Meaning of Emojis and Emoticons

Emojis and emoticons are graphic representations used to convey an idea, emotion or feeling. These symbols are very popular in online communications, such as social networks, SMS and instant communication applications, such as Whatsapp .

Most popular emojis on Whatsapp

The Whatsapp is one of the communication applications where the emoji are best used. In many cases, these pictograms can replace entire sentences, conveying the speaker’s message with just one symbol.

The Whatsapp app has its own emoji design, which is available on all platforms except iOS (which uses Apple’s standard emojis).

However, many of these graphic images can be misinterpreted. To avoid mistakes, we have gathered the official meaning of the most popular emojis on Whatsapp .

Smiling ( Grinning Face)Grinning Face

This emoji is represented by a face with a large smiling mouth, showing its teeth. This symbol is often used to show the person’s happiness or joy in relation to the content previously presented in the message.

Copy the emoji: ?

Crying Laughing | LOL ( Face With Tears of Joy)Face With Tears of Joy

This emoji means that the person is laughing so hard, that their eyes water, giving the impression that they are crying. It is usually used when someone wants to make it clear that something is very funny .

The popularity of this symbol is so great that in 2015 it was considered the “Word of the Year”, according to the Oxford English Dictionary .

Copy the emoji: ?

Cold sweating or heavy work ( Downcast Face With Sweat )face cold sweat

This emoji is represented by a sad or neutral face with a drop of sweat running down the head.

It is usually used in text messages to convey the feeling of frustration, concern or disappointment about something. Just as the emoji’s name suggests, this symbol can also be used to show how tired a person is physically or emotionally.

Copy the emoji: ?

Sending an affectionate kiss ( Face Blowing a Kiss )guy throwing kiss

Represented by the image of a face blinking and with a small heart close to the mouth, as if it were blowing.

This emoji is very popular and is often used when the intention is to send a very affectionate kiss to the other person. There are many kissing emojis, but this is one of the most used.

Copy the emoji: ?

Silence | Face without mouth ( Face Without Mouth )face without mouth

With eyes, but without a mouth. This emoji represents the act of being silent. It is usually used when someone wants to make clear their option of not making comments about something, even though they have several things to talk about.

But, it can also be used to express the inability to comment on a particular subject , especially when the person is speechless before something he has just read, for example.

Copy the emoji: ?

Rolling his eyes ( Face With Rolling Eyes )guy with rolling eyes

Used to represent the feeling of boredom, contempt or disdain for someone or the subject in question in the conversation. Depending on the context, this emoji can also be used to indicate the use of a sarcastic comment.

Copy the emoji: ?

Crying or Tearing ( Crying Face )crying

This emoji shows that the caller is upset or hurt by something, but not to the point of being desperate or hysterical.

Copy the emoji: ?

Grimace ( Grimacing face )showing teeth

This is often confused with the “Smiling” ( Grinning Face ) emoji , but its meaning is totally different from this.

The Face is perfect to be used to represent situations that are uncomfortable or unfavorable for the interlocutor. It can also mean that the person is nervous or uncomfortable with a particular situation.

It can still be interpreted as a sign of mockery from the interlocutor, who is not talking seriously about a subject, for example.

Copy the emoji: ?

Neutral face ( Neutral face )neutral face

This emoji represents the absence of any type of emotion in particular. Usually used when something is so uninteresting that there is no suitable feeling to be expressed.

Copy the emoji: ?

Pensive ( Thinking face )pensive face

It is a very popular emoji, used when someone wants to show that they are thinking or reflecting on something.

It can also be useful, in some cases, to sarcastically represent the question asked about the authenticity of a statement, for example.

This is one of the few smileys that shows the hand.

Copy the emoji: ?

Hugging ( Hugging face )hugging

A smiley with open hands and a smiling face. It is used when the objective is to show the affection and affection we have for the other person, wishing to embrace them.

It is usually sent when we really want to embrace the interlocutor but we cannot because of the distance.

The image of this emoji usually varies a lot according to the device (iOS, Android, Windows, etc.), so it may look a little different from the image shown above.

Copy the emoji: ?

Angry and frustrated ( Face With Steam From Nose )face with look of triumph

This smiley is represented with a smoke coming from the nose, conveying the idea of ​​a person’s irritability, frustration and disdain for something.

As a rule, this emoji is usually used when the caller is getting angry about something, especially if it is something they find frustrating or insignificant.

Copy the emoji: ?

Sleeping ( Sleeping face )sleeping face

This emoji means that the caller is very sleepy, with the “Zzz” at the top of the smiley head being the symbol that indicates the emoticon’s sleepiness.

It is usually used on two main occasions: to show that the person is literally asleep (sleepy) or to show the total disinterest that someone has in a subject because they find it very tedious.

Copy the emoji: ?

Sleepy ( Sleepy face )sleepy face

Like the previous emoji, it is also used to show that the person is sleepy or bored with the content of the conversation.

Unlike the sleeping face , it is represented by a water bubble in the nose. This is a very common representation in anime and manga to indicate that the characters are sleeping soundly.

Copy the emoji: ?

Heart Eyes ( Smiling Face With Heart-Eyes )smiling face with heart shaped eyes

This emoji is used to show that the caller is in love with something or someone. Usually people send this emoji as a synonym for “I love you” or “I love it”.

Copy the emoji: ?

Screaming ( Face Screaming in Fear )screaming in fear

This emoji is based on the character in the painting The Scream by Norwegian artist Edvard Munch . It is usually used to express the idea of ​​fear, dread or big surprise about something.

Copy the emoji: ?

Eyes ( Eyes )eyes

The emoji of the two eyes open as if they were attentive is often used to indicate that the caller is paying attention to something. It is normal to use a response to a comment that the person approves of or is curious about.

Copy the emoji: ?

Punch forward ( Oncoming Fist )fisted hand

This emoji represents a closed fist, as if the caller is punching in the direction of the other person.

Copy the emoji: ?

Muscular arm ( Flexed Biceps )flexed biceps

This emoji consists of a flexed arm showing the muscle. It is usually used as a sign of strength, determination and resistance from the interlocutor.

Copy the emoji: ?

Fingers crossed ( Crossed fingers )hand with index and middle fingers crossed

This emoji is used to show the interlocutor’s desire for something to happen or to convey good luck to someone.

Copy the emoji: ?

Shaking hand ( Waving Hand )waving hand

This emoji is represented by a hand with signs that symbolize its movement. It is usually used as a gesture of greeting, either to say “hello” or “bye”.

Copy the emoji: ?

Raised indicator ( Index Pointing Up )white up pointing

This emoji is represented by a hand with the index finger raised upwards. It is usually used to symbolize that the person wants to ask a question or a specific comment on a specific subject.

Another use of this emoji is to highlight the importance of something that was said earlier, that is, the message that appears just above the emoji. In this way, the interlocutor is left with the impression that the emoji’s index finger is pointing to that message.

Copy the emoji: ☝️

Raising hands ( Raising Hands )person raising both hands in celebration

It symbolizes two hands raised in the air. It is used to represent the celebration of something, as good news that was being expected.

It can also be used to express a person’s devotion to God, acting as a synonym for “hallelujah”.

Copy the emoji: ?

Hands together ( Folded Hands )person with folded hands

In Japanese culture, the symbol that represents two hands together can mean a gesture of thanks. However, in the West it is common to use it to symbolize the act of praying (hoping) for something.

Some interpretations also suggest that this emoji is used as a synonym for ” high five “, a greeting where two people clap their hands as a sign of celebration.

Copy the emoji: ?

Person Covering the Face ( Person Facepalming )face palm

This emoji represents a person covering his face with his hand. It is used to express the feeling of disbelief, shame and frustration in relation to someone’s behavior or situation.

Copy the emoji: ?

Person bowing ( Person Bowing )person bowing deeply

Originally, this emoji was created to represent a code of etiquette of Japanese culture known as dogeza . This gesture demonstrates the great respect that an individual has for the other, and is often used to express an apology.

However, in the West, other meanings have been attributed to this emoji, such as a person doing push-ups, a person lying down receiving massage, among other interpretations.

Copy the emoji: ?

Gesturing No ( Person Gesturing No )no good gesture

This emoji is represented by a person forming an “X” with his arms. This signal can be interpreted as a negative response to something.

It is very common to use this emoji to show that the interlocutor does not agree with a certain thing or situation, for example.

Copy the emoji: ?

Gesturing an OK ( Person Gesturing OK )ok gesture

The emoji that represents a person with his arms over his head, forming a kind of circle, is used to express the same as “OK”. That is, when someone uses this emoji they are transmitting the message that “everything is fine” or approving something.

Copy the emoji: ?

Raising Hand ( Person Raising Hand )raising one hand

It represents the figure of a person with a hand raised in the air, as if asking or answering something.

Copy the emoji: ?

Person with folded hand ( Person Tipping Hand )information desk person

Also known as the Information desk person , this emoji is characterized as a person with a raised arm and a folded hand, as if carrying an invisible tray.

There are numerous possible interpretations for this emoji, but the most popular are associated with the idea of ​​conveying sarcasm or boldness.

Copy the emoji: ?

Shrugging ( Shrugging )shrug

It is commonly used to indicate the interlocutor’s indifference to the content of the subject. It can also express the person’s lack of knowledge on a particular topic, for example.

This emoji originated from the ¯ _ (ツ) _ / ¯ emoticon , which can still mean the same as “whatever” or “I don’t know anything”.

Copy the emoji: ?

Difference between Emoji and Emoticon

Emoticon is the combination of the English words emotion (emotion) and icon (icon). It consists of typographic symbols used in conjunction with the purpose of forming figures that help simulate human emotions, such as sadness or joy, for example.

The creation of the first emoticon is attributed to Professor at Carnegie Mellon University Scott Fahlman. In 1982 he used for the first time a sequence of symbols that formed the following emoticon: 🙂

Examples of emoticons:

🙁

: – ‘(

xD

s2

O_O

(͡ ° ͜ʖ ͡ °)

On the other hand, emojis were created in Japan during the 1990s. The person responsible for designing these images was Shigetaka Kurita, who developed a set of figures that illustrated some basic types of human emotions.Unlike emoticons, emojis can be more complex, moving away from being just special characters to more sophisticated designs. The first emoji was created in 1995 and consisted of an image of a heart.

by Abdullah Sam
I’m a teacher, researcher and writer. I write about study subjects to improve the learning of college and university students. I write top Quality study notes Mostly, Tech, Games, Education, And Solutions/Tips and Tricks. I am a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence or virtue.

Leave a Comment