Kaomoji 顔文字

Kaomoji (顔文字) are Japanese emoticons made from Unicode characters, punctuation, and symbols arranged horizontally to express emotions and ideas. Unlike Western emoticons that are read sideways (e.g., :-)), kaomoji are designed to be read straight on, often depicting faces, animals, and actions in creative ways. Examples include (^_^) for happiness or (T_T) for sadness.

Kaomoji are text-based emoticons composed from existing keyboard characters and Unicode symbols — they look the same across virtually all devices and platforms because they use standard text. Emoji, on the other hand, are standardized image characters (like 😊 or ❤️) whose appearance can vary significantly between operating systems and apps. Kaomoji are often more expressive and creative, with more variety, while emoji are simpler and more universally recognizable.

Using kaomoji is simple: just copy the text and paste it wherever you want to express yourself — in chat apps, social media posts, emails, forums, or anywhere that supports text input. Click or tap any kaomoji on this page to copy it to your clipboard instantly. Kaomoji work in Discord, WhatsApp, Twitter/X, Instagram, Reddit, Slack, and most other platforms.

Kaomoji originated in Japan in the 1980s. The first known kaomoji was posted by ASCII Net user Yasushi Wakabayashi on September 19, 1986. They became widely popular on Japanese bulletin board systems (BBS) and online communities throughout the 1990s and 2000s, eventually spreading globally with the rise of the internet. The word 'kaomoji' itself combines the Japanese words for 'face' (顔, kao) and 'character/letter' (文字, moji).