What Do Various Icons and Symbols Mean in Google Maps

You may encounter a number of icons such as a compass, microphone, red-colored roads, etc. while using Google Maps. If you have been wondering what a certain icon or symbol means in Google Maps, let me help. Let’s check the meaning of various icons and symbols in Google Maps.

Table of Contents

Icons on the Home Screen

Microphone Icon: Use the microphone icon to search using your voice.
Temperature: This number represents the temperature at your current location.
Box and a Down Arrow: This icon lets you switch between map types such as satellite, terrain, and default mode. It also allows you to enable or disable extra information on the map such as public transit, traffic, bicycling paths, 3D map, street view, wildfires, and air quality.
Circle IconWith Four Compass Points: Tap this icon to go to your current location in Google Maps.
Blue Colored Right Arrow: Tap on this icon to find a route between two locations. Your current location will be set as the start location automatically.

Icons On New Journey Screen

Two Arrows Pointing in Opposite Direction: This icon lets you swap the beginning and destination location.
Car Icon: Find and calculate the route via car.
Bike: Find and calculate the route via a two-wheeler.
Train: Find a route via public transport like train or bus.
Person Walking: Find a walking route.
Clock Icon Next to Places: It means you have previously searched for the place.

Additional Icons:

Red Pin Icon: This icon represents your end destination on the map
Path Shown by Small Circles: The walking path is represented by tiny circles. In other words, you can walk along this route to get to your destination.

Icons on Ongoing Journey Screen

Colored Microphone Icon: Use this icon to activate Google Assistant right from the Maps screen. You can ask Google Assistant to call someone, play a song, and do other cool things.
Search Icon: Tap on the search icon to find places along your route, such as grocery shops, hotels, coffee shops, gas stations, etc.
Speaker: Use this icon to mute or unmute voice navigation. You can even turn on alerts only.
Compass Icon: In the Compass icon, the red symbol points north, and the gray symbol points toward the south. Tap on the icon to find your direction of travel.
Chat Bubble with Plus Icon: Use this icon to report a crash, slow down, construction, lane closure, stalled vehicle, or object on the road.
X Icon: Tap this icon to stop the ongoing journey.
Forked Path Icon: Use this icon to quickly see the entire route till your destination.

Tip: The arrows on the road represent the direction of traffic on the road.

Also Read: Find out how to fix Google Maps keeps rerouting.

Traffic Condition Symbols

Google Maps shows real-time traffic conditions in the following colors.

Green roads indicate that traffic is moving normally and that there are no jams.
Red roads signify a traffic jam.
Yellow or orange roads represent light congestion.

Icons That Represent Various Places in Google Maps

Here’s a list of important icons that show up quite often on Google Maps:

Personal Icons

Person: A contact lives there.
House: Your home address.
Bag: Your workplace.
Calendar: Appointment place
Heart: A place that you have added to your favorites.
Star: Place that you have starred.
Green flag: Place where you want to go.

Tip: Learn how to mark saved placed with emojis on Google Maps.