A small digital picture or icon used in messages to express emotions, objects, ideas, or actions. They add tone and feeling to text communication.
From Japanese 'emoji,' from 'e' (絵, picture) + 'moji' (文字, character, letter). It is not related to the English word 'emotion,' even though they sound similar. Emojis developed from earlier Japanese mobile phone icons in the late 1990s.
The 'e' in 'emoji' means 'picture,' not 'emotion'—the similarity is just a happy accident. Yet we mostly use them to show feelings our plain words might hide or confuse. In a way, emojis are modern hieroglyphs: tiny pictures standing in for complex human moods.
Early emoji sets often defaulted to male representations for many professions and activities, with women shown in more limited or stereotypical roles. Over time, more gender‑inclusive and non‑binary emoji options have been added in response to criticism.
Choose emoji that avoid reinforcing gender stereotypes, and when possible use gender‑neutral or multiple‑gender variants to represent diverse users.
Advocates, many of them women and non‑binary designers and users, pushed for more representative emoji (e.g., women professionals, gender‑neutral figures).
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.