๐ Smiling Face with Halo
๐ Meaning
The ๐ emoji depicts a smiling face with a halo and (sometimes) wings. Its primary meaning is kindness, innocence, and goodness , but it is often used ironically.
Two main contexts can be distinguished:
๐ Direct meaning: Sincere kindness, innocence, angelic behavior, piety, purity of thoughts.
- Example: "Thanks for your help, you're an angel! ๐"
- Example: "Spent the whole day helping grandma in the garden ๐."
๐ Ironic or sarcastic meaning: To show that behind an innocent expression lies mischief, cunning, or sarcasm. This is the most popular usage.
- Example: (After eating the last piece of cake) "Who ate the cake? I don't know... ๐."
- Example: “Of course, I’m not guilty of anything ๐.”
Usage
The emoji ๐ is a master of double-dealing. Here's how it's used:
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To soften the message: Adds playfulness and prevents words from sounding harsh.
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"You overslept today... again ๐"
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To hint at a secret or prank: Shows that you are hiding something or have done something not quite decent, but in a good-natured way.
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"I have a surprise for you ๐"
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To express false innocence: Classically used in response to an accusation.
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"It definitely wasn't me who spilled juice on the keyboard ๐"
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For sincere gratitude or a compliment: Emphasizes purity of intentions.
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"You helped me so much, thank you! ๐"
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How it appeared
The ๐ emoji was part of the original set of emoji introduced in Japan in the 1990s. It was called "Face Looking Angelic" or "Smiling Face With Halo . "
- Origin: The concept originates from Christian iconography, where a halo (a glowing circle around the head) is a symbol of holiness, goodness, and connection to the divine.
- Encoding: The emoji was officially included in the Unicode 6.0 standard in 2010 under the name "Smiling Face With Halo" .
Interesting facts
- "Angel" sarcasm: In Western internet culture, the ironic use of this emoji has become so widespread that its direct meaning sometimes fades into the background.
- Gender differences: Research shows that women use this emoji significantly more often than men, often to convey a playful tone.
- Cultural differences: In some cultures where religious symbols have a more strict meaning, this emoji may be used almost exclusively in a literal, non-ironic sense.
Combination with other emoji
๐ Combines well with other emojis to enhance or clarify the meaning.
๐ + ๐ / ๐: A classic combination to indicate a clever trick, flirtation, or sarcasm.
- "I saved a piece of pie for you... ๐๐"
๐ + ๐: Enhances the sincerity of gratitude or supplication.
- "Please help me with this project ๐๐"
๐ + ๐คซ: A direct hint at a secret or conspiracy.
- "Let's meet at 6, don't tell anyone ๐คซ๐"
๐ + ๐ / ๐ฐ: To “innocently” hint at something pleasant or at your “sin” in the form of eating dessert.
- "Did someone eat your cake? ๐๐"
๐ + ๐ช / โจ: To show a good deed or achievement with pure intentions.
- "I washed all the dishes today! ๐๐ช"
๐ for SEO website promotion
This emoji is versatile, but works best for projects with a light, positive, personal, or playful tone.
- Dating and flirting sites: Ideal for creating a playful and flirtatious image.
- Lifestyle, cooking, and craft blogs: Convey a sense of warmth and kindness.
- Social networks and instant messengers: Its main environment is for personal and informal communication.
- Websites for parents and children: Symbolizes innocence and angelic children.
- Religious and spiritual portals: In their direct, non-ironic meaning.
- Startups and brands with a "friendly" image: Can be used in marketing to show that the company is "kind and honest" (but be careful not to appear unprofessional).
Where NOT to use it:
- Official business letters.
- Corporate documents.
- News portals.
- Legal or financial websites.
Check ๐ Smiling Face with Halo (๐) emoji codes for devs:
Codepoints
Bytes (UTF-8)
HTML hex
HTML dec
URL escape code
Punycode
JavaScript, JSON, Java
C, C++, Python
CSS
PHP, Ruby
Perl
Unicode Name
Apple Name
Also Known As
Angel
Shortcodes
:innocent: (GitHub, Slack, Discord)
How emoji ๐ looks on Apple Iphone, Android and other platforms