Kaomoji (Japanese Emoticons)
Tap any kaomoji to copy it, then paste it into a message, comment or bio.
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Where kaomoji come from
Kaomoji grew up on Japanese computer networks and message boards in the 1980s and 1990s. Western smileys lie on their side :-) while kaomoji stand upright (^_^), so the shape of the eyes and mouth carries the mood.
They borrow characters from everywhere: Japanese katakana (ツ), Greek (ω), Cyrillic, Korean (눈) and box-drawing symbols (┻━┻ is the table in the famous table flip).
Kaomoji by mood
| Mood | Example | Count |
|---|---|---|
| Happy | (◕‿◕) | 15 |
| Love | (♡˙︶˙♡) | 12 |
| Sad | (╥﹏╥) | 12 |
| Angry | (╬ Ò﹏Ó) | 12 |
| Surprised | (⊙_⊙) | 12 |
| Shrug | ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ | 12 |
| Table flip | (╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻ | 9 |
| Lenny face | ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) | 16 |
| Cool | (⌐■_■) | 8 |
| Cat | (=^･ω･^=) | 12 |
| Bear | ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ | 10 |
| Dog | ▼・ᴥ・▼ | 8 |
| Hug | (っ´▽`)っ | 10 |
| Dance | ♪(┌・。・)┌ | 9 |
| Hi and bye | (・ω・)ノ | 9 |
| Sleepy | (－_－) zzZ | 8 |
| Strong | (ง'̀-'́)ง | 8 |
Frequently asked questions
What is a kaomoji?
A kaomoji (顔文字, “face characters”) is a Japanese-style emoticon built from text. Unlike :-), it's read upright, and the eyes do most of the talking: (^_^), (T_T).
Are kaomoji the same as emoji?
No. Emoji are single pictures drawn by each device. Kaomoji are made of ordinary characters, so they look about the same everywhere and can be edited.
Why does a kaomoji look broken?
Some use rare characters or combining marks. If your font doesn't have them, part of the face may show as a box or shift a little.