Emoji (from Japanese 絵文字, read えもじ) are tiny pictures you can put as a character in text. Their appearance differs slightly between platforms.
The concept and the word both date back to early Japanese mobile phones; “emoji” means “pictogram” in Japanese. Emoji spread worldwide when the iPhone implemented the emoji keyboard, made possible by the Unicode Consortium’s efforts to combine all the world’s text encodings into one.
The word “emoji” is made of two components, 絵 (e) and 文字 (moji), meaning “picture” and “letter” respectively. Therefore, any claims that tie the word to “emoticon” are etymologically wrong.
Emoji are also not to be confused with emotes, which appear on platforms like Twitch or Discord, and do not have Unicode code points; for example, 😂 and 🍆 are emoji, while PogChamp and OmegaLUL are not.
The concept and the word both date back to early Japanese mobile phones; “emoji” means “pictogram” in Japanese. Emoji spread worldwide when the iPhone implemented the emoji keyboard, made possible by the Unicode Consortium’s efforts to combine all the world’s text encodings into one.
The word “emoji” is made of two components, 絵 (e) and 文字 (moji), meaning “picture” and “letter” respectively. Therefore, any claims that tie the word to “emoticon” are etymologically wrong.
Emoji are also not to be confused with emotes, which appear on platforms like Twitch or Discord, and do not have Unicode code points; for example, 😂 and 🍆 are emoji, while PogChamp and OmegaLUL are not.
“I’m so bored. Let’s play connect four
⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪
⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪
⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪
⚪⚪⚪🔵⚪⚪⚪
Use red”
“Android phones have USB-3 ports, headphone jacks, expandable storage, non-store apps, and Google Maps. iPhones can make your face an emoji.”
⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪
⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪
⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪
⚪⚪⚪🔵⚪⚪⚪
Use red”
“Android phones have USB-3 ports, headphone jacks, expandable storage, non-store apps, and Google Maps. iPhones can make your face an emoji.”
by cutesy pastel living doll July 1, 2020
Get the emojimug. by I like penguinssss January 18, 2024
Get the Emoji catmug. A new for of literary genius; a tale or story told through the usage of "emojis" with addition of heart wrenching dialogue.
by koyeza March 27, 2024
Get the emoji storymug. The context of the sandwich
by Ouranchivkn February 16, 2021
Get the The plug emojimug. by hannah6909 February 16, 2022
Get the devil emojimug. by 67tuffunc41tuff October 4, 2025
Get the Emoji cat heatmug. by Skybluehoodie January 2, 2022
Get the Big emoji ballmug.