➖ Minus Emoji — Meaning, Copy & Paste, Codes

01 — Meaning

What does the ➖ Minus emoji mean?

In plain english

Generally, when someone sends ➖ in a text, they mean they want to subtract something – like a number or an amount. It’s a quick way to show a decrease or a difference. ➖ sits in black emojis, where it is listed next to everything used the same way. It also turns up in white emojis and dark emojis.

Where it comes from

The ➖ emoji is the minus sign. It’s most often used in math or to represent subtraction. People use it when they’re talking about something decreasing, being less than something else, or taking something away. It can show frustration, disappointment, or simply a mathematical calculation. It’s a pretty straightforward symbol.

Also known as

One character, many names — these are the wordings people actually type, all 4 of them.

heavy emojimath emojiminus emojisign emoji

02 — Platforms

Minus emoji on iPhone, Android, WhatsApp and X

Vendors keep repainting this one. Counting the archived versions further down, the minus has been drawn in 3 ways.

AppleiPhone, iPad, macOS

GoogleAndroid, Gmail, Chrome

Twitter / XX, Discord, Twemoji apps

FacebookFacebook, Messenger

OpenMojiOpen-source, design systems

SamsungGalaxy, One UI

MicrosoftWindows, Teams, Fluent

WhatsAppWhatsApp on Android

JoyPixelsSlack, Discord themes

See the whole set the way each system draws it — iPhone emojis, Android emojis, WhatsApp emojis and Discord emojis.

03 — Copy & codes

Minus emoji copy and paste

Everything here is the same character in different notation — including the shortcode chat apps know it by, :heavy_minus_sign:.

All emoji copy and paste →

In your code

Escapes for the languages people actually paste this into. Every one of them produces the same character, and that character is U+2796.

04 — How to type

How to type the ➖ Minus emoji

No picker to hand? The minus can be typed straight from the keyboard — the codes for that are below, one per system.

iPhone & iPad

Tap the smiley or globe key at the bottom-left of the keyboard, then search “minus”. No emoji key? Settings → General → Keyboard → Keyboards → Add New Keyboard → Emoji.

Android

On Gboard tap the smiley key, or long-press the Enter or comma key. On Samsung Keyboard the emoji button sits behind the gear icon.

Windows & Mac

Windows: press Win + . for the emoji panel. Mac: Control + Command + Space. Then type “minus”.

Slack & Discord

Type the shortcode :heavy_minus_sign: and it converts to ➖ as you send. The full set is on the Discord emoji page.

Websites & code

In HTML use ➖, in CSS \2796, in JavaScript \u{2796}.

No picker to hand? The online emoji keyboard works in any browser, and every character on the site is listed on emoji copy and paste.

05 — Download

Minus 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 PNG · 160px

Google PNG · 160px

Twitter / X SVG vector

Facebook PNG · 64px

OpenMoji SVG vector

Samsung PNG · 64px

Microsoft PNG · 64px

WhatsApp PNG · 64px

JoyPixels PNG · 64px

06 — Combinations

Minus emoji combinations

Ready-made combos built around minus for bios, captions and comments. Tap to copy.

All combinations →

Cool minus combos

Flex minus combos

Aesthetic minus combos

Cute minus combos

Dark minus combos

Party minus combos

Love minus combos

Mood minus combos

Unhinged minus combos

Soft minus combos

Late night minus combos

Summer minus combos

Gaming minus combos

Y2K minus combos

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.

From a girl

If a girl sends you ➖, she might be expressing frustration or disappointment, especially if she’s talking about a situation where something has decreased or gone wrong. It can also be a playful way to indicate a lower number or value. Don't overthink it too much; it's often just a quick reaction.

From a guy

A guy sending ➖ could mean he’s pointing out a reduction, a loss, or something that’s become less valuable. It can be a straightforward statement about a number or a more casual expression of disappointment. It’s usually not loaded with deep meaning.

How to reply

If someone sends you ➖, you could reply with: “Seriously ➖” or “That sucks ➖” or “Let’s fix that ➖” or “I feel you ➖”.

Used in a sentence

08 — Apps

What ➖ means on TikTok, WhatsApp and Discord

Chat apps do not change U+2796, they change what it looks like and what people take it to mean.

TikTok & Instagram

Generally, when someone sends ➖ in a text, they mean they want to subtract something – like a number or an amount. It’s a quick way to show a decrease or a difference. In comments and captions it is read the same way — the tone comes from what it sits next to.

WhatsApp draws ➖ with Apple-style artwork on every phone, so it looks identical for both sides. A message with only ➖ in it is shown enlarged.

Discord & Slack

Both accept the shortcode :heavy_minus_sign:. Discord renders Twemoji, so ➖ looks different there than on your phone.

Outlook & email

Outlook has no emoji picker on desktop — press Win + . or Control + Command + Space inside the message body, or paste ➖ from the copy button above.

09 — Related

Emojis similar to the Minus emoji

Same family (math) — often confused with minus or used alongside it.

Symbols →

➕Plus ➗Divide ✖️Multiply 🟰Heavy Equals Sign ♾️Infinity 🚰Potable Water ☮️Peace Symbol ✝️Latin Cross ☪️Star and Crescent 🪯Khanda 🕉️Om ☸️Wheel Of Dharma

Collections ➖ belongs to — every one of them is a different way people go looking for it:

black emojis white emojis dark emojis

10 — History

Where the ➖ Minus emoji came from

This one is older than Unicode emoji: Japanese carriers were drawing it on their handsets years before the standard existed, which it finally joined in 2010.

AppleiOS

GoogleAndroid

Minus emoji, Google, Blob, 2017 — Blob, 2017

Minus emoji, Google, Redesign, 2017 — Redesign, 2017

Minus emoji, Google, Android 2018 — Android 2018

Minus emoji, Google, Android 2020 — Android 2020

Twitter / XTwemoji

Minus emoji, Twitter / X, Twemoji 16 — Twemoji 16

Minus emoji, Twitter / X, Twemoji 17 — Twemoji 17

Same character every time — U+2796 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.

1997–2008

Japanese carrier phones

Long before Unicode had emoji, Japanese carriers shipped their own picture sets. ➖ existed there as KDDI au E53D. Those codes are why it survived into the standard at all — Unicode had to keep Japanese messages readable.

2010

Added to the standard

Minus was approved as U+2796 and shipped in Emoji 0.6 (2010). Emoji 0.6 is the original 2010 batch that came over from the Japanese sets.

Today

Drawn 9 different ways

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.

11 — FAQ

Minus emoji — questions people actually ask

What does the ➖ Minus emoji mean?

Generally, when someone sends ➖ in a text, they mean they want to subtract something – like a number or an amount. It’s a quick way to show a decrease or a difference.

What does ➖ mean from a girl?

If a girl sends you ➖, she might be expressing frustration or disappointment, especially if she’s talking about a situation where something has decreased or gone wrong. It can also be a playful way to indicate a lower number or value. Don't overthink it too much; it's often just a quick reaction.

What does ➖ mean from a guy?

A guy sending ➖ could mean he’s pointing out a reduction, a loss, or something that’s become less valuable. It can be a straightforward statement about a number or a more casual expression of disappointment. It’s usually not loaded with deep meaning.

How do you reply to the ➖ emoji?

If someone sends you ➖, you could reply with: “Seriously ➖” or “That sucks ➖” or “Let’s fix that ➖” or “I feel you ➖”.

What else is the ➖ emoji called?

Minus is the official Unicode name, but people search for it as “heavy emoji”, “math emoji”, “minus emoji”, “sign emoji” and more. They all refer to the same character, U+2796.

What is the Unicode code for ➖?

The Minus emoji is U+2796, added in Emoji 0.6 (2010). In HTML you can write it as ➖, and in CSS as \2796.

How do I copy and paste the ➖ emoji?

Tap the copy button at the top of this page — ➖ goes straight to your clipboard and pastes into Instagram, TikTok, WhatsApp, Discord or any text field. You can also copy its shortcode :heavy_minus_sign: for Slack and Discord.

Does ➖ look the same on every phone?

No. Minus is drawn separately by each vendor — Apple, Google, Twitter / X, Facebook, OpenMoji, Samsung, Microsoft, WhatsApp and JoyPixels all ship their own artwork for U+2796. The character you send is identical; only the picture changes.

➖Minus Emoji

In your code