Animals & Nature · Emoji 3.0
🦍Gorilla Emoji
Generally, it means you’re feeling strong and powerful, like a gorilla! It’s often used to hype yourself up or to show support for someone else.
The 🦍 emoji is a gorilla.
- Unicode
- U+1F98D
- Released
- 2016
- Shortcode
- :gorilla:
- Skin tones
- No
01 — Meaning
What does the 🦍 Gorilla emoji mean?
One character, many names — these are the wordings people actually type, all 1 of them.
02 — Platforms
Gorilla emoji on iPhone, Android, WhatsApp and X
Same code on both ends, different drawing on each screen — here is the gorilla as 9 vendors ship it.
See the whole set the way each system draws it — iPhone emojis, Android emojis, WhatsApp emojis and Discord emojis.
03 — Copy & codes
Gorilla emoji copy and paste
Everything here is the same character in different notation — including the shortcode chat apps know it by, :gorilla:.
All emoji copy and paste →In your code
Pick the notation your language wants. They all resolve to the gorilla, code point U+1F98D.
04 — How to type
How to type the 🦍 Gorilla emoji
Every system hides the emoji key somewhere else. Here is where, plus the raw codes for U+1F98D when there is no key at all.
05 — Download
Gorilla emoji PNG and SVG
Transparent PNG and SVG for thumbnails, decks and design files — one file per vendor, which makes 9. Artwork belongs to whoever drew it, so check the licence before commercial use.
Emoji PNG library →
Apple
Google
Twitter / X
Facebook
Microsoft
WhatsApp
06 — Combinations
Gorilla emoji combinations
Ready-made combos built around gorilla for bios, captions and comments. Tap to copy.
All combinations →Want two emojis fused into one sticker instead of set side by side? Emoji Kitchen does that for every pair Google has drawn, and there are more ready-made pairs in emoji combinations and aesthetic emoji combos.
07 — In conversation
What 🦍 means from a girl or a guy
The same character carries a different intent depending on the sender and the message before it.
08 — Around the world
What 🦍 means in other countries
Has a well-documented history as a racist slur against Black people, so using it about a person carries real risk.
Used as a racist slur against Black people, including in documented sports abuse and tech mislabeling incidents.
Neutral, literal use for the animal, especially around gorilla conservation topics.
Sometimes tied to “gorilla” strength memes unrelated to any racial meaning.
Before you send it: Don't use it to describe or react to a specific person; the racist association is real and well documented.
09 — Apps
What 🦍 means on TikTok, WhatsApp and Discord
One code point, several readings — where the gorilla lands changes how it is taken.
11 — History
Where the 🦍 Gorilla emoji came from
When it was approved, which release it landed in, and how long phones have had it.
Same character every time — U+1F98D never changed. Only the drawing did, and only because each vendor redraws its own set. Someone on an older phone still sees the older picture.
Gorilla was approved as U+1F98D and shipped in Emoji 3.0 (2016). Phones usually get new artwork about a year after approval, in a system update.
Every vendor keeps its own artwork, so 🦍 is redrawn by Apple, Google, Twitter / X, Facebook, OpenMoji, Samsung, Microsoft, WhatsApp, JoyPixels. The character you send never changes — only the picture does.
12 — FAQ