(◕‿◕) Kaomoji — Japanese Text Emoticons
Kaomoji are faces built from ordinary punctuation and Japanese characters. Unlike western emoticons they are read upright, without tilting your head.
Happy
Cheerful and friendly faces.
(◕‿◕) (＾▽＾) (•‿•) (*^▽^*) ＼(^o^)／ (✿◠‿◠) ヽ(´▽`)/ (＾• ω •＾)
Sad & crying
For disappointment and apologies.
(｡•́︿•̀｡) (╥﹏╥) (っ- ‸ - ς) (´；ω；`) ಥ_ಥ (ノ_<。) ( ˃̣̣̥⌓˂̣̣̥ )
Love
Affectionate faces.
(♡°▽°♡) (´｡• ᵕ •｡`) ♡ (◍•ᴗ•◍)❤ (*♡∀♡) ♡(˘▾˘)♡ (⺣◡⺣)♡*
Angry & table flip
For frustration, usually comic.
(╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻ ┻━┻ ︵ヽ(`Д´)ﾉ︵ ┻━┻ (ﾉ`Д´)ﾉ ヽ(ｏ`皿′ｏ)ﾉ (¬_¬) ಠ_ಠ
Shrug & confused
The internet classics.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ (・_・?) (￣ω￣;) (°ロ°) (⊙_⊙) (・・;)
Cute animals
Bears, cats and friends.
ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ (=^･ω･^=) (=^･ｪ･^=) /ᐠ｡ꞈ｡ᐟ\ ʕ ꈍᴥꈍʔ ( ˘ ³˘)♥
About kaomoji
Because they are plain text, kaomoji look identical on every device. That makes them reliable in usernames, forum posts and places where emoji support is patchy.
They originated on Japanese message boards in the 1980s and spread through anime and gaming communities. The expressive range comes from the eyes — ◕ ˘ ・ ಠ — with the mouth doing less work than in western emoticons.
Frequently asked questions
What is a kaomoji?
A Japanese-style emoticon made from text characters and read upright, such as (◕‿◕). No emoji font is required for it to display.
Do kaomoji work on iPhone and Android?
Yes. They are plain text, so they paste into any app. A very rare character may fall back to a box on an old font, but the sets here use widely supported characters.