Emoticons are a fun and easy way to convey emotion or add tone to text. There are two main "styles" of emoticons: Western and Eastern. These two styles make up a lot of the emoticons you see on the internet. There are also "emojis," which are series of image characters that act like emoticons. Emojis are not fully supported, but their effects are much more interesting than regular emoticons.
Step
Part 1 of 7: "Western" emoticons
Step 1. Understand how to type the "Western" emoticon
The "Western" emoticon rose from the very beginning of chat services like IRC and AOL, especially in North America and European countries. These emoticons are usually written horizontally from left to right; the top of the "head" is almost always on the left side.
- Western emoticons tend to focus more on the "whole face," and tend to have a more literal translation than "Eastern" emoticons.
- Western emoticons usually use only Latin letters and can often be distinguished by a single character.
Step 2. Use
: as eyes (in many emoticons).
Most Western emoticons rely on: as the "eye", although other characters can be substituted depending on the circumstances.
Step 3. Include the nose if you want
Western emoticons are often expressed with or without a nose, indicated by -. Whether you want to stick your nose in or not is up to you.
Step 4. Build from basic emoticons
The simplest emoticon is Smiley:). From this base, there are hundreds of possible emoticons created. You can add a hat (<]:)) or a beard (:)}), or whatever you can add. Here are some of the more common Western emoticons, although there are many variations to these:
| Emotion/Action | emoticon |
|---|---|
| Like | :):-) * |
| Sad | :( |
| Enthusiastic | :D |
| Tongue sticking out | :P |
| Laugh | XD |
| Love | <3 |
| Surprised | :O |
| Startled | ;) |
| dumb tongue | :& |
| Cry | :*(:'( |
| Worried | :S |
| Not happy | : |
| Angry | >:( |
| Cool | B) |
| Normal | : |
| Devil | >:) |
| Stupid | <:- |
| Do not believe | O_o |
| high five | o/\o |
| cheering | o/ |
| Kiss | :^* |
| Evaporate | |-O |
Step 5. Add a nose or make other adjustments in each of the emoticons above
Both must be fun!
| Character/Object | emoticon |
|---|---|
| Robocop | ([( |
| Robot | [:] |
| Mickey Mouse | °o° |
| Santa | *< |
| Homer Simpson | ~(_8^(I) |
| Marge Simpson | @@@@@:^) |
| Bart Simpson | ∑:-) |
| Ros | @>-- |
| Fish | <*)))-{ |
| Pope | +<:-) |
| Lenny | (° °) |
| skater | o[-<]: |
| Sword | <------K |
| Arrow | <========[===] |
| Uncle Sam | =):-) |
| Wilma Flintstone | &:-) |
| Dog | :o3 |
Part 2 of 7: The "East" emoticon
Step 1. Understand how to type the "East" emoticon
Eastern emoticons originate from southeast Asia. These emoticons are usually written "front-facing", as opposed to horizontally oriented Western emoticons. More emphasis is placed on the eyes, which are used to convey emotion.
Many Eastern emoticons use non-Latin characters. This gives writers a much larger range of designs that can be created, but some computers may not display all the characters correctly
Step 2. Decide if you want to include a body on the emoticon
Many Eastern emoticons are surrounded by () to indicate the shape of the head or body. It's up to you whether you want to include it or not. Some emoticons will perform better with or without them.
Step 3. Use the Character Map to find symbols
Windows and OS X have a Character Map (Character Viewer in OS X) which displays all the fonts on the system for finding special characters. Use this program to search for emoticon characters, but remember that other people won't be able to see them unless they have the same font installed.
- Windows' ' - Press Win+R and type charmap to open the Character Map. Use the menu at the top to switch between fonts. Find and download a font called "Code2000" to access almost all Eastern symbols.
- Mac - Click the Apple menu and select System Preferences. Click Keyboard, select the Keyboard tab, and then tick Show Keyboard & Character Viewers in menu bar. Click the new icon that appears next to the clock, and select Show Character Viewer. OS X has all the fonts you need to make the most of Eastern emoticons.
| Emotion/Object | emoticon |
|---|---|
| Happy/Happy | ^_^ (^_^) * |
| Difficult/Angry | (>_<) |
| Nervous | (^_^;) |
| Sleepy/Upset | (-_-) |
| Confused | ((+_+)) |
| Smoke | o○ (-。-)y-゜゜゜ |
| Octopus | :。ミ |
| Fish | >゜)))彡 |
| Bending | |
| wink | (^_-)-☆ |
| Cat | (=^・・^=) |
| Enthusiastic | (*^0^*) |
| Shrug | _(ツ)_/¯ |
| Headphones | ((d[-_-]b)) |
| Tired | (=_=) |
| Turning the table | (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻ |
| Wrath | (ಠ益ಠ) |
| "Do" | (☞ﾟヮﾟ)☞ |
| Ultraman | (o |
| Look of Disapproval | _ಠ |
*Eastern emoticons are often displayed either with or without surrounded () to denote faces.
Part 3 of 7: Creating Shortcuts (iOS)
Step 1. Open the Settings app on the iOS device
If you frequently use complex emoticons such as Eastern emoticons, it may be easier to create shortcuts so that you don't have to constantly copy-paste individual characters.
Step 2. Tap General → Keyboard → Shortcuts
Step 3. Tap + to create a new shortcut
Step 4. Paste or type your emoticon into the Phrase field
Step 5. Type the phrase you want to use into the Shortcut field
It's important not to type in phrases that you use for other things, as those shortcuts will be replaced each time you use them.
Another common trick is to use HTML tags as phrases. For example, if you created a shortcut for (╯°□°）╯︵, you could type &table; into the Replace field. The characters & and; make sure you don't accidentally replace real words
Step 6. Type the shortcut and tap
Space' in the text field to enter the emoticon.
Part 4 of 7: Creating Shortcuts (Android)
Step 1. Download the "Look of Disapproval" app
This free app allows you to quickly copy various emoticons to your Android clipboard so that you can paste them into a text field. You can also add custom emoticons for quick access.
You can download "Look of Disapproval" from Google Play Store
Step 2. Trace the existing faces
This application comes with a variety of faces that can be searched.
Step 3. Tap the + button to create a custom emoticon
If the emoticon you want is not in the list, tap the + button to add it. Your emoticon will appear in the Custom list.
Step 4. Tap the Emoticons to copy them to the clipboard
Step 5. Tap and hold on the text field and select Paste to paste your emoticon
Part 5 of 7: Creating Shortcuts (Mac)
Step 1. Click the Apple Menu and select System Preferences
If you frequently use complex emoticons such as Eastern emoticons, it may be easier to create shortcuts so that you don't have to constantly copy-paste individual characters.
Step 2. Select Keyboard and click the Text tab
Step 3. Click + to create a new shortcut
Step 4. Type the phrase you want to auto replace with emoticons
It's important not to type in phrases that you use for other things, as those shortcuts will be replaced each time you use them.
Another common trick is to use HTML tags as phrases. For example, if you created a shortcut for:。ミ, you could type &octopus; into the Replace column. The character & and; to make sure you don't accidentally replace real words
Step 5. Paste the emoticon into the With field
Step 6. Type in your shortcut and tap
Space into the text field to enter the emoticon.
Part 6 of 7: Creating Shortcuts (Windows)
Step 1. Download Auspex
This is a free program designed to help speed up typing, and can be used to create shortcuts to replace keyboard phrases.
You can download it free from Auspex here. You'll need to extract it by right-clicking the file and selecting Extract Here
Step 2. Run Auspex
The program will immediately be minimized to the System Tray.
Step 3. Right-click the Auspex icon and select Show
This will open an Auspex window.
Step 4. Click File → New from Wizard
This will start the shortcut creation process.
Step 5. In the Step Two field, enter the phrase you want to use as a shortcut
It's important not to type in phrases that you use for other things, as those shortcuts will be replaced each time you use them.
Another common trick is to use HTML tags as phrases. For example, if you created a shortcut for, you could type &rage; into the Replace column. The character & and; to make sure you don't accidentally replace real words
Step 6. In the large column at the bottom of the window, type or paste the emoticon
Click the OK button when finished.
Step 7. Type the shortcut and press
Space, Tab , or Enter to display the emoticon.
These buttons are commonly used triggers. You can change this by using the Triggered by menu in Auspex when the shortcut is selected.
Part 7 of 7: Emoji
Step 1. Understand what emoji are
An emoji is an image character set that can be used to replace an emoticon. Emojis are most often used in chat programs and on mobile devices.
Step 2. Find out if your system or program supports emojis
An emoji is a non-standard character set, and is not supported by all systems. Both you and the recipient need to have emoji support for you to see each other.
- iOS - All iOS devices running iOS 5 or later have built-in emoji support. You may need to enable the emoji keypad. Click here to find out more.
- Android - Not all Android devices support emoji, although certain apps like Hangouts and WhatsApp do. To add emoji support on your Android device for all apps, click here.
- OS X - OS X has built-in emoji support since OS X 10.7
- Windows 7 and earlier - Emoji support based on web browser, so make sure all your browsers are updated to the latest version.
- Windows 8 - Windows 8 has a built-in emoji keyboard. To enable it, open Desktop mode, right-click the taskbar (taskbar), select Toolbars → Keyboard Touch. You will see the keyboard icon appear next to the System Tray.
Step 3. Add emoji symbols to the text
Emoji symbols are added by selecting the specific symbol you want, instead of typing a series of characters. The process for selecting symbols depends on the system you are using.
- iOS - After enabling the emoji keyboard, to open it tap the Smiley face button when the keypad is open. If you have more than one language installed, this button will take the shape of a globe instead of a Smiley face. Scroll through the options and tap the emoji you want to add.
- Android - The exact way to open the emoji menu depends on the version of Android you are running and the keyboard you are using. You can usually tap the Smiley face button, though you may have to tap and hold a button to make it appear. Scroll through the options and tap the emoji you want to add.
- OS X - In 10.9 and 10.10, you can press Cmd+Ctrl+Space to open the emoji selection window. In 10.7 and 10.8, click the Edit menu in the program you are using and select Special Characters. Click the gear icon and select Customize list. Check the emoji box to make emoji characters selectable.
- Windows 7 and earlier - If your browser is the latest version, you can copy-paste emoji from various emoji databases such as Wikipedia. There is no way to be able to type emoji characters.
- Windows 8 - Click the Keyboard button which was enabled in the previous step. Click the Smiley face button at the bottom of the keyboard to open the emoji menu. Click the emoji you want to add.
Resources and Reference
- https://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/os-x-using-the-keyboard-viewer
- https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/05/the-best-way-to-type-_/371351/
- https://fsymbols.com/character-maps/mac/
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https://blog.getemoji.com/emoji-keyboard-windows
