EmojiSmileys and emotion emoji
Faces, hearts and feelings: the emoji people use most.
These are the faces and hearts that carry most of our feelings in text. A face emoji is a stand-in for the tone of voice and the expression we lose when we type, which is why one small picture can turn a plain sentence into a joke, a thank-you or a worry.
Meaning depends on who sends it and who reads it. The same face can mean different things to a teenager and to a grandparent, and apps draw each emoji a little differently. Use the names below as a guide, read the sentence around the emoji and, when the message matters, say the feeling in words as well.
Face smiling
Smiling and laughing faces, from a polite smile to tears of laughter.
Face affection
Faces with hearts or kisses, used to show love, thanks and warmth.
Face tongue
Playful faces with the tongue out, for jokes and teasing.
Face hand
Faces with a hand: a hug, a whisper, a hand over the mouth.
Face neutral skeptical
Straight, unsure and doubtful faces.
Face sleepy
Tired, sleeping and yawning faces.
Face unwell
Faces for being ill, sick or hot and cold.
Face hat
Faces with a party hat, cowboy hat or other hats.
Face glasses
Faces with sunglasses or a nerdy look.
Face concerned
Worried, sad, surprised and scared faces.
Face negative
Angry and annoyed faces.
Face costume
Costume faces: clowns, ghosts, aliens and masks.
Cat face
Cat faces with different expressions.
Monkey face
The three monkeys: see, hear, speak no evil.
Heart
Hearts in many colours, and other heart shapes.
Emotion
Symbols for feelings: a hundred points, anger, sparkles, dizziness and bubbles.
Using these emoji
Tap an emoji to copy it, then paste it where you want it. Names come from Unicode and are what a screen reader says aloud. Read emoji and accessibility for how to keep messages easy to hear, and how to type emoji if you want to use your keyboard instead.
Questions people ask
How do I copy an emoji?
Tap or click the emoji. It is copied, and you can paste it into any app.
Why does an emoji look different on my friend's phone?
Each company draws its own pictures for the same emoji. The meaning stays the same, the style differs.