What each emoji means
The official name and the keywords behind every emoji, searchable, a click to copy.
The catalog
No emoji matches that search.
Smileys & Emotion
Gestures
Hearts
Animals & Nature
Food & Drink
Activities
Travel & Places
Objects
Symbols
Where the names come from
Every name above is the one Unicode files the character under, through the CLDR data that also drives emoji search on your phone. It is a description of the picture rather than a definition of the message: 💀 is filed as "skull", which tells you nothing about the last 5 times you were sent one. The keywords beside it are the other search terms CLDR lists for it.
That gap is the useful part. A name is stable and checkable; a meaning moves, differs by platform and age, and is worth writing down only where the drift is wide enough to cause a misunderstanding.
The ones people read 2 ways
| Emoji | Official name | What it usually means |
|---|---|---|
| 💀 | skull | Laughing so hard it killed you. Almost never about death. |
| 😭 | loudly crying face | Overwhelmed by anything at all, delight included. |
| 🫠 | melting face | Embarrassed, overheated, or quietly giving up. |
| 🙏 | folded hands | Thanks or please. Read as a high five by a stubborn minority. |
| 👀 | eyes | I am watching this, and I have opinions. |
| 🗿 | moai | Deadpan. The reply that refuses to react. |
| 😤 | face with steam from nose | Determined rather than angry, whatever the steam suggests. |
| 🫡 | saluting face | On it. Often with a note of resignation. |
| 🥲 | smiling face with tear | Happy and hurting at once, which is why it beats 🙂. |
| 💅 | nail polish | Unbothered, and making sure you noticed. |
None of these are rules. They are the readings that hold across the platforms Emojery runs on today, which is the only claim worth making about a language nobody governs.
More catalogs
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Emoji by platform
The same character, drawn 4 ways, next to whatever your own device draws.
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Emoji art
109 pictures, scenes, borders and flourishes built from emoji and characters.
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Emoji hashtags
30 hashtag sets by topic, plus the rule about which emoji can be a hashtag.
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Kaomoji catalog
193 Japanese text faces, sorted by mood and 1 click from your clipboard.
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Emoji list
Every emoji Unicode defines, searchable, with a tray for the ones you are collecting.
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Symbols
Arrows, stars, maths, currency, lines and music. Plain characters, 1 click to copy.
Reading about an emoji, and using one
A catalog tells you what an emoji means and copies it for you. Emojery is what turns it into a reaction on the page you found it for, next to everyone else's.