An emoji is a picture symbol, word symbol, or smiley face used in messages and web pages. Emojis help show feelings in typed messages and can replace words in a system that uses symbols.

The first emojis were created by Japanese companies that make electronic devices in the late 1980s and 1990s. The word "emoji" comes from the Japanese words "e" (meaning "picture") and "moji" (meaning "character"). It originally meant "picture symbol." The word "emoji" looks similar to the English words "emotion" and "emoticon," but this is a coincidence.

Emojis became more popular worldwide in the 2010s after a group called Unicode added them to a standard list of characters. Today, emojis are an important part of culture around the world. In 2015, Oxford Dictionaries chose the emoji U+1F602 😂 FACE WITH TEARS OF JOY as its word of the year.

History

The emoji was introduced after the emoticon, a concept created in 1982 by computer scientist Scott Fahlman. He suggested using simple text symbols like 🙂 and 🙁 to express emotions instead of words. Ideas about using symbols to replace language can be found as early as the 1960s, when Russian writer Vladimir Nabokov mentioned in an interview with The New York Times that a special symbol for a smile might be useful. Emoticons did not become widely used until the 1990s, when companies in Japan, America, and Europe began developing Fahlman’s idea. Mary Kalantzis and Bill Cope noted that Bruce Parello, a student at the University of Illinois, included similar symbols in PLATO IV, the first e-learning system, in 1972. However, PLATO IV was not widely used, so Parello’s symbols were only seen by a small number of people. Fahlman’s emoticons were important because they used common letters and aimed to replace text with symbols to show feelings, making them the true beginning of emoticons.

The IBM PC included two simple smiling faces in its Code page 437 character set as early as 1981. Microsoft’s Wingdings font, released in 1990, allowed users to send pictographs in messages, but only if the recipient had the Wingdings font installed. In 1995, the French newspaper Le Monde reported that Alcatel would launch a new phone, the BC 600, with a digital smiley face on its welcome screen instead of text.

The first emoji sets—collections of symbols used in modern emoji—have been debated because of unclear definitions and poor early records. It was once believed that DoCoMo introduced the first emoji set in 1999, but an Emojipedia article in 2019 revealed that SoftBank had created a set in 1997. More recently, in 2024, earlier emoji sets were found on devices made by Sharp Corporation and NEC in the 1990s. The earliest known emoji set, from the 1988 Sharp PA-8500, includes symbols similar to those used on modern emoji keyboards.

SoftBank’s 1997 set was used on the J-Phone model SkyWalker DP-211SW. This device had 90 emoji, each 12 by 12 pixels and black and white. They showed numbers, sports, time, moon phases, and weather, including the Pile of Poo emoji. However, the J-Phone sold few units, so the emoji set was rarely used.

The more famous DoCoMo emoji set was created in 1999 by Shigetaka Kurita for NTT DoCoMo’s i-mode service. These symbols were meant to help people communicate electronically and to make the service stand out. Kurita got ideas from Japanese manga, Chinese characters, and street signs. His set included facial expressions inspired by Japanese art, along with other symbols. Kurita’s work is now displayed at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

Kurita’s 176 emoji were bright, with one color per symbol. Many general-use emoji, like those for sports and weather, can be traced back to his set. However, the yellow-faced emoji used today came from other emoticon sets, not Kurita’s. In the 1990s, Nokia phones also included preset pictograms in their text messaging apps, which they called “smileys and symbols.” Another notable set was created by Japanese mobile phone brand au by KDDI.

The basic 12-by-12-pixel emoji in Japan became popular on many platforms over the next decade. While Japan widely used emoji during this time, companies did not work together to create a single set of emoji for all platforms.

The Universal Coded Character Set (Unicode), managed by the Unicode Consortium and ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 2, had been the international standard for text since 1993. Unicode included some symbols that later became emoji, such as those from DOS code page 437 or the WordPerfect Iconic Symbols set. Unicode added new characters in the 2000s, but Japanese cellular emoji sets were not included at first. For example, Unicode 4.0 added 16 emoji, like arrows and a warning triangle. Fonts like Wingdings and Webdings also included pictograms, but they were not part of Unicode until 2014.

In 1999, Nicolas Loufrani asked the US Copyright Office to register 471 smileys he created. He later made The Smiley Dictionary, which grouped and shared these symbols. The platform allowed users to insert smileys into emails and documents. By 2003, the dictionary had 887 smileys and 640 ASCII emotions.

The smiley toolbar, which included symbols and smileys, was used on platforms like MSN Messenger. In 2001, Nokia still called today’s emoji sets “smileys.” Nicolas Loufrani, CEO of The Smiley Company, led the digital smiley movement. His toolbar, available at smileydictionary.com, became popular on forums and messaging apps by the early 2000s. Platforms like MSN Messenger allowed users to add emoticons to messages starting in 2001. These emoticons later became modern emoji. MSN Messenger and BlackBerry launched their own emoji sets in late 2003 after noticing the popularity of these unofficial sets.

The first American company to notice emoji was Google, starting in 2007. A team led by Mark Davis and others asked the Unicode Technical Committee (UTC) to standardize emoji. The UTC had previously said emoji were outside Unicode’s scope, but it changed its mind to support Japanese formats. Apple joined the effort, and in January 2009, they proposed 625 new emoji characters. Unicode accepted the proposal in 2010.

Before emoji had official Unicode codes, Google and Apple used Private Use Area schemes to support emoji. Google added emoji to Gmail in October 2008, working with au by KDDI. Apple introduced Apple Color Emoji to iPhone OS on November 21, 2008. At first, Apple’s emoji support was only available to users with a SoftBank SIM card, and the symbols used SoftBank’s Private Use Area scheme, resembling SoftBank’s designs. Gmail emoji also

Linguistic function of emoji

Emojis are used to show feelings and are often used in positive messages. Some researchers think emojis can help with visual communication. Emojis help set the emotional tone of a message. They usually do not have their own meaning but act as non-verbal cues, adding meaning to text. Emojis can make text clearer and more trustworthy.

In terms of social language, how people use emojis depends on who is speaking and where they are. Women tend to use more emojis than men. Men often use a wider variety of emojis. Women are more likely to use emojis in public messages than in private ones. People who are more outgoing or friendly tend to use more emojis. Those who are more anxious or nervous may use fewer emojis. Emoji use also varies by culture. Studies based on Hofstede's cultural dimensions found that cultures with high power distance and high tolerance for indulgence use more negative emojis, while cultures with high uncertainty avoidance, individualism, and long-term goals use more positive emojis. A study across six countries showed that using emojis, especially smiley faces, can help reduce challenges in translating and using short cross-cultural surveys.

Because emojis act as non-verbal cues, they create unique patterns in pairs, groups of three, and groups of four emojis. A study by Gretchen McCulloch and Lauren Gawne found that the most common pairs, groups of three, and groups of four emojis are those that repeat the same emoji. Unlike in languages such as English, where repeating words is rare, emojis are often repeated one after another. For example, a common pair of emojis is two crying laughing emojis. Repeating emojis does not mean the same thing as repeating words. One crying laughing emoji shows something is funny, two show it is very funny, three show it is extremely funny, and so on.

Emoji communication problems

Research has shown that emojis are often misunderstood. In some cases, this happens because the viewer sees the emoji differently than the person who sent it. In other cases, the emoji may look different on the receiver’s device because of differences in software or operating systems.

One reason for misunderstanding is how people from different cultures or backgrounds interpret emojis. When someone chooses an emoji, they may have a specific meaning in mind, but the receiver might think of something else. For example, in China, a smiley face emoji can sometimes be used to show mockery or disrespect. This is because the eyes in the emoji do not show emotion, and the mouth is tight, which is seen as hiding a smile.

Another reason is how emojis are encoded. When a message is sent, the emoji is converted into a code. If the sender and receiver use different software or devices, the code might be displayed differently. For example, in April 2020, British actress Jameela Jamil used an emoji on her iPhone that looked neutral and pensive. However, on other platforms, the same emoji appeared as someone giggling. Some people thought she was mocking others, but this was not her intention.

Researchers at the German Studies Institute at Ruhr-Universität Bochum found that people understand emojis more quickly when they replace a word directly, such as using a rose icon instead of the word "rose." However, it takes about 50% longer for people to understand an emoji when it is used in a more abstract way.

Emoji designs can vary slightly between platforms, even though they follow the same rules from Unicode, a standard that defines emoji meanings. For example, Apple’s calendar emoji always shows July 17, the date Apple announced its iCal calendar in 2002. This date became known as "World Emoji Day" among Apple users. Other platforms may show different dates or none at all.

Some Apple emojis are similar to those used by SoftBank, a Japanese network, because SoftBank was the first in Japan to launch the iPhone. For example, the dancer emoji is female on Apple and SoftBank devices but may be male or gender-neutral on other platforms.

Journalists have noted that emojis can take on different meanings in different cultures. For example, the nail polish emoji is sometimes used in English-speaking communities to show confidence or accomplishment. Unicode guidelines sometimes note these additional meanings to help designers create consistent emoji designs.

Some emojis have caused controversy because of how they are used. For example, emojis like the pistol, knife, and bomb have been used in ways that authorities believe are threats, leading to arrests and imprisonments.

Before the 2016 Summer Olympics, the Unicode Consortium considered adding Olympic-related emojis, such as medals and events like handball and water polo. However, Apple and Microsoft opposed some of these additions, so they were added without colorful designs. The final version of the modern pentathlon emoji shows a person on a horse and a laser target, not the original five events.

In 2016, Apple changed the pistol emoji from a realistic revolver to a water gun. Microsoft later changed its pistol emoji from a toy raygun to a real revolver. These changes caused confusion because the same emoji could look different on different platforms. Emojipedia criticized Apple’s change, saying it might lead to misunderstandings between users.

The eggplant emoji has been used to represent a penis, leading to the hashtag #EggplantFridays on Instagram. This trend became so popular that Instagram blocked searches for the hashtag and others related to the eggplant.

The peach emoji has been used as a slang reference for buttocks. In 2016, Apple tried to redesign the emoji to look less like a buttock, but this change was not well received and was reversed before it was released.

In December 2017, a lawyer in Delhi, India, threatened to sue WhatsApp for allowing the middle finger emoji, claiming it violates Indian laws against offensive gestures.

Emoji implementation

Different mobile providers in Japan created various character encoding schemes for their own emoji sets. These schemes often did not work together. For example, SoftBank used the code F797 for a convenience store emoji, while KDDI used the same code for a wristwatch emoji. All three main providers also created schemes to encode their emoji in the Unicode Private Use Area. DoCoMo, for instance, used the range U+E63E through U+E757. Older versions of iOS before 5.1 used the SoftBank private use area to encode emoji.

Most, but not all, emoji are included in the Supplementary Multilingual Plane (SMP) of Unicode. This same area is also used for ancient scripts, some modern scripts like Adlam or Osage, and special-use characters such as Mathematical Alphanumeric Symbols. Some systems developed before Unicode emoji were only designed to support characters in the Basic Multilingual Plane (BMP), assuming non-BMP characters would rarely be used. However, failing to handle non-BMP characters correctly prevents systems from being fully Unicode compliant.

The introduction of Unicode emoji encouraged vendors to improve their support for non-BMP characters. The Unicode Consortium notes that "because of the demand for emoji, many implementations have upgraded their Unicode support substantially," which also helps support minority languages that use these features.

Any operating system that allows adding extra fonts can include an emoji-supporting font. However, showing colorful emoji in existing font formats requires special support for color glyphs. Not all operating systems support color fonts, so emoji might appear as black-and-white line art or not at all. Four different formats are used for multi-color glyphs in SFNT fonts, but not all are supported by every operating system or software like web browsers or graphics programs.

Apple added emoji to their desktop operating system when they released OS X 10.7 Lion in 2011. Users can view emoji sent through email or messaging apps, which are often used by mobile users, as well as in other applications. Users can create emoji symbols using the "Characters" special input panel by selecting the "Edit" menu and choosing "Special Characters," or by pressing the key combination ⌘ Command + ⌥ Option + T. The emoji keyboard was first available in Japan with the release of iPhone OS version 2.2 in 2008. It was not officially available outside Japan until iOS version 5.0. From iPhone OS 2.2 through iOS 4.3.5 (2011), users outside Japan could access the keyboard only with third-party apps. Apple has reported that the U+1F602 😂 FACE WITH TEARS OF JOY is the most popular emoji among English-speaking Americans. The red heart emoji is next, followed by U+1F62D 😭 LOUDLY CRYING FACE.

An update for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 added some monochrome Unicode emoji to these systems through the Segoe UI Symbol font. Starting with Windows 8 Preview, the Segoe UI Emoji font was included, which provides full-color pictographs. The plain Segoe UI font does not include emoji characters, while Segoe UI Symbol and Segoe UI Emoji do. Emoji can be accessed through the onscreen keyboard's 😀 key. The emoji panel shortcut ⊞ Win + . was added in Windows 10 version 1803.

In 2016, Firefox 50 added the ability to display emoji in web browsers that did not support them natively.

Facebook and Twitter replace all Unicode emoji on their websites with their own custom graphics. Before October 2017, Facebook used different emoji sets for its main site and Messenger service, with only the main site offering full coverage. Now, Messenger uses Apple emoji on iOS, and the main Facebook site uses its own set elsewhere. Facebook reactions are only partially compatible with standard emoji.

Modifiers

Unicode uses special codes called variation sequences to show how some emoji should look. These codes are described in Unicode Technical Report #51: Unicode Emoji.

To choose how an emoji appears, the base emoji is followed by either U+FE0E VARIATION SELECTOR-15 (VS15) for text or U+FE0F VARIATION SELECTOR-16 (VS16) for emoji-style. As of Unicode version 17.0 (2025), variation sequences are defined for 371 characters. However, the Unicode Technical Committee later decided that combining colorful emoji with text symbols and dingbats was not ideal. Instead, they chose to create new characters rather than add more variation sequences.

Unicode 8.0 added five symbol modifier characters (U+1F3FB–U+1F3FF) to show different skin tones for human emoji. These modifiers are based on the Fitzpatrick scale, which classifies human skin tones. Human emoji without these modifiers should display in a generic, non-realistic skin tone, such as bright yellow ( ■ ), blue ( ■ ), or gray ( ■ ). Human emoji followed directly by these modifiers should display the specific skin tone shown in the table for U+1F9D1 🧑 ADULT.

Non-human emoji, like U+26FD ⛽ FUEL PUMP, are not affected by Fitzpatrick modifiers. As of Unicode version 17.0, Fitzpatrick modifiers can be used with 133 human emoji across seven blocks: Dingbats, Emoticons, Miscellaneous Symbols, Miscellaneous Symbols and Pictographs, Supplemental Symbols and Pictographs, Symbols and Pictographs Extended-A, and Transport and Map Symbols.

Some systems use a zero-width joiner (ZWJ) between emoji to make them act like a single character. For example, the sequence U+1F468 👨 MAN, U+200D ZERO WIDTH JOINER, U+1F469 👩 WOMAN, U+200D ZERO WIDTH JOINER, U+1F467 👧 GIRL (👨‍👩‍👧) may display as a family with a man, a woman, and a girl if the system supports it. Systems that do not support ZWJ will show the three base emoji separately (👨👩👧).

Unicode once listed emoji ZWJ sequences supported by at least one common platform. Now, Unicode recommends general interchange (RGI) sequences that emoji fonts should include as standard.

ZWJ has also been used to create platform-specific emoji. For example, in 2016, Microsoft used the sequence U+1F431 🐱 CAT FACE, U+200D ZERO WIDTH JOINER, U+1F464 👤 BUST IN SILHOUETTE to create the Ninja Cat (🐱‍👤) for Windows 10. This emoji and its variations were removed in 2021 during the Fluent emoji redesign.

In Unicode

Unicode 17.0 lists 3,953 emoji. These use 1,438 characters in 24 blocks. Among these, 26 are Regional indicator symbols that pair together to form flag emoji. Twelve symbols (#, *, and 0–9) are used as base characters for keycap emoji sequences.

• In the Dingbats block, 33 code points are considered emoji.
• All code points in the Emoticons block are considered emoji.
• In the Miscellaneous Symbols block, 83 code points are considered emoji.
• In the Miscellaneous Symbols and Pictographs block, 637 code points are considered emoji.
• In the Supplemental Symbols and Pictographs block, 242 code points are considered emoji.
• All code points in the Symbols and Pictographs Extended-A block are considered emoji.
• In the Transport and Map Symbols block, 106 code points are considered emoji.

Additional emoji can be found in the following Unicode blocks: Arrows (8 code points), Basic Latin (12), CJK Symbols and Punctuation (2), Enclosed Alphanumeric Supplement (41), Enclosed Alphanumerics (1), Enclosed CJK Letters and Months (2), Enclosed Ideographic Supplement (15), General Punctuation (2), Geometric Shapes (8), Geometric Shapes Extended (13), Latin-1 Supplement (2), Letterlike Symbols (2), Mahjong Tiles (1), Miscellaneous Symbols and Arrows (7), Miscellaneous Technical (18), Playing Cards (1), and Supplemental Arrows-B (2).

In popular culture

• The 2009 movie Moon included a robot named GERTY that spoke using a calm computer voice and showed emoji on a screen to express feelings.
• In 2014, the Library of Congress acquired an emoji version of Herman Melville’s Moby Dick, created by Fred Benenson.
• A musical called Emojiland first performed at Rockwell Table & Stage in Los Angeles in May 2016, after some songs were shown at the same venue in 2015.
• In October 2016, the Museum of Modern Art acquired the original set of emoji created by NTT DoCoMo in 1999.
• In November 2016, the first emoji-themed event, called Emojicon, took place in San Francisco.
• In March 2017, the first episode of the fifth season of Samurai Jack included alien characters that communicated using emoji.
• In April 2017, the Doctor Who episode "Smile" introduced nanobots named Vardy that used robotic avatars to display emoji (without speaking) and were sometimes called "Emojibots" by time travelers.
• On July 28, 2017, Sony Pictures Animation released The Emoji Movie, an animated film featuring voices from Patrick Stewart, Christina Aguilera, Sofía Vergara, Anna Faris, T. J. Miller, and other well-known actors and comedians. The movie received very negative reviews and is often considered one of the worst animated films.
• On September 3, 2021, Drake released his sixth studio album, Certified Lover Boy. The album cover showed twelve emoji of pregnant women with different clothing, hair, and skin colors.