Blockquotes in Markdown: The Complete Guide

Blockquotes are one of Markdown’s most useful formatting tools. They highlight quoted passages, callouts, or important notes with a clear visual separation from the surrounding text. This guide covers everything you need to know about the > syntax — from basic quotes to nested multi-paragraph blocks.

The Basic Blockquote

Add a > character before any line to turn it into a blockquote:

> The secret of getting ahead is getting started.

Rendered output:

The secret of getting ahead is getting started.

That’s all it takes. One angle bracket, a space, and your text.

Multi-Line Blockquotes

To quote multiple lines as a single block, add > before each line:

> This is the first line of the quote.
> This is the second line of the quote.
> And this is the third.

All three lines will render as a single continuous blockquote, with no breaks between them.

Multi-Paragraph Blockquotes

To include multiple paragraphs inside a single blockquote, add a > on the blank line between them:

> First paragraph of the quote. This continues
> on the same paragraph.
>
> Second paragraph begins here after the blank line.

The empty > line acts as a paragraph break inside the quote.

Nested Blockquotes

You can nest blockquotes by doubling the > characters:

> This is the outer quote.
>
>> This is a nested quote inside the outer one.

Renders as a visually indented block within the first quote. Nesting works to any depth, though anything past two levels gets hard to read.

Blockquotes with Other Markdown Elements

Markdown formatting works inside blockquotes. You can use bold, italic, lists, and code:

> **Important:** Before you begin, make sure you have:
>
> - A text editor
> - A Markdown preview tool
> - Five minutes to spare
>
> Run `npm install` and you're ready to go.

This makes blockquotes useful for styled callout boxes, not just quoted text.

Blockquotes with Attribution

Markdown has no built-in attribution syntax. The common convention is to add an em-dash line after the quote:

> The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago.
> The second best time is now.
>
> — Chinese Proverb

Some renderers (like GitHub) style the — line differently; others treat it as plain text.

Common Use Cases

Pull quotes — Highlight a key sentence from an article to give readers a visual anchor.

Warnings and notes — Many documentation sites use > **Note:** or > **Warning:** as a lightweight callout system before reaching for a component library.

Code comments — Explain a behavior or edge case with a blockquote before the code block it describes.

Replying in conversations — Email clients and chat apps that support Markdown (Slack, Discord, GitHub) use > to show quoted replies, just like email threading.

Interview transcripts and dialogue — Differentiate the interviewer and subject visually.

How Different Renderers Handle Blockquotes

The > syntax is standard across all Markdown parsers, but the visual result varies:

Renderer	Style
GitHub	Light grey background, left border
VS Code preview	Subtle left border only
Typora	Styled block with background
PDF export	Usually indented with a left rule

The HTML output is always <blockquote> — the visual styling is controlled by the CSS of the rendering environment.

Try It

You can test blockquote formatting right now in the Markdown Monk editor — paste your text, add > before any line, and see the result in the live preview before exporting to PDF, DOCX, or HTML.