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.
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:
- Smileys & People 🙃😍
- Animals & Nature 🐶🌴
- Food & Drink 🍕🍹
- Activities ⚽🎸
- Travel & Places ✈️🗽
- Objects 💻🎉
- 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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