Emoji

Cultural/Communication

A Japanese word (絵文字) meaning 'picture character' — small graphical symbols used in digital communication to express ideas, emotions, and objects.

The word "emoji" comes from Japanese: 絵 (e, "picture") + 文字 (moji, "character"). Despite the resemblance, it is unrelated to the English word "emotion" — the similarity is a coincidence.

Emoji were first created in 1999 by Shigetaka Kurita for NTT DoCoMo's i-mode mobile internet service. The original set had 176 12×12 pixel designs. Different Japanese carriers (SoftBank, au/KDDI) created their own incompatible sets.

Unicode incorporated emoji starting with version 6.0 (2010), standardizing them across platforms. The plural of emoji is debated — "emoji" and "emojis" are both widely used.

Related Terms

Emoji Frequency Emoji Frequency
How often specific emojis are used in digital communication, tracked through usage data from platforms and research studies. Emoji Sentiment Emoji Sentiment
The emotional tone or meaning associated with emoji usage, studied through sentiment analysis of how people use emoji in communication. Emoticon Emoticon
A text-based representation of a facial expression using standard keyboard characters, such as :-) or :D, predating graphical emoji. Shigetaka Kurita Shigetaka Kurita
Japanese artist who created the first emoji set — 176 12x12 pixel designs for NTT DoCoMo's i-mode mobile internet service in 1999. Sticker Sticker
Larger, more detailed digital images used in messaging apps, often animated, that complement but are separate from standard emoji. Unicode Unicode
Universal character encoding standard that assigns a unique number to every character across all writing systems and symbol sets, including emoji. World Emoji Day World Emoji Day
Annual celebration on July 17, created by Emojipedia founder Jeremy Burge in 2014 to promote and celebrate emoji culture. i-mode i-mode
NTT DoCoMo's mobile internet platform launched in 1999, where the first emoji were created to enhance text communication.

Related Tools

⌨️ Emoji Keyboard Emoji Keyboard
Browse and copy any of 3,953 emojis organized by category. Works in any browser, no install needed. 📊 Emoji Stats Emoji Stats
Explore statistics about the Unicode emoji set — category distribution, version growth, type breakdown.

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