What Are Text Emojis?

Quick answer: text emojis are faces typed with letters, punctuation and Unicode symbols instead of picture characters. They include the sideways keyboard classics such as 🙂 and 😉 and the upright Japanese style called kaomoji, such as (＾▽＾). Because they are made of text, they paste into fields that reject or recolour picture emoji.

You will also hear them called keyboard emojis, emoji text, text faces, symbol faces or emoticons. The names overlap; what they share is that every part of the face is a character you could, in principle, type.

This collection mixes both families so you can compare them side by side. The first chip holds 78 sideways faces you can type on any keyboard, and the other chips hold upright faces grouped by feeling: smiling, laughing, sad, loving, cute, angry, surprised, meme faces, animals and quick actions like waving or running.

• 78 Typed with a normal keyboard
• 11 Feelings and themes
• 1 tap To copy any face

How to Use Text Emojis in a Message

1. Choose a feeling: Open Smiley faces, Sad and crying or any other chip.
2. Optionally add words: Type a reply and watch it appear next to every face.
3. Copy with one tap: The whole card goes to your clipboard, words included.
4. Paste and send: It works in texts, comments, profile fields and documents.

Which Text Emojis Can You Type on a Normal Keyboard?

These faces use only keys found on every English keyboard, so you can type them from memory without copying anything.

Text emoji	Keys to press	Meaning
🙂	colon, closing bracket	Smile
😀	colon, capital D	Big grin
😉	semicolon, closing bracket	Wink
😛	colon, capital P	Tongue out, joking
🙁	colon, opening bracket	Sad
^_^	caret, underscore, caret	Happy, eyes closed
-_-	hyphen, underscore, hyphen	Unimpressed
o_O	small o, underscore, capital O	Confused
T_T	capital T, underscore, capital T	Crying
\o/	backslash, o, slash	Arms raised in celebration

Faces such as ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ or ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ need characters that are not printed on Western keys. Copy them here, or set up a shortcut file in the Type Text Emojis With Shortcuts tool so a short code like :idk expands into the full face.

When Are Text Emojis Better Than Picture Emoji?

Situation	Better choice	Reason
Game names and gamer tags	Text emoji	Many games strip picture emoji from names but keep symbols
Code comments and commit messages	Text emoji	Plain characters survive every editor and terminal
Showing an action, like flipping a table	Text emoji	There is no single picture for most actions
Quick reactions on a phone	Picture emoji	The keyboard suggests them as you type
Messages read by screen readers	Picture emoji	Each has a spoken name; symbol faces are read out character by character
A retro or minimalist style	Text emoji	Black-and-white faces match monospace and aesthetic layouts

What Do Popular Text Emojis Mean?

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

A shrug: no idea, whatever, or nothing I can do about it.

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

The Lenny face, a suggestive or mischievous smirk.

ಠ_ಠ

A flat stare of disapproval, used when something is ridiculous.

(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻

Flipping a table out of frustration, usually as a joke.

:3

A cat-like mouth that reads as playful or cute.

<3

A heart turned on its side, the oldest love symbol in chat.

Are Text Emojis Accessible to Screen Readers?

Not very. A screen reader announces a picture emoji by its name, such as smiling face, but it reads a text emoji symbol by symbol, so (＾▽＾) can come out as a string of bracket and caret names. Use text faces as decoration rather than meaning, keep them to one per message, and avoid them in alt text, button labels and important instructions.

Do Text Emojis Work on Every App?

Where	Result	Tip
Instagram bio and captions	Shown as typed	Short faces leave room for the 150-character bio
Discord messages and status	Shown as typed after escaping	Set Paste into to Discord before copying
Microsoft Teams, Skype, some email apps	🙂 may turn into a picture	Use an upright face if you want it to stay as text
Steam and console names	Mostly fine	Check the length limit; symbols count towards it
SMS on older phones	Rare symbols can fall back to boxes	Stick to the sideways classics

Tips for Better Text Emojis

Leave a space before the face

Some apps attach a face that touches a word to the link or hashtag before it.

Keep sideways faces for formal chats

A simple 🙂 feels lighter than a full kaomoji in a work message.

Star your top five

Your ☆ picks lead the grid on every visit, ahead of the other 600.

Check the length

Pick a limit in Max length and every card shows whether it still fits.

Text Emojis FAQ

What is a text emoji?

A face built from typed characters, such as 🙂 or (＾▽＾), instead of a single colour picture.

Are text emojis and emoticons the same thing?

Mostly. Emoticon usually means the sideways faces like :-), while text emoji is a broader name that also covers upright Japanese faces.

What are keyboard emojis?

Another name for text emojis: faces you can make from keyboard characters, sometimes with a few extra Unicode symbols.

How do I copy a text emoji?

Tap the face on its card. It goes straight to the clipboard, ready to paste.

Can I put words next to a text emoji?

Yes. Words typed into the message field are paired with each of the 600+ faces.

Which text emojis can I type without copying?

Sideways ones like 🙂 😀 😉 😛 🙁 and simple upright ones such as ^_^ and -_-, because they use only standard keys.

Teams changed my 🙂 into a picture. Why?

Some apps, including Teams and Skype, automatically swap short emoticons for pictures. A longer upright face usually stays as text.

What does :3 mean?

It shows a small cat-like mouth and reads as cute, playful or smug.

What does ^_^ mean?

Two closed, smiling eyes: pleased, friendly or quietly happy.

What does o_O mean?

One eye bigger than the other: confusion or disbelief.

What does \o/ mean?

A tiny person with both arms in the air, celebrating.

Can text emojis be used in Instagram bios?

Yes. They paste in like normal text; keep them short so the 150-character limit still fits your words.

Do text emojis work in Discord?

Yes, though underscores, asterisks, and backslashes count as formatting there. Switching Paste into Discord adds protective backslashes to each copy.

Are text emojis safe for usernames?

Usually, as long as the platform accepts symbols. Sideways faces are the safest; rare Unicode faces may be rejected.

Will a text emoji look identical on Android and iPhone?

Each device uses its own fonts, so symbol widths and accent marks can shift slightly. The face still reads the same, but it is not pixel-identical.

Can a screen reader read text emojis?

It reads them character by character, which can be confusing. Use them for decoration, not to carry important meaning.

How many text emojis are on this page?

More than 600, including 78 sideways classics, in 11 groups.

Can I make my own text emoji?

Yes. Open the Text Emoji Builder, choose the parts, and copy or save what you create.

How do I find out what a text emoji means?

Paste it into the Text Emoji Meaning Checker; it names each eye, mouth, and arm and suggests the overall mood.

Can I save text emojis as pictures?

Yes. Text Emoji to Image draws any face on a PNG from 128 to 1080 pixels square.

Is an account needed for these keyboard faces?

No. The page is free, there is no account, and everything you star stays in your own browser.

Copy a Text Emoji

🙂 ^_^ ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ

Over 600 keyboard faces that paste anywhere text goes. 🙂 Copy Text Emojis