Some faces have picked up a second meaning online, and it can change with age group and friend group.
Upside down faceSilly, sarcastic, or "I'm fine" when you are not. The tone depends a lot on the person who sends it.
Smirking faceSmug, cheeky or flirty. It often says "I know something you don't".
Smiling face with tearHappy and sad at the same time, or smiling through a small letdown.
Loudly crying faceReal sadness, but just as often laughing hard or being moved by something cute.
SkullShort for "I'm dead", meaning something was so funny you could not take it.
Melting faceSlowly falling apart from shame, stress or heat. A quiet "help".
Face holding back tearsTouched, proud, or in love with something cute. Happy tears more than sad ones.
Face with steam from noseUnicode meant it as pride or winning. Many people read it as anger, so context matters.
Face with rolling eyesAnnoyed or bored. It says "seriously?" without typing it.
Saluting faceRespect, or "yes, I'm on it" when someone gives you a task.
Grimacing faceAwkward, nervous or "yikes". Not a happy grin.
Thinking faceThinking it over, or doubting what someone just said.
Pleading facePuppy eyes. Asking for something, or feeling soft and touched.
Grinning face with sweatNervous relief, like after a close call. "Phew, that was close."
Clown faceSomeone acted foolish. People often use it about themselves.
Shaking faceShocked, rattled or very excited. It looks like the face is vibrating.
Right click or long press any face to see its official name, its code and the year it was added.
Why the same face looks different on each phone
Unicode only gives each emoji a number, a name and a short description. Apple, Google, Microsoft, Samsung and others then draw their own picture. Most of the time the pictures are close. Sometimes they are not, and the same face can feel friendly on one phone and rude on another.
The beaming face ๐ is a well known case. Apple once drew it with clenched teeth, so it looked tense, while others drew a happy grin. A 2016 study at the University of Minnesota found that people often read it in opposite ways.
When a face matters, pick one with a clear meaning, like ๐ or ๐. You can compare each company's design on Emojipedia.
Emoji vs emoticon vs text face
Type
Example
Made of
Copy
Emoticon
:-) ;-) :-(
Normal keyboard characters, read sideways. Some apps turn them into emoji for you.
Text face
ยฏ\_(ใ)_/ยฏ
Letters and symbols from many alphabets, built into a picture. Also called kaomoji.
Emoji
๐
One character with its own number, U+1F642. Your device draws it as a picture.
Emoticons came first. Scott Fahlman suggested :-) for jokes on a message board at Carnegie Mellon University in 1982. Text faces grew popular in Japan, where the face is upright, like (^_^). Emoji came later and needed phones that could draw them. For hundreds of faces made of symbols, see the text faces and the Lenny faces.
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When the faces arrived
Most classic faces, like ๐ and ๐ญ, came with Unicode 6.0 in 2010. The simple ๐ and ๐ only became emoji in 2015. The newest is the cracking face ๐ซซ, added in Emoji 18.0 in 2026.
New face emoji by year
2010
Unicode 6.0, 59 new
Show 45 more
2014
Unicode 7.0, 2 new
2015
Emoji 1.0, 30 new
Show 16 more
2016
Emoji 3.0, 7 new
2017
Emoji 5.0, 9 new
2018
Emoji 11.0, 6 new
2019
Emoji 12.0, 1 new
2020
Emoji 13.0 and Emoji 13.1, 5 new
2021
Emoji 14.0, 7 new
2022
Emoji 15.0, 1 new
2023
Emoji 15.1, 2 new
2024
Emoji 16.0, 1 new
2025
Emoji 17.0, 1 new
2026
Emoji 18.0, 1 new
Click any face to copy it. A dashed box means your device cannot draw that emoji yet. It still copies, but people on older phones may see an empty box.
How to type a face emoji with your keyboard
Every system has a built in emoji panel.
WindowsPress Windows + . (period). Type a word like "laugh" to search, then press Enter.
MacPress Control + Command + Space, or Globe + E on newer keyboards. Type to search.
PhoneTap the smiley key on your keyboard. Most keyboards also have a search box at the top.
The panel only shows the emoji your system knows. Newer ones you can copy from the picker above.
It can mean silly, sarcastic or "I'm fine" when you are not. It is one of the faces whose meaning depends most on who sends it. If you are not sure, read the rest of the message.
What is the difference between ๐ and ๐คฃ?
๐ is the face with tears of joy, from 2010. ๐คฃ is rolling on the floor laughing, from 2016. Both mean you laughed. ๐คฃ feels a bit louder, and some younger users find ๐ dated and use ๐ or ๐ญ instead.
Why is ๐ used for laughing?
It comes from saying "I'm dead" or "I died" when something is very funny. The skull is a short way to say you laughed too hard to go on.
Why are emoji faces yellow?
Unicode does not set a color. Apple, Google and the others chose yellow, following the yellow smiley face that was popular long before emoji. Faces have no skin tones, but people and hands do. See the people emoji.
What is the newest face emoji?
The cracking face ๐ซซ, added in Emoji 18.0 in 2026. Many phones can't show it yet. The timeline above shows which new faces your device can draw.
Is an emoticon the same as an emoji?
No. An emoticon like :-) is made of normal keyboard characters. An emoji like ๐ is a single character that your device draws as a picture. Some apps turn emoticons into emoji as you type.
Why does a face look different on my friend's phone?
Each company draws its own emoji. Your friend sees their phone's design, not yours. If their system is old, a new face may even show as an empty box.
Related tools
โค๏ธSymbolsCopy heart emoji in every color, zodiac signs, warning signs and other symbol emoji.
HappyCopy happy text faces and cute smiley kaomoji like (โโฟโโฟ), (ใฃโโฟโ)ใฃ and \ (โขโกโข) /.
SadCopy sad text faces and kaomoji like (๏ฝกโขฬ๏ธฟโขฬ๏ฝก), ( อกยฐ สฬฏ อกยฐ) and the look of disapproval เฒ _เฒ .
๐AnimalsAnimal emoji sorted into mammals, birds, sea life and bugs.
