Wingdings Translator

What is Wingdings Font?

Wingdings font is a symbolic typeface made of dingbats. A dingbat is a typographic ornament or symbol used for decoration or functional markings. Wingdings includes arrows, hands, stars, and shapes. The typeface does not follow an alphabet structure but instead replaces letters with symbols.

Examples of Wingdings characters include:

• “A” → ✌ (hand symbol)
• “B” → ✍ (writing hand)
• “C” → ✈ (airplane)

Dingbat typefaces like Wingdings helped users insert symbols before the Unicode Standard was widely available.

The upcoming sections describe the complete character set, expand on each version of the Wingdings family, provide step-by-step translation methods, and discuss its creation, modern uses, and differences from Webdings.

Characters in Wingdings Font

There are 224 characters in Wingdings. Each symbol represents an object, shape, or action. They can be translated into English or other languages such as Spanish.

Here is a list of the full set of 224 characters with their meanings, English translations, and Spanish translations:

Types of Wingdings Fonts

Wingdings fonts evolved into different versions created by Microsoft.

Wingdings 1

Wingdings 1 is the original set of symbols created in 1990. It was designed by Charles Bigelow and Kris Holmes. The font included arrows, shapes, and hand gestures. The purpose of creating Wingdings 1 was to allow users to add non-alphabetic symbols into text documents at a time when symbol libraries were limited.

The first use was in Microsoft Windows 3.1 and Microsoft Word, where it became a popular way to insert visual markers. Over time, it was widely used for decorative purposes in documents and early digital communication. Today, Wingdings 1 is still present in word processors and remains a cultural reference point in online communication.

Wingdings 2

Wingdings 2 was introduced in 1992. It expanded the character set by adding astrology signs, religious symbols, and more decorative dingbats. The purpose of this version was to give users more symbolic depth for newsletters, posters, and creative publishing projects.

It first appeared bundled with Microsoft Word. Wingdings 2 became popular among designers for its unique symbols and continues to be used when astrological or religious symbols are required.

Wingdings 3

Wingdings 3 was released in 1996. This font focused on arrows and directional symbols. The purpose was to improve navigation elements in charts, technical diagrams, and instructional documents.

It gained popularity among professionals working with presentations and maps because it offered a wide variety of arrows. Today, it is still used in diagramming and specialized design fields where directional clarity is required.

Webdings

Webdings was created in 1997 by Vincent Connare at Microsoft. It differed from the original Wingdings fonts by targeting the growing internet era. It introduced icons like computers, envelopes, globes, and communication-related graphics.

The purpose of Webdings was to provide web-friendly icons at a time when Unicode symbols were not yet universal. Its first major use was in web development and digital design. Webdings became popular because it included modern icons suited for websites and online documents.

How to Translate Wingdings

Translating Wingdings means converting its symbols into letters or words. This process works in both directions—decoding Wingdings to English or encoding English into Wingdings.

Methods to Translate Wingdings:

• Use an online translator tool – Automatically decodes or encodes text.
• Match manually – Compare Wingdings characters with an alphabet chart.
• Copy and paste – Insert Wingdings text into a translator for quick decoding.

How to Translate English to Wingdings

Here is the English to Wingdings translation of all the characters. Our online tool lets users type English text and instantly see it in Wingdings.

How to Translate Wingdings to English

Why the Wingdings Font Was Created?

Wingdings was created to provide symbols before Unicode became standard. Charles Bigelow and Kris Holmes developed it for Microsoft in 1990 to give users a wide range of symbols for documents. Their goal was to make typographic ornamentation more accessible and to fill the gap for symbols in personal computing.

What are the Usages of Wingdings Font?

Wingdings fonts are used in digital communication, decoration, and encoding text. They appear in word processors, graphic design projects, and creative text encoding. In modern contexts, Wingdings has become a nostalgic font often used in memes, secret text writing, and symbolic communication. In gastronomy, Wingdings has appeared in creative restaurant branding and menu decoration.

Wingdings vs Webdings Font

Wingdings and Webdings are related but not identical. Wingdings was developed first, while Webdings was created later for web communication. They share the same principle of replacing letters with symbols but serve different eras of computing.

Differences:

• Wingdings: Focused on arrows, hands, and ornamental shapes.
• Webdings: Focused on internet and communication symbols.

Both fonts continue to act as encoders and decoders for symbolic communication.