201 faces · tap to copy

Kaomoji — Japanese text faces

A kaomoji is read straight on, not sideways: (◕‿◕) rather than :-). It is built from ordinary characters, so it looks identical on every device and never gets swapped for someone else’s artwork the way an emoji does.

Every face here is several characters standing side by side, which is why it looks the same on every device. A single decorative character — ★ ♥ → ✧ — is a different thing entirely, and those live on text symbols.

The most copied face of all, ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°), has its own page with 30 Lenny face variants and a breakdown of which character does what. For multi-line drawings rather than single faces, see text art and ASCII pictures.

01 — Happy

Happy kaomoji

The default set — curved eyes, raised arms, and the ヽ(・∀・)ﾉ shape that reads as cheerful anywhere.

02 — Sad and crying

Sad and crying kaomoji

Tears are drawn as ; or ╥ in place of an eye. The more punctuation, the harder the crying.

03 — Angry

Angry kaomoji

Anger is drawn with 益 or ಠ as eyes, and often with a table involved.

04 — Love

Love kaomoji

Hearts replace the eyes or float alongside. The ♡ is part of the face, not decoration.

05 — Cute

Cute kaomoji

The bear ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ and the bunny (｡･ω･｡) are the two most copied faces on the internet.

06 — Shrug and confused

Shrug and confused kaomoji

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ is the single most-pasted text face on the internet — the “I don’t know” of chat.

07 — Lenny and friends

Lenny and friends kaomoji

The Lenny face started on Finnish forums in 2012 and has meant “you know what I mean” ever since.

All 30 Lenny variants →
08 — Surprised

Surprised kaomoji

Wide round eyes and a small mouth. The Japanese set draws shock as ロ or Д.

09 — Sleepy and tired

Sleepy and tired kaomoji

Closed eyes as ─ or ｡ and the zzZ trail. Used far more for “done with today” than for actual sleep.

10 — Cool and smug

Cool and smug kaomoji

Sunglasses drawn as ▀ or ■, and the flex arm ᕙ(⇀‸↼‶)ᕗ.

11 — Animals

Animals kaomoji

Bears, cats, rabbits and the occasional squid — built from brackets and Japanese kana.

12 — Waving and greeting

Waving and greeting kaomoji

The raised arm ノ and the ヾ wave — the standard way to open or close a message.

13 — Table flip

Table flip kaomoji

Flipping and putting back the table — a whole two-act genre of text face.

14 — Hugs and giving

Hugs and giving kaomoji

The (っ◕‿◕)っ shape means offering something — a hug, a gift, or the thing being discussed.

15 — Dancing and celebrating

Dancing and celebrating kaomoji

Arms out, legs implied. The ヾ(⌐■_■)ノ♪ is the standard “it’s friday” face.

FAQ

Kaomoji — questions people ask

What is a kaomoji?
A face built from text characters that you read straight on: (◕‿◕). Western emoticons like :-) are read sideways. The difference comes from the language — Japanese readers focus on the eyes, which is why the mouth barely changes in a kaomoji while the eyes carry the whole expression.
How do I use a kaomoji?
Tap it here to copy, then paste. Because it is plain text, it works in Discord, X, Instagram, a commit message or a document — anywhere an emoji might be stripped or turned into someone else’s picture.
Why does a kaomoji look broken on my phone?
Some of them use rare Japanese or maths characters that a given font does not cover, so parts show as boxes. The simpler faces — ¯\_(ツ)_/¯, (◕‿◕), ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ — use common characters and survive everywhere.
What does ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ mean?
A shrug: “I don’t know”, “nothing I can do”, or mild indifference. The ツ in the middle is the Japanese katakana “tsu”, borrowed purely because it looks like a smiling face.
Where did the Lenny face come from?
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) appeared on a Finnish imageboard around 2012 and spread through Reddit. It implies a knowing, usually suggestive subtext — the text equivalent of raising an eyebrow.
Are kaomoji the same as emojis?
No. An emoji is one character that every platform redraws as its own picture. A kaomoji is several ordinary characters standing next to each other, so it looks the same everywhere and never gets replaced.