Kaomoji: Japanese emoticons to copy and paste
Tap a face to copy it. 870 original kaomoji in 24 moods, and a builder to make your own.
Build your own kaomoji
Tap the parts; the face updates as you go.
Kaomoji by mood
- Happy37 kaomoji
- Love37 kaomoji
- Sad37 kaomoji
- Crying37 kaomoji
- Angry37 kaomoji
- Shrug37 kaomoji
- Cats37 kaomoji
- Bears37 kaomoji
- Dogs37 kaomoji
- Bunnies37 kaomoji
- Hugs37 kaomoji
- Waving37 kaomoji
- Dancing37 kaomoji
- Sleep37 kaomoji
- Confused37 kaomoji
- Surprised37 kaomoji
- Blushing37 kaomoji
- Table flip37 kaomoji
- Magic37 kaomoji
- Food37 kaomoji
- Music37 kaomoji
- Fighting37 kaomoji
- Writing37 kaomoji
- Greetings37 kaomoji
Popular kaomoji
Two favourites from every category. Tap one to copy it.
What are kaomoji?
Kaomoji (顔文字, "face characters") are faces drawn with text. They started on Japanese bulletin boards in the 1980s and 90s. Western smileys like :-) lie on their side; kaomoji stand upright, so you read them without turning your head: (^_^).
Every kaomoji is plain Unicode text: brackets, Japanese kana, Greek letters, Thai and Kannada signs, maths symbols. That is why they paste into WhatsApp, Discord, Instagram, TikTok comments or a game chat, and why they change with the font, unlike emoji pictures.
All 870 faces here are our own collection, sorted into 24 moods from happy and love to table flip. Each face can sit in more than one mood, and every category page tells you which characters its faces use.
How to read a kaomoji
Start with the eyes, they carry the mood. ^ ^ and ᵔ ᵔ are smiling, squeezed-shut eyes; ◕ ◕ are big and sweet; ╥ ╥ and T T are streaming tears; ಠ ಠ is a hard stare; − − or ˘ ˘ are sleepy or unimpressed.
The mouth sits between the eyes. ω is a small cat-like mouth, ▽ and ∀ are open laughs, ᴥ is an animal snout, Д is a shout, □ is shock and 益 is gritted teeth.
Arms and extras make the face move: ヽ ノ raise both hands, ┐ ┌ shrug, っ reaches out for a hug, ╯ throws a table ┻━┻, and ♡ ✧ ♪ add hearts, sparkles and music. Cheek marks like ˶ ˶ or 〃 〃 add a blush.
Put it together: ヽ(˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶)ノ is arms up + blush + smiling eyes + small mouth. Try it in the builder above.
Questions people ask
How do I copy and paste a kaomoji?
Tap or click it. It is copied at once and a small message confirms it. Paste it with a long press and Paste on your phone, or Ctrl+V (⌘V on a Mac).
What is the difference between kaomoji and emoji?
Emoji are single pictures drawn by your phone maker (😊). Kaomoji are built from several ordinary characters ((◕‿◕)), so they look the same in any app that has the fonts, and you can change them freely.
Why does a kaomoji show boxes on my phone?
Some faces borrow rare characters, for example from Kannada (ಠ) or Thai (ง). An old phone without those fonts shows an empty box. Pick a face made of more common characters, or update the phone.
Can I make my own kaomoji?
Yes. Open the builder at the top of this page, choose arms, cheeks, eyes, mouth and an extra, and copy the result. The Random button gives you a new face each time.
Do kaomoji work on Instagram, Discord and WhatsApp?
Yes, they are text. Most apps accept them in messages, comments and bios. Usernames that allow only letters and numbers will reject them.
How do you type a kaomoji on a keyboard?
Japanese keyboards suggest kaomoji when you type かお (kao). On iPhone, the Japanese Kana keyboard has a ^_^ key with a long list. Everywhere else, copy one here and save it as a text shortcut.