Emojis are digital pictograms that are used widely throughout social media platforms like WhatsApp, Telegram, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat texting, and even emails. Emojis are used to express a range of objects and ideas, including human emotions, animals, geography, foods, and flags. In this article, we have created a list of over 200 most used and popular emojis and symbols and explained their meanings.

Table of Content

Evolution, Uses, and Categories of Emojis

The term emoji was born from two Japanese words: ‘e’, meaning ‘picture’, and moji, meaning ‘written character’. The first set of emoticons was created in 1999 by Shigetaka Kurita as a way to add emotion to text-based communication. These initial emoticons were simple black-and-white pixelated images that included expressions like happy face, sad face, heart symbols, etc.

In 2010, the Unicode Consortium – the organization responsible for standardizing characters across different platforms – recognized the need for standardized emojis. This led to the creation of a universal set of emojis that could be used across devices and applications without any compatibility issues.

The original set consisted of just 176 characters including faces, hand gestures, common objects like clocks, and food items like pizza and sushi. However, with each new update by the Unicode Consortium, more and more emojis were added based on popular demand. Today’s modern-day emojis are much more diverse with variations in skin tones for human-like emojis representing diversity and inclusivity. There are also emojis for different professions, activities, and even flags of various countries. Unicode 15.1 Character Code Charts specifies a total number of 3,782 emojis and symbols.

The reasons why emojis have become so important in our daily communication are as follows:

  • Emojis add emotion to written words
  • Emojis help to clarify the intent
  • They break language barriers
  • Emojis are visually appealing
  • They help convey complex ideas
  • Emojis add personality and individuality

The Unicode Consortium has classified the emojis into 7 categories:

  1. Smileys & People 🙃😍
  2. Animals & Nature 🐶🌴
  3. Food & Drink 🍕🍹
  4. Activities ⚽🎸
  5. Travel & Places ✈️🗽
  6. Objects 💻🎉
  7. Symbols ♻️❤️

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List of Most Used Emojis and Their Meaning

Emojis make it easier to convey emotions and expressions through texts on social media platforms like WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, Telegram, Snapchat, Twitter, and so on. However, with the ever-growing list of emojis available, it is easy to misinterpret their meanings. Emojis are meant to be used cautiously so we must understand their true meanings before using them. In this section, we will list the most popular emojis, their Unicode names, and their actual meanings.

Emoji Code Unicode Name Meaning Other Names
😀 U+1F600 Grinning Face Extreme joy, laughter, excitement, friendly demeanor Happy Face, Smiley Face
😃 U+1F603 Grinning Face with Big Eyes Positive vibes, happy laughter, satisfaction, enthusiasm Grinning Face, Happy Face, Happy Smiley Face
😄 U+1F604 Smiling Face with Open Mouth and Smiling Eyes Loud, boisterous, and hearty laughter, sincere happiness Smiley Face
😁 U+1F601 Grinning Face with Smiling Eyes Sarcastic smile, mischievousness, excitement, enjoyment Cheesy Face
😮 U+1F62E Face with Open Mouth Wow, surprised, shocked Surprised Face with Open Mouth
😆 U+1F606 Smiling Face with Open Mouth and Tightly-Closed Eyes Lighthearted and joyful laughter, a fit of laughter, uncontrollable laughter, or amusement Closed-Eyes Smile, Big Grin, XD, ><
😅 U+1F605 Smiling Face with Open Mouth and Cold Sweat Nervous laughter, a positive response to a bizarre or odd situation Grinning Face with Sweat
🤣 U+1F923 Rolling on the Floor Laughing ROFL, uncontrollable or boisterous laughter Rolling on the Floor Laughing Face
😂 U+1F602 Face with Tears of Joy Uncontrolled laughter that brings tears to the eyes LOL, Laughing Tears
🙂 U+1F642 Slightly Smiling Face Smile that hides sadness, smile in pain, fake smile, smile to hide pain or dissatisfaction Slightly Happy
😉 U+1F609 Winking Face Hinting at a hidden agenda, a gesture of understanding between two people, being cheeky, conveying mischief or flirtation Wink, Winky Face
😊 U+1F60A Smiling Face with Smiling Eyes Happiness, warmth, friendliness, gratitude Happy Face, Blushing Smile, ^^
😇 U+1F607 Smiling Face with Halo Innocent smile, feeling blessed, angelic face, divine grace and protection Angel
🥰 U+1F970 Smiling Face with Smiling Eyes and Three Hearts Strong affection or love towards someone or something Smiling Face with Hearts
😍 U+1F60D Smiling Face with Heart-Shaped Eyes Expression of love, affection, and romantic admiration Smiling Face with Heart-Eyes, Heart Face
🤩 U+1F929 Grinning Face with Star Eyes Sense of excitement, admiration, and awe, overwhelmed with excitement, feeling amazed and impressed Face with Starry Eyes, Star Eyes, Wow Face
😘 U+1F618 Face Throwing a Kiss Convey love and affection, an expression of fondness, convey the wish to kiss Blowing Kiss
😗 U+1F617 Kissing Face A gesture of affection to friends and family, whistling Whistling, Kissy Face
😚 U+1F61A Kissing Face with Closed Eyes Kissing blushingly, kissing in a heartfelt way Kiss Face
😊 U+1F60A Smiling Face with Smiling Eyes Warm and positive smile, expression of peace of mind and gratitude Happy Face, Smiling Face
😎 U+1F60E Smiling Face with Sunglasses Confident, looking smart Cool
😏 U+1F60F Smirking Face Carelessness, irritation, smugness, suggestive humor, or hidden amusement Smug Face
☹️ U+2639 White Frowning Face Disappointment, frustration, or sadness Frowning Face
😋 U+1F60B Face Savoring Delicious Food Yummy, enjoying food, flaunting a dish, wish to eat tasty food, expression of satisfaction over delicious food Goofy
😛 U+1F61B Face with Stuck-Out Tongue Fun, used to suggest that something you said was a joke Tongue Face
🤪 U+1F92A Grinning Face with One Large and One Small Eye Crazy enthusiasm, feeling crazy with laughter Crazy Face, Crazy Eyes
🤗 U+1F917 Hugging Face Come here and hug me, give me a nice big hug, an expression of warmth Hugs
🤭 U+1F92D Smiling Face with Smiling Eyes and Hand Covering Mouth hiding one’s smile, laughing secretly, expression of surprise or shock Blushing Face with Hand over Mouth
🤫 U+1F92B Face with Finger Covering Closed Lips Hush, Shh!, Keep quiet Shushing Face
🤔 U+1F914 Thinking Face Thoughtful face, thinking about something, skepticism or questioning something Chin Thumb
🫡 U+1FAE1 Saluting Face Showing respect Salute
🥳 U+1F973 Face with Party Horn and Party Hat Party, celebration Party Face
😡 U+1F621 Pouting Face Annoyance or displeasure Angry Face, Red Face
😖 U+1F616 Confounded Face Frustration, disgust, irritation Quivering Mouth
🤬 U+1F92C Serious Face with Symbols Covering Mouth Expression of extreme anger, swear words, bad words, insulting remarks Abusing, Cursing
🙃 U+1F643 Upside-Down Face Ironic, sarcasm, sense of goofiness Silly
🤐 U+1F910 Zipper-Mouth Face Secrecy, silence, or keeping quiet about something Sealed Lips
😶‍🌫️ U+1F636 Face in Clouds Confusion, a foggy state of mind, a smoky environment, cloud nine Brain Fog
😐 U+1F610 Neutral Face Feeling neutral, unimpressed Face With Straight Mouth
🤓 U+1F913 Nerd Face Intelligent or studious person Smiling Face with Glasses
😑 U+1F611 Expressionless Face An expression of boredom, neutral, indifferent, reaction, taking time to collect oneself, tired, feeling disoriented Straight Face
😶 U+1F636 Face Without Mouth Speechless, silent, feeling lost and fuzzy Blank Face, Mouthless
😒 U+1F612 Unamused Face Irritated, unimpressed, displeased, slightly annoyed, skeptic, indifferent, disbelief Dissatisfied, Meh
😟 U+1F61F Worried Face Worried, disappointed, anxious Sad Face
🙄 U+1F644 Face with Rolling Eyes Bored or annoyed with something, moderately frustrated, reaction to a strange situation Eye Roll
😬 U+1F62C Grimacing Face Used to express feelings like horror, surprise, nervousness, awkwardness Awkward
😩 U+1F629 Weary Face Distressed, frustrated, amused (in a playful sense) Wailing
😮‍💨 U+1F62E Face Exhaling Used to represent relief, exhaustion, or as a sigh of disappointment or displeasure Sigh
🤥 U+1F925 Lying Face Telling a lie, dishonest statement Pinocchio, Long Nose, Liar
😔 U+1F614 Pensive Face Sad emotions, including feeling disappointed, hurt, or lonely Sad, Sorrowful
😴 U+1F634 Sleeping Face Time to sleep, sound sleep, boredom, snoring Zzz Face, Sleep Face
😢 U+1F622 Crying Face Sorrow, disappointment, or hurt feelings Tearful Face
😭 U+1F62D Loudly Crying Face Inconsolable grief or sadness, also used humorously to express joy Crying, Crying Face, Sobbing
🥹 U+1F979 Face Holding Back Tears Feeling emotional or sad about something Teary eyes
🫤 U+1FAE4 Face with Diagonal Mouth Conveys confusion, frustration, disappointment, or annoyance Diagonal Mouth
😨 U+1F628 Fearful Face Feeling cold, shocked, surprised, upset Surprised, scared
🥵 U+1F975 Overheated Face Overheating, Sweating badly due to heat, flirty Hot Face
😱 U+1F631 Face Screaming in Fear Screaming with surprise, horror, or excitement Screaming Face
😤 U+1F624 Face with Look of Triumph Frustrated, irritated, venting out anger, snorting contemptuously, showing superiority Face with Steam From Nose, Mad Face
😞 U+1F61E Disappointed Face Feeling stressed, sad, remorseful, disappointed Sad Face
🥱 U+1F971 Yawning Face Feeling bored, resented, or sleepy Yawn
😵‍💫 U+1F635 Face with Spiral Eyes Feeling dizzy, hypnotized, disoriented Dizzy Face
🧐 U+1F9D0 Face with Monocle Feeling suspicious, examining closely
💫 U+1F4AB Dizzy Symbol Feeling dizzy Circle and Star
😵 U+1F635 Dizzy Face Drunkenness, shock, surprise, disbelief, amazement Cross Eyes Face
🤧 U+1F927 Sneezing Face Feeling sneezy, suffering from cold Gesundheit
🤒 U+1F912 Face with Thermometer Feeling sick and ill, an expression of sickness, discomfort, or being under the weather Sick
🤕 U+1F915 Face with Head-Bandage Hurt in the head, physical injury Injured, Bandaged Head
🤮 U+1F92E Vomiting Face Vomiting, feeling disgusted Vomit, Throwing Up
🤢 U+1F922 Nauseated Face Nausea, disgust Green Face
🥴 U+1F974 Face with Uneven Eyes and Wavy Mouth Drunkenness, wackiness, bewilderment, exhaustion, intoxication, confusion, disorientation Drunk Face, Woozy Face
😕 U+1F615 Confused Face Confusion, uncertainty, bewilderment Puzzled
😠 U+1F620 Angry Face Conveys anger, frustration, annoyance Grumpy face
😷 U+1F637 Mask Face Sickness, illness, or health precautions Mask
🤡 U+1F921 Clown Face Symbolizes a clown, or signifies joking around and having fun Clown
🤯 U+1F92F Shocked Face with Exploding Head Mind-blowing, unbelievable, shock, surprise, amazement Exploding Head
👿 U+1F47F Imp Extremely angry, devilish Angry Face with Horns, Purple Devil
😈 U+1F608 Smiling Face with Horns Naughty, mischievous, cheeky Devil Horns
🤑 U+1F911 Money-Mouth Face Feeling rich, loving wealth, being rich Money Face, Dollar Sign Eyes
👻 U+1F47B Ghost Goofy, excited, Symbol for Halloween, funnily creepy Halloween
🙈 U+1F648 See-No-Evil Monkey ignore evil things, feel shy, willful ignorance Monkey Covering Eyes
🙊 U+1F64A Speak-No-Evil Monkey Silence, ignore speaking evil things Monkey Covering Mouth
🙉 U+1F649 Hear-No-Evil Monkey Ignore hearing evil things, unwilling to hear anything Monkey Covering Ears
👋 U+1F44B Waving Hand Sign Greetings, welcome, farewell Hello, Goodbye, Hand Have
U+270B Raised Hand Stop Stop, High-Five
👌 U+1F44C OK Hand Sign Okay, perfect, great, cool, very nice Okay
👍 U+1F44D Thumbs Up Sign Well done, sure, yes, like Thumbs Up
👎 U+1F44E Thumbs Down Sign Dislike, Disagree, no, bad Thumbs Down
👏 U+1F44F Clapping Hands Sign Bravo, a round of applause Clapping Hands, Clap
🙌 U+1F64C Person Raising Both Hands in Celebration Groove, celebrate, fun Hallelujah, Hands Raised in Celebration
✌️ U+270C Victory Hand Victory, peace Peace Sign, V Sign
🤞 U+1F91E Hand with Index and Middle Fingers Crossed Wishing luck, good luck Fingers Crossed
🤟 U+1F91F I Love You Hand Sign I love you ILY Sign, Love-You Gesture
🤘 U+1F918 Sign of the Horns Rock on Devil Fingers
🫶 U+1FAF6 Heart Hands Love, love someone or something Heart Gesture
🤝 U+1F91D Handshake Shaking hands, cordial greeting, mutual agreement Shaking Hands
👊 U+1F44A Fisted Hand Sign Punch Fist
🙏 U+1F64F Person with Folded Hands Please, express gratitude, plea for forgiveness, say a prayer, show respect, plead or beg Namaste, Hands Pressed Together
💪 U+1F4AA Flexed Biceps Strength, power, or physical fitness Muscle, Bicep
👃 U+1F443 Nose Sniffing, strong sense of smell Smelling, Stinky
🖕 U+1F595 Reversed Hand with Middle Finger Extended Insulting gesture, offensive or rude gesture Middle Finger, Rude Finger
👆 U+1F446 Backhand Index Finger Pointing Up Look up, pointing upward Pointing Up
👇 U+1F447 Backhand Index Finger Pointing Down Look down, pointing downward Pointing Down
🤙 U+1F919 Call Me Hand Call me, shaka sign (friendly greeting) Phone Hand
🫵 U+1FAF5 Index Pointing at the Viewer It’s you, you deserve it, you are to be blamed Pointing Finger
👄 U+1F444 Mouth Kissing, a sign of a kiss Lips
🫦 U+1FAE6 Biting Lip A flirty sign for a kiss, an expression of ‘xxx’ arousal, excited to kiss Flirty Lips
💋 U+1F48B Kiss Mark Send a kiss, kissing someone or something with love and affection Kissing Lips
👅 U+1F445 Tongue Teasing, joking, or wackiness Tongue out
👁️ U+1F441 Eye Seen, watching Single Eye
👀 U+1F440 Eyes Surprised, paying attention to something, watching closely Eyeballs, Wide Eyes
🙅 U+1F645 Face with No Good Gesture No Person Gesturing No
🙆 U+1F646 Face with OK Gesture OK Hands on Head, OK Gesture
🙋 U+1F64B Happy Person Raising One Hand Asking for attention, volunteering for something, showing excitement or eagerness Hand up
🤦‍♀️ U+1F926 Woman Facepalming Embarrassment or exasperation, frustration at one’s own mistakes or someone else’s foolishness Palm on Face
🤷 U+1F937 Shrug I don’t know or care about something Person Shrugging
🛌 U+1F6CC Person in Bed In bed, taking bed rest, sleeping Person Sleeping
🫂 U+1FAC2 People Hugging Hug, physical closeness Hug
❤️ U+2764 Heavy Black Heart Love, affection Heart, Red Heart, Love Heart
💛 U+1F49B Yellow Heart Friendship, affection, someone with a golden heart Gold Heart
🖤 U+1F5A4 Black Heart Dark humor, sorrow, gloomy heart Dark Heart
💘 U+1F498 Heart with Arrow Romantic love, Fallen in love, Valentine’s Day Lovestruck
💓 U+1F493 Beating Heart Strong feelings for someone or something Heartbeat, Heart Alarm
💝 U+1F49D Heart with Ribbon Gift, love Gift Heart, Gift Box
💞 U+1F49E Revolving Hearts A whirlwind of love, Love is in the air, reciprocal love, 2 hearts bound together Two Hearts
❣️ U+2763 Heavy Heart Exclamation Mark Ornament Emphasized love Heart above Dot
💔 U+1F494 Broken Heart Heartbreak, sadness, suffering, longing, disappointment, frustration, end of a friendship Breaking Heart
❤️‍🔥 U+2764 Heart on Fire Heart burning with lust, Disappointment in love, pain in heart Burning Heart
💖 U+1F496 Sparkling Heart Heart glowing out of happiness, glowing love Stars Heart
❤️‍🩹 U+2764 Mending Heart Heart recovering from pain, wounded heart, consolation Bandaged Heart
💗 U+1F497 Growing Heart Increasing love Multiple Heart
💥 U+1F4A5 Collision Symbol Blast, collision, impact Red Spark, Explosion
💯 U+1F4AF Hundred Points Symbol 100% approval, perfect, 1oo out of hundred 100, Perfect Score
⚠️ U+26A0 Warning Sign Warning, caution Alert Symbol
☢️ U+2622 Radioactive Sign Radioactivity, radiation Radioactive
☣️ U+2623 Biohazard Sign Biological substances that carry a threat to health Biohazard
U+2705 White Heavy Check Mark Verified. approved, done Green Tick
💦 U+1F4A6 Splashing Sweat Symbol Sweating, working hard, fluids Water Drops
🏃 U+1F3C3 Runner Jogging, rushing, running Run
💃 U+1F483 Dancer Fun, dancing in happiness, carefree Woman Dancing
💤 U+1F4A4 Sleeping Symbol Sleeping, tired, boring, bedtime Zzz, Sleep
‼️ U+203C Double Exclamation Mark Excitement, shock Exclamation Marks
🎁 U+1F381 Wrapped Present Gift, celebration, surprise Gift Box
👑 U+1F451 Crown Feeling like a king or queen, royalty King, Queen
🎉 U+1F389 Party Popper Congratulations, celebration Confetti Popper, Party Hat
🎂 U+1F382 Birthday Cake Happy birthday, celebration Cake with Candles
🍗 U+1F357 Poultry Leg Roasted or fried chicken leg piece Drumstick
🍻 U+1F37B Clinking Beer Mugs Celebrating with drinks, social events, parties, or simply enjoying a drink Beers
U+2615 Hot Beverage Tea, coffee, hot chocolate, gossip Hot drink
🎶 U+1F3B6 Multiple Musical Notes Music, singing Music Notes
🍀 U+1F340 Four Leaf Clover Good luck, lucky Clover
☘️ U+2618 Shamrock Good luck, St. Patrick’s Day Trefoil
🌙 U+1F319 Crescent Moon Night, sleep
☀️ U+2600 Black Sun with Rays Sunny, warm Sunshine, Sun
🌞 U+1F31E Sun with Face Beautiful day, Happy, positive Smiling Sun
U+2B50 White Medium Star Rating, positive, success, fame, excellence Gold Star, Star
🌟 U+1F31F Glowing Star Glowing, success Shining Star
🌈 U+1F308 Rainbow Full of colors, happy Gay Pride
U+2728 Sparkles Happiness, love, gratitude, positivity Glitter
❄️ U+2744 Snowflake Snow, cold Snowing
🔥 U+1F525 Fire Energy, enthusiasm, passion, hot, new Flame
U+26A1 High Voltage Sign Electricity, danger, high voltage, lightning, energy Thunderbolt
💐 U+1F490 Bouquet Celebration, congratulations, appreciation Colored Flowers
🌸 U+1F338 Cherry Blossom Special occasion, love, beauty Sakura
🌹 U+1F339 Rose Romance, love, greeting Red Rose
🌺 U+1F33A Hibiscus Happiness, beauty, love
🌻 U+1F33B Sunflower Summer, natural beauty, good mood, positivity Yellow Flower
🌷 U+1F337 Tulip Spring, happiness, appreciation Pink Flower
🍁 U+1F341 Maple Leaf Autumn, Canada Maple
💩 U+1F4A9 Pile of Poo Dirty, stinky, very bad Smiling Poop
🦋 U+1F98B Butterfly Freedom, happiness, beauty
💰 U+1F4B0 Money Bag Money, wealth, rich
🔴 U+1F534 Large Red Circle Recording, stop Red Circle
🍆 U+1F346 Aubergine Often used as a suggestive symbol for male genitalia in modern slang Eggplant
💀 U+1F480 Skull Death, danger, skeleton Grey Skull
🎈 U+1F388 Balloon Party, festive atmosphere, or celebration Red Balloon
💡 U+1F4A1 Electric Light Bulb Idea, creativity, innovation, brainstorming Light Bulb
🏆 U+1F3C6 Trophy Winning or achieving something Winners Trophy
🍿 U+1F37F Popcorn Watching movies or going to the cinema Popping Corn
🍾 U+1F37E Bottle with Popping Cork Social events, parties, or simply enjoying a drink Champagne
🎨 U+1F3A8 Artist Palette Painting, drawing, or any other form of artistic expression Painting
🎆 U+1F386 Fireworks Celebrations like New Year’s Eve, Independence Day, or other festive occasions Explosion
🔔 U+1F514 Bell Bells that are often rung at special events or celebrations, such as weddings or church services Ringer
🎤 U+1F3A4 Microphone Live performances, such as concerts or karaoke nights, singing or public speaking Singing
💑 U+1F491 Couple with Heart Couple in love Loving Couple

Emojis Explained with Their Meaning (PDF)

In case you want to keep the above list of emojis with their meanings for future reference, you can download the following PDF file.

List of Emojis with Meaning.pdf

While emojis have made communication more fun and expressive, it’s important to understand their intended meanings to avoid misunderstandings. It’s also worth noting that the interpretation of emojis may vary depending on cultural and regional differences. Now that you understand the meaning of the above most used emojis and their meaning, you can use them more accurately.

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