Portmanteau of emotion (or emote) and icon, an emoticon is symbol or a combination of symbols used to convey emotional content in written or message form. In Web forums and instant messengers, text emoticons are often automatically replaced with small corresponding images, which came to be called emoticons as well.
“-)” was proposed as a joke-marker in April 1979, on a message board called MsgGroup. The idea was to indicate tongue-in-cheek — the hyphen represented a tongue, not a nose. Although it has two out of the three characters of “:-)”, its intended interpretation was different and it does not appear to have inspired the later smileys.
Icon |
Meaning |
Icon |
Meaning |
| :-) |
classic smile with nose |
:'-) |
happy crying (generally associated with mockery) |
| :-( |
classic sad with nose |
|-O |
yawn |
| :) |
classic smile without nose |
:-D |
laughter |
| :( |
classic sad without nose |
%-( or
:-S |
confused |
| 8) |
smiley with glasses without nose |
=) |
'smiley-face' eyes without nose |
| :-B |
buck-tooth |
B-) |
Batman / smiley with glasses |
| :-# |
with braces |
:-@ |
scream |
| >:3 |
A lion, or an evil smile |
:@ |
what??? (seriously?) |
| :-| |
indifferent |
:-0 |
surprised |
| >O |
"Ouch" |
:0] |
smiling |
| ;0] |
winking and smiling at same time |
;-) |
winking smile with nose |
| ;0 |
winking with open mouth |
;) |
winking smile without nose |
| (:-D |
gossip, blabbermouth |
`:-) |
one eyebrow raised |
| 8D |
Awesome |
:P |
tongue sticking out (silly, or feeling lousy) |
| :-& |
tongue tied |
O:-) |
I'm an angel |
| c^:3 |
Left Mouse |
:-X |
My lips are sealed, or "mum." |
| ~:> |
chicken |
:-K |
Fangs sticking out. |
| x-( |
Angry, bummed out |
=0 |
surprised |
| :-* |
Kiss |
XD or xD |
Flirting, bubbly; happy. |
| ;:^)B> |
Beard with buck teeth and nose: |
(::[]::) |
bandaid; offering help or support |
| O.O or o.o |
Shocked |
O.o or o.O |
Shocked and skeptical |
| ._. |
Sad, shy. Also used to show depression. A semi-colon may be added ._.; to increase the portrayal of depression. |
<3 |
A heart, or 'I love you', or a hug (arms and encircling hands). Also a bouquet of flowers. |
| 8I |
Not happy or sad. |
:D |
Big, potentially goofy smile. |
| >8V-()< |
A duck |
:-$ |
'Grillz' or money mouth. (Being greedy for money) |
| =3 |
Used to show happiness. 3 shows pouting of the lips in an amused way. (Alternative - :3) |
<|:) |
wearing a (tin-foil) hat |
| <>< |
Ichthys (Christian symbol), Fish |
>_< or >< |
Angry/frustrated face |
| <@:) |
dunce with hat and curly hair |
<_< or >_> |
Sneer to left or Sneer to right; has also been used in succession to demonstrate nervous back and forth glances |
| (-_-) |
A bored face |
Oo |
Interested, the equivalent of raising an eyebrow |
| (-.-) |
The showing of annoyance. Usually used in reply to a stupid question. |
>:D |
Evil grin |
| -.-' |
Known as the "anime sweatdrop." It is used when asked a stupid question, similar to (-.-). |
e.e |
Used to show great anger, similar to an evil glare. |
| E.E |
This smiley can be seen as a joke. It has no real meaning. |
-.-* |
"Anime Anger-Twitch." Derived from anime cartoons where the temple swells when angered. Used to show anger and aggravation. |
| -.O |
Used to show disbelief. A glare with one eye closed and another open. |
:] |
Derived from the classic happy smile. Instead of a parenthasis, a bracket are used, and the dash is dropped. Used to show happiness. |
| :[ |
Derived from the classic sad smile. Parenthasis is replaced by a bracket, and dash is dropped. Used to show sadness. Sometimes seen as =[. |
;] |
Derived from the classic wink smile. Parenthasis is replaced by a bracker, and the dash is dropped. Used to symbolize a wink. Sometimes seen as =[. |
| :'[ |
Derived from the classic cry smile. Used to show tears and saddness. Sometimes seen as ='[. |
:\ |
Sad frown, or used to show depression, sometimes seen as =\, =/, 8\, 8/, or :/. |
| :'\ |
Shows great depression, sometimes seen as ='\, ='/, or :'/. |
;D |
Used to show a broad smile while winking. |
| *o* |
"Shiny." Symbolizes gawking, or a blank stare. |
:d |
"Dribble." Guy dribbling. Might represent astonishment or a guy really stoned. |
| XD |
Big grin with tightly closed eyes (almost crying from laughter) |
~.^ |
Alternate wink |
