Emoticon

Cultural/Communication

A text-based representation of a facial expression using standard keyboard characters, such as :-) or :D, predating graphical emoji.

Emoticons ("emotion" + "icon") emerged in the early days of digital communication. Scott Fahlman proposed :-) and :-( on a Carnegie Mellon message board in 1982, though similar practices existed earlier.

Western emoticons are typically read sideways: :-) :D ;-) :'( etc. Japanese-style emoticons (kaomoji) are read straight-on: (^_^) (T_T) (╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻

Many platforms auto-convert emoticons to graphical emoji (e.g., :) → 😊). While emoji have largely superseded emoticons in casual messaging, emoticons remain popular in plain-text contexts and for expressing nuances not covered by standard emoji.

Related Terms

Emoji Emoji
A Japanese word (絵文字) meaning 'picture character' — small graphical symbols used in digital communication to express ideas, emotions, and objects. Kaomoji Kaomoji
Japanese-style text emoticons using Unicode characters that are read face-on rather than sideways, such as (╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻. Smiley Smiley
The original yellow circular face icon created by Harvey Ball in 1963, which inspired the design of modern face emoji.

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Browse and copy any of 3,953 emojis organized by category. Works in any browser, no install needed.

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