What Are Emojis?
Emojis are visual symbols used in digital communication to express emotions, ideas, and concepts without words. Believe it or not, these little "symbols" have been around for decades - emojis were originally developed in Japan in the late 1990s.
Now, emojis have evolved from simple emoticons into a rich visual language used globally. These colorful icons can be used to represent just about every facial expression you can think of: everything from sad to happy to puzzled has an emoji for it. It's not just facial expressions and gestures, there are also emojis for objects, animals, food, flags, and activities. Today's Unicode standard includes over 3,600 emojis that work consistently across all devices and platforms.
Unlike text-based emoticons like :-) or ^_^, emojis are standardized pictographs that display as actual images. You can use these expressive symbols on Instagram, X (Twitter), Facebook, WhatsApp, and virtually any modern communication platform.
Why Do We Use Emojis?
There are many reasons to use emojis but the main one is to convey tone or emotion that might be lost in plain text. A carefully placed smiley face (or two) will make your messages feel more personal and friendly.
In fact, a single emoji can replace entire sentences. Why spend time typing out "yes, I agree", when you can just send a quick thumbs-up emoji? If you need something fast and quick when communicating with someone, emojis are your go-to.
Emojis are an excellent way to overcome language barriers, as they allow people from different cultures to understand each other better. Not everyone can say hello or yes/no in a foreign language, but most people can understand facial expressions.
Emojis can also prevent conflict. It goes without saying, text messages can be easily misinterpreted. Emojis add that crucial sprinkle of warmth and personality to messages that might otherwise seem cold or formal, and reduce misunderstandings in text-based conversations.
How Many Emojis Are There?
There are 3,790 emojis across numerous categories in Unicode 16.0 which was introduced in 2024. But new emojis are constantly being added. From facial expressions showing every emotion to animals, plants, and everyday objects, there's an emoji for virtually any situation.
- Emotions: ๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ค ๐คฏ ๐ฅณ ๐ ๐ฅบ ๐ญ
- Hand gestures: ๐ ๐ ๐ค โ๏ธ ๐ค ๐ ๐ช ๐
- Animals: ๐ถ ๐ฑ ๐ป ๐จ ๐ฆ ๐ข ๐ฆ ๐
- Plants and weather: ๐ธ ๐ณ ๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ง๏ธ โ๏ธ โ๏ธ
- Food and drink: ๐ ๐ฃ ๐ ๐ โ ๐บ ๐ ๐ฟ
- Sports and hobbies: โฝ ๐ ๐ ๐โโ๏ธ ๐ดโโ๏ธ ๐ ๐ฎ ๐จ
- Travel and transport: ๐ โ๏ธ ๐ ๐ฒ ๐ โต ๐บ๏ธ ๐๏ธ
- Objects and symbols: โค๏ธ โ๏ธ โจ ๐ ๐ก ๐ ๐ ๐ฑ
- Countries: ๐บ๐ธ ๐ฌ๐ง ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ซ๐ท ๐ฉ๐ช ๐ง๐ท
How to Use Emojis
Using emojis is simple and intuitive. On most devices, depending on the operating system, you can access an emoji keyboard or picker that lets you browse and select emojis by category. Simply click or tap the emoji you want, and it will be inserted into your text. On this page, you can click any emoji to copy it to your clipboard, then paste it anywhere you need.
Tips for using emojis
- Use emojis to clarify tone in professional messages, but do not overdo it
- Different platforms may display the same emoji slightly differently
- Consider cultural differences when using emojis internationally
- Combine emojis to create visual stories or enhance your social media captions
- Use emoji reactions to quickly respond without typing
Where Can I Paste Emojis?
Anywhere you like! The most popular place would be in chats to friends on Messenger or WhatsApp. Adding smileys will give your message a more personal tone, especially if you go the extra step to pick emojis with matching skin tones. The emojis work on both Windows and Mac, as well as desktop and mobile devices (both iOS and Android).
You can also use emojis on websites like Facebook and Instagram. Of course, you probably want the latest and new emojis for such social media apps, so be sure to check the emojis from time to time - they are constantly updating. While you are adding emojis to your social media posts, think about using fancy fonts to jazz up your text.