Every classic keyboard emoticon with what it means — smileys :), laughs XD, winks ;), hearts <3, and more emoticon faces for texting. Tap Copy to paste anywhere, or learn how to type each one with your own keyboard.
130 items in 8 groups — tap Copy on any one.
Smiley face emoticons
The original sideways smileys. Read them by tilting your head to the left: the colon is the eyes and the bracket is the mouth.
Emoticon
Meaning
Copy
:)
Classic smile — friendly, happy, or 'just kidding'
:-)
Smile with a nose — the 1982 original form
=)
Soft smile with wider eyes
:]
Square smile — a calmer, polite grin
:}
Wobbly smile — shy or slightly awkward
(:
Upside-down smile, read right to left
:-]
Polite smile with a nose
c:
Big cheerful grin
C:
Very wide, beaming grin
:3
Cute cat-mouth smile
=3
Cute smile with wide eyes
:>
Smug, pleased little smile
^^
Eastern-style happy closed eyes
^_^
Happy face with closed, smiling eyes
^.^
Small happy face
^-^
Content, relaxed happy face
n_n
Happy squint
(^_^)
Happy face in brackets
Laughing emoticons
Capital letters do the heavy lifting here: D is an open laughing mouth and X is a pair of squeezed-shut eyes.
Emoticon
Meaning
Copy
:D
Big open-mouth grin or laugh
:-D
Laughing with a nose
=D
Wide-eyed laugh
XD
Laughing so hard the eyes squeeze shut
xD
Lighter version of XD
X-D
XD with a nose
8D
Laughing with wide or glasses eyes
:'D
Laughing so hard you cry
^o^
Cheerful laugh with closed eyes
^O^
Loud happy laugh
(^▽^)
Bright eastern laugh
lol :D
Laughing out loud with a grin
Winking and playful emoticons
A semicolon replaces one eye to make a wink. P is a tongue sticking out — teasing, silly, or joking.
Emoticon
Meaning
Copy
;)
Wink — joking, flirting, or sharing a secret
;-)
Wink with a nose
;D
Winking grin
;]
Sly wink
:P
Tongue out — teasing or silly
:p
Lighter tongue out
:-P
Tongue out with a nose
XP
Tongue out with squeezed eyes — 'yuck' or goofy
;P
Winking tongue out
=P
Wide-eyed tongue out
:b
Tongue out to the side
^_~
Eastern wink
^_-
Eastern wink, other eye
Sad and crying emoticons
Turn the mouth around and the mood flips. An apostrophe before the bracket is a tear running down the cheek.
Emoticon
Meaning
Copy
:(
Sad or disappointed
:-(
Sad with a nose
=(
Sad with wide eyes
:[
Glum, upset frown
:'(
Crying — a tear on the cheek
:,(
Crying, tear variant
D:
Horrified or dismayed (read right to left)
D':
Crying in horror
:c
Pouty, very sad face
:C
Deeply sad frown
):
Sad face, read right to left
T_T
Streaming tears (eastern)
T.T
Small crying face
;_;
Teary, about to cry
QQ
Crying eyes — gamer slang
v_v
Downcast, sorry, or ashamed
u_u
Disappointed with eyes closed
</3
Broken heart
Angry and annoyed emoticons
Angry emoticons add eyebrows with > or show a flat, unimpressed mouth with | or /.
Emoticon
Meaning
Copy
>:(
Angry frown with furrowed brows
>:-(
Angry with a nose
>:[
Mad and stern
>_<
Frustrated, squeezed eyes
>.<
Annoyed or embarrassed wince
-_-
Unimpressed, annoyed, or tired
-.-
Mildly annoyed
¬_¬
Side-eye, suspicious
:/
Skeptical, unsure, or let down
:-/
Skeptical with a nose
:\
Uneasy, other direction
:|
Straight face — no reaction
:-|
Deadpan with a nose
>:)
Evil grin — mischief
ಠ_ಠ
Look of disapproval
Surprised and shocked emoticons
Round letters become open mouths and wide eyes.
Emoticon
Meaning
Copy
:O
Shocked, open mouth
:o
Mildly surprised
:-O
Surprised with a nose
=O
Wide-eyed shock
8O
Huge eyes, stunned
O_O
Staring in disbelief
o_O
Confused double take
O.o
Puzzled, one eye wider
0_0
Blank stare of shock
°o°
Amazed
:-0
Gasping
Love and affection emoticons
The <3 heart is the most famous keyboard symbol of all — tilt it sideways to see the shape.
Emoticon
Meaning
Copy
<3
Heart — love or appreciation
<33
Extra love
<333
Lots of love
:*
Kiss
:-*
Kiss with a nose
;*
Winking kiss
=*
Wide-eyed kiss
xoxo
Hugs and kisses
:-3
Cute, affectionate
^3^
Blowing a kiss (eastern)
(づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づ
Hug (kaomoji style)
{}
Hug — arms around someone
(( ))
Big hug
Cool, silly, and character emoticons
Beyond faces: glasses, hats, people, and gestures built from plain keyboard keys.
Emoticon
Meaning
Copy
B)
Cool — wearing sunglasses
B-)
Cool with a nose
8)
Wearing glasses
8-)
Nerdy glasses
O:)
Angel — innocent
0:-)
Angel with a halo
}:)
Little devil
:-X
Lips sealed — keeping a secret
:X
Can't say anything
:-#
Braces, or 'my lips are sealed'
:$
Embarrassed, blushing
%)
Dizzy or confused
@_@
Dizzy, overwhelmed
*_*
Starstruck
$_$
Thinking about money
=^.^=
Cat face
<:3 )~
Mouse
<*)))-{
Fish
@>-->--
Rose
\o/
Cheering with both arms up
o/
Waving hello
\o
Waving, other hand
*\0/*
Cheerleader
<(^_^)>
Arms out, happy
~(^_^)~
Dancing
(>'-')>
Kirby dance
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Shrug — 'I don't know' or 'whatever'
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Lenny face — sly or suggestive
(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻
Table flip — rage
┬─┬ノ( º _ ºノ)
Putting the table back — calm down
How to use them
Find the feeling in the groups below — smile, laugh, wink, sad, angry, surprised, love, or characters.
Read the meaning column so the emoticon fits your tone, then tap Copy.
Or type it yourself: almost every emoticon on this page uses keys on a standard US keyboard, apart from a few Unicode extras at the end.
About emoticons
An emoticon (emotion + icon) is a face made from ordinary keyboard characters, such as :) for a smile. Western emoticons are read sideways — tilt your head left — while Japanese-style kaomoji like (^_^) are read upright.
Computer scientist Scott Fahlman proposed :-) and :-( on a Carnegie Mellon University message board on September 19, 1982, to mark jokes and serious posts. The nose later became optional, giving the shorter :) that most people type today.
Emoticons vs emoji vs kaomoji: emoticons are typed characters read sideways. Emoji are picture characters (😀) drawn differently by Apple, Google, and Microsoft. Kaomoji are upright Japanese text faces such as (◕‿◕). Many apps auto-convert :) into 😊 — if you want the text version to stay, paste it, or add a space after it.
Reading the parts: the colon is two eyes, a semicolon is a wink, an equals sign is wide eyes, 8 or B is glasses, and > above the eyes adds angry brows. The mouth sets the mood — ) is happy, ( is sad, D is laughing, P is a tongue, O is surprise, and | is no reaction. An apostrophe is a tear or sweat drop.
When to use them: emoticons feel casual and a bit retro. A single :) softens a short work message without the playfulness of an emoji, while XD and :P belong in friendly chats.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between an emoticon and an emoji?+
An emoticon is typed from keyboard characters, like :). An emoji is a single picture character, like 😀, that looks different on each platform.
Who invented the emoticon?+
Scott Fahlman of Carnegie Mellon University suggested :-) and :-( in 1982 to mark jokes in online posts.
What does XD mean?+
XD is a laughing face with eyes squeezed shut. It means something is very funny.
What does <3 mean?+
<3 is a sideways heart. It means love, thanks, or appreciation. </3 is a broken heart.
How do I stop my phone turning :) into an emoji?+
Many apps auto-replace emoticons. Turn off emoji replacement in the app or keyboard settings, or paste the emoticon instead of typing it.
Are kaomoji emoticons too?+
Yes — kaomoji are Japanese-style emoticons read upright, like (^_^). Browse thousands of them on our kaomoji pages.