Kaomoji and cute text faces
Kaomoji are faces made from text characters, like (◕‿◕), (╥﹏╥), ( ˘ ³˘)♥ and ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ. The name comes from Japanese: kao means face and moji means character. Unlike emoji, kaomoji are built from letters, punctuation and symbols, so they work almost anywhere text does.
This page has 150 kaomoji and text animals, from happy and shy faces to sad, angry, sleepy, cats, bears and bunnies. Tap one to copy the whole face at once.
Kaomoji for every mood
- Happy: (◕‿◕) (＾▽＾) (✿◠‿◠) for good vibes.
- Love: (♡˙︶˙♡) ( ˘ ³˘)♥ (´｡• ᵕ •｡`) ♡ for sweet moments.
- Sad: (╥﹏╥) (ಥ﹏ಥ) (︶︹︺) when things go wrong.
- Shy: (⁄ ⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄ ⁄) (〃▽〃) when you are blushing.
- Angry: (╬ Ò﹏Ó) (ノಠ益ಠ)ノ for frustrated days.
- Cool and silly: (⌐■_■) ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ (☞ﾟヮﾟ)☞ for fun replies.
- Animals: ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ ฅ^•ﻌ•^ฅ (=^･ω･^=) ⊂(・﹏・⊂) for cute critters.
Why people love kaomoji
Kaomoji have more personality than many emoji. You can show a tiny shrug ¯\_(ツ)_/¯, a table flip (╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻ or a happy little dance with just text. Because they are made of characters, they take on the colour and font of your message, which gives chats and captions a cute, handmade feel.
They also work in places where emoji do not, like older apps, plain email, game chats, code comments and some websites.
Where to use text faces
Use kaomoji in Discord servers, Twitch chats, Instagram captions, TikTok comments, WhatsApp messages and Tumblr posts. Add a happy face to a thank you message, a sad face to an apology, or a cat face to a post about your pet. Kaomoji are also popular in usernames and bios, especially small ones like (｡•ᴗ•｡) or ʚ(•ᴗ•)ɞ.
How kaomoji are made
Most kaomoji are read the right way up, unlike older Western smileys like :-) that you read sideways. They use brackets for the face shape, special characters for eyes and mouth, and extra symbols for hands, blush or tears. For example, ◕ makes big eyes, ‿ makes a smile, ﹏ makes a wobbly mouth and ⁄ makes blushing cheeks.
Once you know the parts, you can create your own. Copy a face, change the eyes or mouth with other symbols, and you have a brand new kaomoji.
Tips for copying kaomoji
Tap the tile once to copy the full face, including any spaces. Some kaomoji use characters from Japanese, Thai or Kannada fonts, so they may look slightly different on some phones. If one looks broken, pick a simpler face from the same mood. Save your favourites so they are always one tap away.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a kaomoji?
- A kaomoji is a Japanese-style face made from text characters, like (◕‿◕) or (╥﹏╥).
- What is the difference between kaomoji and emoji?
- Emoji are picture characters drawn by your device. Kaomoji are built from several normal text characters.
- How do I copy the shrug face?
- Find ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ on this page and tap it once to copy the whole face.
- Can I use kaomoji on Instagram and Discord?
- Yes. Kaomoji are plain text, so they paste into Instagram, Discord, TikTok, WhatsApp and most other apps.
- Why does a kaomoji look different on my phone?
- Some faces use rare characters, and each phone has its own fonts, so small details can change.
- Where does the word kaomoji come from?
- It is Japanese. Kao means face and moji means character, so kaomoji means face characters.