Kaomoji Japanese Text Faces

How to type kaomoji on any device

Windows 10 & 11

Press Win + . (period) or Win + ; to open the emoji panel, then click the ;-) kaomoji tab. It holds a short built-in list — copy from this site for the full library.

Mac

Press Control + Command + Space for the character viewer, or save your favorite face in System Settings › Keyboard › Text Replacements so a short word like 'shrug' expands to ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.

iPhone & iPad

Copy a face here and long-press to paste. To reuse it, add a Text Replacement in Settings › General › Keyboard. Adding the Japanese Kana keyboard also gives you a ^_^ kaomoji list.

Android

Copy a face and long-press Paste. In Gboard, open the emoji key and tap the :-) tab for emoticons, or save faces to the clipboard or personal dictionary for one-tap reuse.

Step-by-step: how to type kaomoji on iPhone, Android, Windows, and Mac

What is kaomoji?

Kaomoji are Japanese-style text faces made from punctuation, symbols, and letters so feeling shows up in plain text. They travel as normal characters, so they work in chats and comments where picture stickers sometimes fail or look inconsistent.

Paste Kaomoji groups them by mood and format so you can find a face fast, copy it in one tap, and drop it into Discord, WhatsApp, Slack, SMS, or a comment. Because they are editable text, you can type around them or tweak a character when you want a custom twist.

Most kaomoji are built from punctuation and Unicode symbols rather than a single picture glyph. Eyes usually carry the mood; arms, cheeks, and sweat marks add motion or tone. The result is a face that travels as editable text — you can type around it, tweak a character, or drop it into any field that accepts typing.

Faces are sorted by mood so you can go straight to the feeling you want instead of scrolling through thousands of random faces. Multiline faces need a font and chat field that preserve line breaks, or the stack can collapse into one messy row.

How to read a kaomoji: look at the eyes first. Wide circles (°o°) signal shock; happy crescents (＾▽＾) signal joy; downcast lines (╥﹏╥) signal sadness. Arms formed by characters like \, /, ง, and ε= show whether a figure is waving, fighting, or running. Cheek marks and sweat drops add blush, nerves, or embarrassment. The pattern is consistent enough that a new face reads at a glance once you know the grammar.

Kaomoji vs emoji: emoji are single picture glyphs rendered by a font — they can look completely different on iPhone vs Android vs Windows. Kaomoji are assembled from ordinary punctuation and Unicode letters, so they look the same everywhere text appears. They are also editable: copy one and change a character to shift the mood, something you cannot do with a picture glyph.

Where kaomoji paste cleanly: Discord, WhatsApp, Instagram captions and bios, Twitter/X, TikTok bios, Slack, Telegram, SMS, and most email clients all handle single-line faces without issues. Multiline stacked art, like the drawings on kaomoji art, needs a field that preserves line breaks — notes apps and long bio fields usually work; tight single-line inputs collapse the stack into one messy row.

Kaomoji outside Japan: the format spread beyond Japan through early forum culture and later through Discord and Tumblr, where the expressive range — from a blush to a full table-flip gag — gave them staying power that emoji could not replace. A hand-assembled text face feels intentional in a way a single-tap sticker does not.

Common spellings: kaomoji (顔文字) is the standard romanization. Frequent alternate spellings include kaomojis, kamoji, kaomiji, kaimoji, koamoji, kaoemoji, and kaemoji — all point to the same family of Japanese-style text faces.

Frequently asked questions

• What is a kaomoji?+

  A kaomoji is a text face built from keyboard characters, often read sideways or upright, that shows an emotion or reaction. Classic examples include happy (^_^), sad (T_T), and surprised (⊙_⊙).

• Is it kaomoji or kaomojis?+

  Both spellings are common in English. Kaomoji is the usual singular; kaomojis often means the category or a bunch of faces. They refer to the same text-face family on this site—one library, not separate pages for the plural.

• I searched kamoji, kaomojis, or another spelling—is that the same thing?+

  Yes. All of these are common alternate spellings: kamoji, kaomojis, kaomiji, kaimoji, koamoji, kaoemoji, kaemoji, and kao emoji. They all refer to the same Japanese-style text faces, so however you spelled it, you are in the right place.

• What is the difference between kaomoji and emoji?+

  Emoji are picture characters from a font or OS (like 😀). Kaomoji are assembled from ordinary punctuation and letters. Kaomoji usually look the same across apps; emoji can change style by phone or platform.

• How do I copy and paste kaomoji?+

  Open a face on this site, tap Copy, then paste with your keyboard shortcut or long-press Paste in the app. On phones, leave the page open or keep the face in your clipboard until you switch to the chat.

• What do Japanese emoticons mean?+

  Most Japanese text faces map to a mood: eyes and mouth show joy, tears, anger, love, or shyness. Context matters. The same shape can read playful in a meme chat and sharp in a serious thread.

• Are text faces the same as kaomoji?+

  “Text faces” is the broad English label for any face made of characters. Kaomoji usually means the Japanese-rooted style (often with fuller eyes, cheeks, or arms). Many people use the words interchangeably when browsing copy-paste lists.

• Any tips for pasting kaomoji on mobile?+

  Copy from the site, switch to your chat app, then long-press the message field and choose Paste. If a multiline face breaks, paste into a note first to confirm every line copied, then send. Avoid apps that strip special Unicode if a face looks empty.

• Where can I find star kaomoji?+

  Open the Star Kaomoji page for ★ and ✦ text faces. For glitter and shine effects, try Sparkle Kaomoji instead. Both pages have one-tap copy.

• What kaomoji should I use for laughing or giggling?+

  Open Giggling Kaomoji for the full spectrum of laugh faces, from quiet giggles (≧▽≦) to burst laughs. Happy Kaomoji has cheers and smiles if you need something less specific.