Icons and Emoticons

Icons and emoticons are pictorial representations created using the letters, numbers, and symbols usually found on a standard keyboard.

Icons

Icons are images of popular objects or characters. For example, (_8^(I) is an icon representing Homer Simpson.

Emoticons

Emoticons generally show emotions (such as happiness, sadness, anger, etc.). For example, the group of characters O:) depicts a person with a halo, meaning "I am innocent."

Emoticons have largely been made redundant on many messaging apps (e.g., Whatsapp, Instagram, Facebook Messenger, and Skype), where users have access to a large number of emoji. In fact, most emoticons are automatically replaced with the corresponding emoji.

Emoticons are also known as a "smileys" or "smiley faces."

List of Icons & Emoticons

Here is a full list of icons and emoticons.

Think you know your stuff? Have a go at the icons and emoticons test below.

If you know a term that we have missed, please tell us using this form.

Emoticon	Meaning
-8	Musical Note
#	Number
#	Twitter Hashtag
#1	Number One
$	Money
$_$	Has Money
%)	Drunk
&	And
'	HTML Code for an Apostrophe
♥	HTML Code for a Heart
(!)	Sarcasm
(:	Happy
(^^^)	Shark
('_')	Boredom
(_8^(I)	Homer Simpson
({)(})	Two People Hugging
(A)	Angel
(H)	Cool Dude, Heart
(K)	Kiss
(L)	Love Heart
(N)	Thumbs down
(S)	Seriously
(U)	Heartbroken
(Y)	Thumbs up
(YN)	Fingers Crossed, Your Name
*	Spelling Correction, Wildcard Character
*$	Starbucks
*$$	Starbucks
*.*	Absolutely Everything
*_*	In Love
*<:-)	Clown
*G*	Grin
*O*	Surprised
*S*	Salute
-.-	Annoyed
._.	Apathy, Disappointment, Resignation
.-.	Sad
...	Pause
...	Silence
._.	Apathy
/.\	Ashamed
/.\	Shy
//	I love you, Love
/:)	Flirting
/:)	Suspicion
/O/	Happy
/O\	Frustrated
/R/	Requesting
/THREAD	End of a Thread on a Forum
/W	Whisper
:$	Embarrassed
:&	Speechless
:&	Tongue Tied
:(	Sad
:'(	Crying
:-(	Sad
:(:)	Pig
:(|)	Monkey
:)	Happy
:')	Crying with Joy, Sad Smile
:-)	Smile
:*	Kiss
:-*	Kiss
:/	Indecision, Skepticism, Exasperation or Annoyance
:?	Confused
:@	Angry
:[	Sad
:[	Vampire
:\	Confused
:]	Happy
:{)	Happy (with a Mustache)
:|	Disapproval
:|	Not Funny
:<	Frowning
:>	Mischievous Smile
:0	Surprised
:3	Coy Smile
:9	Yummy
:B	Buck Teeth
:C	Very Sad
:D	Very Happy
:-D	Very Happy
:DD	Very Very Happy
:F	Drooling
:J	Smirk
:K	Liar (Snake's Tongue)
:K	Vampire
:L	Laughing or Sad Face Emoticon
:O	Surprised
:O)	Smiling Clown
:P	Sticking Tongue Out
:-P	Sticking Tongue Out
:Q	Smoking
:S	Confused
:T	Wry Smile
:X	My Lips Are Sealed
;(	Crying
;)	Wink
;-)	Wink
;;	Confused, Sad
;D	Happy Wink
;O	Joking
;P	Winking and Sticking Tongue Out
?_?	Confused
?_?	Lost
?4U	Question for You
@	At
@.@	Confused
@.@	Surprised
@@@	Warning of Parents Nearby
@_@	Hypnotized, Dazed
@}--->----	A rose
@N4l	Anal
\\//	Peace (Vulcan Salute)
\M/	Horns, Metal Salute
\O	Waving
\O/	Happy, Arms in the Air
^.^	Happy
^.~	Wink
^^	Happy
^^^	See Above
^_^	Content
^~^	Mischievous Smile
^5	High five
^O^	Hurray
^W^	Happy
-_-	Annoyed, Bored, Tired
|O|	Laugh Out Loud
}:-)	Devilish
~	Sarcasm
+_+	Dead
<#	Misspelling of...
<.<	Shifty Look
</3	Broken Hearted
</html>	Not Listening
</html>	Shut Up
<_<	Look Left
<>	No Comment
<>	Not Equal
<><	Fish
<2	Almost in Love
<3	I Love You, Love
<333	Lots of Love
<3U	Love You
<4	I Really Love You
<B	Hate
<G>	Grin
=)	Happy
=*	Kiss
=.=	Tired
=/=	Not Equal To
=[	Sad
=]	Happy
>,<	Angry
>.<	Frustrated, In Pain
>.>	Suspicious
>//<	Embarrassed
>:(	Angry
>:)	Evil Grin
>:D<	Hug
>:O	Angry
>_<	Frustrated
>_>	Looking Left
><	Frustration
>3	Evil but Happy, Hate
>O<	Yelling
B)	Smiley Face with Sunglasses (Cool Dude)
D;	Crying
mlm	Middle Finger
0.O	Raised Eyebrow
0/	Waving
0_0	Confused, Dumbfounded, Shocked
0_0	Confused, Dumbfounded, Shocked
O7	Salute
UWU	Cute Face

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