Question 1

What are emoticons and kaomoji?

Accepted Answer

Emoticons are text-based expressions using ASCII characters to show emotions. Kaomoji (顔文字) are Japanese emoticons that don't need to be rotated sideways to be read, like (^_^) or ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.

Question 2

Will these work on all platforms?

Accepted Answer

Most basic emoticons work everywhere, but complex kaomoji using Unicode characters may not display correctly on older systems or platforms that don't support Unicode.

Question 3

What's the difference between emoticons and emojis?

Accepted Answer

Emoticons are made from keyboard characters and punctuation marks (like :-) ), while emojis are actual pictographic symbols (like 😊). Emoticons were invented first in 1982.

Question 4

Can I create my own emoticons?

Accepted Answer

Yes! Emoticons are created by combining keyboard characters creatively. Popular ones evolved naturally through internet culture and became widely recognized.

Text Emoticons

Text Emoticons

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