, at 11 characters wide, is the one meant for cards and printouts, and the rose with leaves also suits cards. Paste either into a document set to a monospace font so the stem stays in the middle column.
Where can I find other text flowers?
The flower ASCII art page has daisies, tulips in a pot and a sunflower, and the flower symbols page has single characters such as ✿. This page stays with roses, from the one-line rose to the bouquet. Each has its own copy buttons and size notes.

How it works

How do I give the one-line rose more thorns or stem?
Add more stem with extra dashes (--), more thorns with ->-, or a leaf with ;-' along the stem. Build outwards one character at a time and test it in the app you plan to use, because the order of the characters is the design.
How do I make a rose from a photo?
Choose a close photo with a clear outline against a plain background, open the image to ASCII converter and try about 40 to 60 characters wide. Braille mode keeps petals readable in a small space, and the conversion runs in your browser.

Tips & limits

Why does my rose's stem drift off-centre?
The stem has to stay exactly under the bloom's middle column, and a proportional font changes how wide each space is, so that column moves. Paste the rose into a code block or monospace document and the stem snaps back.

More ASCII art and tools