This paper presents a compact printed antenna based on two folded U-shaped arms radiator for 5G wireless applications. The proposed antenna is intended to work at the 3.5 GHz frequency band. The two arms of the antenna's radiator are U-shaped to miniaturize the size, while the currents are maintained in the same direction during the folding process. Maintaining the current in the same direction over the surface of the antenna guarantees constructive electromagnetic coupling and improves the radiation characteristics of the antenna. The proposed antenna's radiator is printed on the top of an FR4 substrate with a complete ground plane on the bottom side. Dimensions of the antenna are optimized to satisfy the required electrical and radiation characteristics of 5G standards. The overall size of the antenna is 20 × 29 × 1.6 mm3. The proposed antenna is simulated using HFSS simulator, fabricated, and experimentally tested. The conducted measurements show a properly matched antenna over the frequency band 3.42 to 3.62 GHz with its peak resonance existing at 3.5 GHz. The return loss of the antenna is -30.5 dB at the resonance frequency. The antenna has directional radiation pattern with 2.1 dBi maximum gain at the 3.5 GHz frequency. Measurements of the antenna have proved its good characteristics which come in good agreement with the obtained simulation results. The characteristics of the proposed antenna qualify it to be a good choice for 5G applications.