Over six billion text messages are sent in the U.S. everyday. That’s over 2.2 trillion each year, reports Forrester Research.
Using an emoji, how would you react to that statistic?
Both of those probably wouldn’t be the correct one to use, however, according to what they were actually created to convey. The first one above, for example, is scared and in fear, while the second is a hushed face.
Says who, you ask? Unicode is the international coding language that computing systems use to communicate around the world. Unicode.org is the consortium that supports this language. And while that all may sound complicated, it’s to say that the folks at Unicode have the name of each emoticon listed and, well, not every emoticon is exactly what you may have thought it was.
So how many emojis are you using wrong on a daily basis? Here are 17 emojis with commonly mistaken identities.
Many people confuse this emoji with the crying face. But upon closer inspection, you’ll notice the water droplet is coming from the eyebrow and running down the side of the face. This signifies sweat. This emoji is known as the Eyebrow Sweat Emoji.
This smiley face with rosy cheeks is meant to show you’re truly happy. It’s most commonly used with people you are best friends with and shows you’re all warm and fuzzy inside.
Most people commonly assume this face means you’re whistling. But it’s actually signifies kissing. So it makes sense that the emoji below is a blowing a kiss, right?
Think this is the whining face? Think again. This emoji means you’re tired—and need a nap! But I could see being tired and whining go hand-in-hand, couldn’t you?
Thought this was just a fun little symbol, or maybe a king’s flag from “Game of Thrones”? Think again. It’s the Japanese symbol for being a beginner. In Japan, this yellow and green shield must be displayed in the window of a new driver for the first year.
I used to think this face meant being in pain, or reaaaally having to go to the bathroom. Boy was I wrong. It’s meant to show helplessness, or someone on the verge of tears.
This is not a weird looking burnt cookie. Rather, it’s a rice cracker with a piece of seaweed wrapped around the bottom. Rice crackers are commonly served this way.
Not to be confused with a regular speech bubble, the sharp points indicate this is for angry speech. So if you send or receive this emoji, know there is anger behind the message.
This is not a shocked face, but rather one screaming in fear. It’s inspiration came from the famous painting “The Scream” by Norwegian painter Edvard Munch.
