Wondering about Facebook emoji meanings?
Or looking for a Facebook emoticons list to copy and paste?
Now we have Facebook reactions too! These are cute animated emojis we can add as reactions to others’ Facebook posts and comments.
But you want to post the right one to express the right emotion.
Learn the meanings of emoticons, emojis, reactions, and feelings on Facebook, and grab the copy-paste codes for Facebook emoticons.
Let’s dive in!
What Are Facebook Emoticons?
We’ve all used emoticons and emojis often enough – but did you know there’s a difference?
An emoji is a digital image. An emoticon is an “emotion icon” – a facial representation that was originally created through text.
That’s where these codes for Facebook emoticons come in. And they work in any spot you can add text on Facebook.
You can make an emoticon from the keys on your keyboard, but you can’t make emojis that way!
Facebook Emoticons List and Copy-Paste Text
Most of us are used to a keyboard or smartphone screen where emojis have their own little panel.
But there are times when this might not work. Or you need the actual code for the emoticon to get things to show properly.
And sometimes it’s just faster to pop in the text than to find the emoji you want!
That’s when knowing how to copy and paste the code is important.
With a handy list like this one, you can easily create Facebook emoticons: copy, paste, and you’re done. Ideal if the emoji keyboard option isn’t working for some reason.
These emoticons work in Facebook comments, and most work in private messages too. Note that some have more than one way you can enter the text and still get a Facebook emoticon.
This list includes the most popular ones – just copy and paste the code in the right-hand column to use the emoticon.
You may see some as a WordPress emoticon already – that’s OK, just copy the text or icon under the Shortcut heading, and paste into a FB comment or chat.
| Emoticon | Name | Shortcut |
|---|---|---|
 | smile | 🙂 🙂 :] =) |
 | frown | 🙁 🙁 :[ =( |
 | gasp | :-O :O 😮 😮 |
 | grin | 😀 😀 =D |
 | tongue | 😛 😛 :-p :p =P |
 | wink | 😉 😉 |
 | curly lips | :3 |
 | kiss | :-* :* |
 | grumpy | >:( >:-( |
 | glasses | 😎 B-) |
 | sunglasses | 8-| 8| B-| B| |
 | upset | >:O >:-O >:o >:-o |
 | confused | o.O O.o |
 | shark | (^^^) |
 | pacman | :v |
 | squint | -_- |
 | angel | O:) O:-) |
 | devil | 3:) 3:-) |
 | unsure | :/ :-/ |
 | cry | :'( |
 * | Chris Putnam | :putnam: |
 | robot | :|] |
 | heart | <3 |
 | kiki | ^_^ |
 * | penguin | <(“) |
 | poop | :poop: |
* Chris Putnam emoji copy and paste, as well as penguin, no longer work for me. Do they for you?
Let me know in a comment any you’re having trouble with and I’ll check.
Facebook Emoticons Meanings
The great thing about emoticons is that while they have a name, there’s also a lot of meaning you can express with them.
Take the sunglasses one. That could be anything from accenting a message about sunglasses to a sunny day to a holiday.
Or just being cool!
The gasp one could be something shocking, a pleasant surprise, or just a WOW-type reaction.
Most of the emoticons have fairly standard meanings, while some emojis can be a little more open to interpretation. Check out this list of emoji names to get some ideas.
It never hurts to do a little research first to make sure there’s no negative association with any before using them in your marketing.
Facebook Emoticons in Status Updates [Reactions]
The most commonly used emoticons are the ones that appear at the bottom of status updates. And there’s no need for code for these!
Mousing over or pressing on the “Like” button will bring up an array of Facebook reactions.
The blue thumbs-up “Like” emoticon has been around since Facebook began. But the addition of the others in 2015 allows us to easily convey more meaning with our reactions.
Encouraging people to use reactions is a good thing because it offers a positive sign to Facebook when people interact with our posts.
However, don’t be too blatant about it!
One of the rules to get more Facebook engagement is to avoid those engagement-bait moves. That includes directly asking people to use the reactions to “vote” or something similar.
Instead, post a poll if you want votes.
Facebook Reaction Meanings
Remember when we could only “Like” Facebook posts?
In those days, adding a “thumbs up” to some posts just wasn’t appropriate.
Facebook responded by adding the reactions, shown above: an assortment of animated emojis.
Per Facebook:
A reaction is a response to a Facebook post or ad in which a person chooses one of several emoticons (Like, Love, Haha, Wow, Sad, Angry) to indicate their feelings about the content of a post or ad. source
The Facebook reactions approximate these standard emojis, and are followed by their meanings:
👍 Like = The Thumbs Up is the basic reaction and can simply mean you saw and acknowledged the post.
❤️ Love = The Beating Heart offers stronger support than a Like. It does stand for Love, so beware if you think it may be misconstrued as expressing more affection than you intend.
😂 Haha = The Laughing Face means you found the post humorous. Unless you intend to be sarcastic, you should probably be sure the post was intended to be funny!
😯 Wow = The Surprised Face means you’re surprised or amazed at what’s been shared.
😢 Sad = The Crying Face is used to share your sadness at what’s been posted.
😡 Angry = The Angry Red Face means you find the content maddening!
Finally, Care = The Smiling Face Hugging Heart symbolizes compassion and empathy.
The Care reaction is unique in that it doesn’t have a Unicode emoji counterpart. Thus, there’s no Care reaction copy paste code.
Facebook added the Care reaction in April 2020. It’s a smiley emoticon hugging a heart on desktop, but in Messenger it may appear as a beating heart. This one replaced the “Yay” or plain smiley face.
Of course, we had much to express or care, compassion, and concern about that year. It was sweet to share a smiley emoji hugging a heart when we weren’t allowed to share actual hugs!
How to Choose a Facebook Reaction
To choose a Facebook reaction, simply tap or mouse over the thumbs up or word “Like” below any post or comment, and the choices will appear.
Then slide your finger or cursor across to tap or click the one you want.
Facebook Emoji Meanings
Facebook supports all the Unicode emojis. This is version 15 as of February 27, 2023, and includes 3,853 emojis. 😲
You can type these from your emoji keyboard like you do everywhere else.
However, they’ll appear as Facebook emojis when using the Facebook website, Facebook Android app, Messenger for web, and Messenger for Android.
Only the Facebook iOS app uses native Apple emojis instead of Facebook’s own emoji images.
To see the meanings for Facebook emojis, refer to this interactive list of Unicode emoji meanings!
Emojis and Feelings
The other place that emojis have made their presence felt is part of the ability to add a “feeling” or sentiment to your post.
When you start a Facebook status update on your Page, you can tap either the Feeling/Activity button or the three dots.
From the next popup, choose “Feeling” instead of one of the many activities, and you’ll discover a load of emojis with an associated feeling.
Tap one to add this to the update.
This will add the emotion alongside the page name at the start of the status update.
It works much the same as on a personal status update for your main feed just with that extra step required, which is well worth the extra engagement it may bring to your post!
Facebook Emoticons Cheat Sheet
Here are the same emoticons as in the copy/paste chart above, with keyboard shortcuts, in an infographic.
Pin it to Pinterest as a reminder! This was my first viral Pin with over 30,000 Saves 😉
Most of the time, we default to using emojis in our Facebook marketing.
But knowing how to use emoticons is also a good idea. You never know when an emoji is hijacked or won’t work properly.
Emojis are also great to know, since we use them all the time with the reactions and feelings on our posts.
What’s your favorite way to use emoticons on Facebook?
MARTINS says
Any new emoticon
Louise Myers says
I’m not aware of FB adding any new emoji since the “care” reaction. They seem to have deprecated a couple emoticons, as noted in the article.
I miss when they’d add timely “reactions”! My fave was the Star Trek collection 🙂
Phuong Thuy says
Sorry, please tell me how do I write the emoticon of pacman looking downwards and upwards
Louise Myers says
I don’t believe there is one on FB.
Omkar says
Wow. Nice emoji. But i like this. Am from indian in bihar.
Abs says
How do I type the bored face (the one with raised eyebrows and a tired look, like the one in Whatsapp)?
Louise Myers says
The ones in the post are the only ones I know how to type.
yahuda says
thank for the information its usefull for newbie like me
Louise Myers says
Glad you liked it!
rahul raj says
i want to write :poop: on coment box…
help me…
Louise Myers says
Hi Rahul, I’m not sure how to help. This works for me on FB comments.
javulani says
show me how to make symbols of emoj on fb
Louise Myers says
What is it you need help with that’s not covered in the post?
Joel Queiroz says
unlike Facebook bracket code doesn’t work
Louise Myers says
Sorry to hear that, Joel. I can’t help with the bracket codes but I’m sure you can find a site with info on them.
Erin says
How do I do the heart eyes emoji??
Louise Myers says
I don’t know of any text for this. You can copy and paste the heart eyes emoji from here: hearteyesemoji.com
Lukay says
Hey please tell me how do I write the emoticon of pacman looking downwards and upwards
Louise Myers says
Hey Lukay,
I’m sorry, I don’t know that one!
DW says
Please visit my site at http://fbicons.net for your Facebook emoticon needs. I have over 400 working special icons, updated as of July 2014. Thanks. ♥
Louise Myers says
cool resource, thanks!
melanie says
can you make your own smiley to add after you comment so people know who its from, like on my facebook page no one knows who of my admit did the comment or post
Louise Myers says
Hi Melanie,
Custom emoticons only work for chat and messages. For comments, they’ll have to type their name.
melanie says
ok thank you.
David says
How you make angel wings on Facebook? What are the shortcuts for all of them if there’s more than one?
Louise Myers says
Hi David,
I found this: ^i^ But I think this is just for chat and not for comments.
Edi Dominic says
Wow! I enjoyed learning new smiley codes here, facebook should add more emoticons for us you know know?
Louise Myers says
I totally agree, Edi!
wahab ali says
Hi!
very nice Emoticons List but please let me know how can i get your hreat.
Louise Myers says
The heart on FB is the “less than” symbol < then the numeral 3. <3
ray says
your missing tons
Louise Myers says
Hi Ray!
We can create many emoticons from the Emoji app for mobile, but these are the only ones I know of for comments, from the desktop keyboard.
Care to share any others you know of?
Leonard says
And you’re missing an apostrophe and an “e.”
Louise Myers says
😉
SS says
..*..lovelovelo…*
…*..lovelovelove….*
..*.lovelovelovelove…*…………….*….*
.*..lovelovelovelovelo…*………*..lovel….*
…*..lovelovelovelovelove…*….*…lovelovelo.*
*.. lovelovelovelovelove…*….*…lovelovelo.*
.*..lovelovelovelovelove…*..*…lovelovelo…*
..*…lovelovelovelovelove..*…lovelovelo…*
…*….lovelovelolovelovelovelovelovelo…*
…..*….lovelovelovelovelovelovelov…*
……..*….lovelovelovelovelovelo…*
………..*….lovelovelovelove…*
……………*…lovelovelo….*
………………*..lovelo…*
…………………*…..*
………………….*..*
Louise Myers says
Very nice!
sourabh says
I have made a complete list of facebook hidden smileys that can be used on chat as well as comments:
Louise Myers says
Great, thanks!
sourabh says
Now facebook support a lot more smileys that those mentioned here….
Louise Myers says
I believe the new smileys are for status updates, not for comments. I’ve written about them and how they might be used by Facebook to mine information here:
https://louisem.com/3333/facebook-emoticons-status-updates
sylvia oneal says
Only a few emoticons show up in FB comments,and even then the few that show up don’t do so consistently,usually you just get the shortcut looking back at you.Hope it can be fixed. Thanks!
Louise Myers says
Facebook can be glitchy at times! All those on the list should work in comments – I actually made the list by typing them into a Facebook comment.
Antônia says
Louise
como faz esses emoticons pr colocar no xat Face? bolo de aniversario , tempestade (raio),gatinha, cachorrinho , flores, sol, lua . Se puder por favor me ensina ou faz pr mim. Grata , Antônia.
Louise Myers says
Antonia.
I’ll have some info on that coming up, should be in a week or two.
shirley Gower says
Is there a “hug” emoticon? Thanks!
Louise Myers says
You’re welcome Shirley, enjoy!
ShirleyBob says
Still waiting for a “hug” emoticon…..
Louise Myers says
I agree ShirleyBob! That would be a good one.
Kan Violen says
Excuse me, I want to ask where I can find a large PNG set of these Facebook emoticons? I love to put it with my album’s diary for printing out. Therefore, I need a large size of them. They should be 100×100 pixels/emoticons (or larger is better).
Thank you.
Louise Myers says
I’m so sorry – I wish I knew the answer to that question! I hope you can find it. I’d love to know too!
Kan Violen says
That is so sad, but thank you for your reply.
Vikrant says
for thumbs up you can also write :like:
but what for a cake symbol ?
Louise Myers says
Thanks Vikrant!
[[329135960464171]] will make a cake emoticon in Facebook chat / messages, but not in comments.
John Bouchard says
My understanding, especially in the context of 7.5 million years of computing, is that the answer 42 means this: “Love” is 4 characters long. “Ya” is 2 characters long. So if someone gives you a “42” then they are saying “Love Ya”.
Louise Myers says
That is so cool John! Thanks for sharing.
Jennifer Childs says
“42” comes from The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy. It is the meaning of life, the world, and everything. You have to read the books to get it.
Kasim says
Great List of Emoticons Thanks 🙂
Louise Myers says
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Kasim!
Alex says
aparte del :poop: hay otros nuevos ? … (que no sean los del chat)
pregunto por que agunos me mandan caritas tipo como la de whatsapp
Louise Myers says
Sorry Alex, I don’t know of any other new ones!
DavidXian says
Symbols like these also become emoticons on chats and comments. 😉
☺☀ ☁ ♥ ❤ ☝ ✌ ☕
Louise Myers says
Hey, those are nice, David!
Jennifer says
I’ve been seeing :42: also, but it doesn’t work for me for some reason? Don’t know what it’s supposed to be, either.
As far as emoticons go, this page has what will work in chats and even how to make them yourself. Most will not, however, work in comments.
https://www.facebook.com/notes/how-to-make-all-of-the-fb-emoticons/how-to-make-small-emoticons-list-of-small-emoticons/290579177701425
Hope this is fun for you all, too!
Oh – and the phone apps will NOT show the emoticons. They must be seen in a browser. So, if you are messaging a friend, and they seem confused, ask them if they’re on a phone. If so, the browser they have on the phone (I have Chrome on my iPhone – I haven’t tried Safari or any others) MIGHT show the emoticons – it does on mine.
Good luck!
Jennifer says
oops! Just saw that you put the 42 up there Don’t know how I missed it! lol
Louise Myers says
I’ve updated the post to show the reason for the 42 emoticon!
Louise Myers says
Thanks so much for sharing that Jennifer!
I didn’t know that you could see the emoticons on mobile, so it’s good to know they’re visible on at least some browsers.
Portia Bick says
Yes they do
Louise Myers says
Thanks Portia!
Darlene Nunes says
[[236147243124900]] pokeball
9 minutes ago · Edited · Like
[[326134990738733]] pikachu
8 minutes ago · Like
[[223328504409723]]
7 minutes ago · Like
[[196431117116365]]
6 minutes ago · Like
[[155393057897143]]
5 minutes ago · Like
[[249199828481201]]
4 minutes ago · Like
[[334954663181745]] spongebob
3 minutes ago · Like
[[250128751720149]]
2 minutes ago · Like
I did try these but they work only on chat!! Copy and paste and see!!
Poker face [[129627277060203]]
Forever Alone [[227644903931785]]
OK guy [[100002752520227]]
Me Gusta [[164413893600463]]
Lol guy [[189637151067601]]
F*ck Yeah [[105387672833401]]
Problem? [[171108522930776]]
B*tch, Please [[218595638164996]]
F*ck Yeah [[100002727365206]]
Happy Girl – [[165101186924039]]
Happy Overload – [[238998422838201]]
Mega Rage – [[296147647087021]]
Cereal Guy – [[238076499594176]]
Dislike button – [[343207372372045]]
Oh God Why – [[306848009355987]]
I see what you did there – [[221195671290973]]
I want that – [[157278714378793]]
Mr. Fuu- [[119519804832205]]
Y U NO
[[249199828481201]] – Konata Izumi
[[250128751720149]] – Domo Kun
[[223328504409723]] – Gintoki Sakata
[[236147243124900]] – Pokeball
[[326134990738733]] – Pikachu
[[155393057897143]] – Doraemon
[[224502284290679]] – Nobita
[[144685078974802]] – Mojacko
[[334954663181745]] – Spongebob
[[196431117116365]] – Shin chan
[[138529122927104]] – Pedo Bear
[[269153023141273]] – Poring
[[332936966718584]] – Hello Kitty
[[252497564817075]] – Kerokeroppi
[[297354436976262]] – Santa Claus
[[157680577671754]] – Angry Bird
Darlene Nunes says
Some work and some don’t…[[196920740401785]] – A
[[113544575430999]] – B
[[294715893904555]] – C
[[294660140569858]] – D
[[328415510520892]] – E
[[270221906368791]] – F
[[212614922155016]] – G
[[205633882856736]] – H
[[256255337773105]] – I
[[288138264570038]] – J
[[296999947008863]] – K
[[216672855078917]] – L
[[278786215503631]] – M
[[241341589270741]] – N
[[312524205448755]] – O
[[200138403410055]] – P
[[165410113558613]] – Q
[[203403609746433]] – R
[[334427926570136]] – S
[[250632158335643]] – T
[[285985351447161]] – U
[[343627398996642]] – V
[[315740851791114]] – W
[[136342506479536]] – X
[[224173507657194]] – Y
[[317710424919150]] – Z
Louise Myers says
Very cool Darlene! I’ll make a list of the ones that worked for me. Thanks!!
princemittal says
any more new?????
Louise Myers says
I don’t know of any – hoping someone else has a new Facebook emoticon to share!
noel cardona says
i want new emoticon..
Louise Myers says
What would that be, Noel?
Dave Marsh says
I want an eye roll emoticon!
Louise Myers says
I like that idea, Dave! Sure to be used frequently 🙂
S -B says
I guess they now support the poop symbol too now.
I just saw a post asking the users to type :poop: in the comment box, and it worked.
Wonder if there are any more additions to that list apart from this one. I tried searching but no luck finding them.
Louise Myers says
OK, now I’m gonna have to try that, so it better work 😉
Would be great to know of others! Let us know if you find any – thanks SB!
M-J says
Where do I find the arrow head pointing up? (as in kiki, or in shark)
M-J says
Sorry, I should have specified on my PC
Louise Myers says
Hi MJ, the up arrow is the Shift key of the number 6.
M-J says
Thanks – don’t know how I missed seeing that!!
LAURA says
I can’t get the sunglasses or the robot. Is it the “l” or what is it? everything else works
Louise Myers says
Laura, it’s the line to the right of the brackets. Shift key of the back slash 🙂
crystal says
Thanx again for the information, Louise!
Very Cool.
Have a great day!
Crystal from Handmade Jewelry News
Louise Myers says
Hey Crystal! Glad you enjoyed the Facebook emoticons.
rj akon says
how to change fb chat writhing
Louise Myers says
Hi RJ,
Not sure what you mean, but most of these emoticons do work in chat – down to the squint icon.
Portia Bick says
I think he was asking about different fonts
Julie says
Hi how do u get the dislike thumbs down
Thx
Louise Myers says
Hi Julie,
Easiest way is to add an emoji keyboard to your phone. Facebook seems to support all the emoji characters now.
melianna & alex says
am i dum… why I type this I just get waht i type
<3 or 0:)
it does not change to the emoticon at all
what is the trick?
Louise Myers says
Only works in Facebook comments and messages – doesn’t work on status updates.
navjoth says
hey, how to do the robot sign . i CANT do it
see> :I] OR :1] OR :L]
I can`t do the middle one is it l or 1 or WHAT ???????
Louise Myers says
Hi Navjoth, it’s the line to the right of the brackets. Shift key of the back slash 🙂
Linda says
How do you get the ‘heart’ ?
Louise Myers says
Hi Linda!
The heart is <3
Hiii says
do < and then without space, 3
<3