Emojis have become an incredibly popular way to express emotions and concepts visually in digital communication. With tons of emojis available on phones, computers, and messaging apps, it can be cumbersome to find the exact emoji you want to use. Fortunately, there are emoji shortcuts and text codes that make accessing certain popular emojis much faster. Hereโs an overview of the different ways to use emoji shortcuts.
What are emoji shortcuts?
Emoji shortcuts are combinations of characters that automatically convert into a specific emoji when typed. For example, typing ๐ converts to ๐. These shortcuts allow you to insert emojis without having to search through your emoji keyboard or menu. Emoji shortcuts make communicating with emojis faster and more seamless.
On many devices and platforms, emoji shortcuts will convert immediately after typing the characters and hitting space or enter. On some platforms, you may need to hit an emoji button to convert the shortcut after typing. But overall, emoji shortcuts provide a quick way to access your most-used emojis with just a few keystrokes.
Text-based emoji shortcuts
The most common emoji shortcuts use basic punctuation and letters to represent different emojis. For example:
๐ | ๐ |
๐ | โน๏ธ |
๐ | ๐ |
:'( | ๐ข |
:/ | ๐ |
As you can see, just a colon and parenthesis can create a smiling or frowning face. Other shortcuts are intuitive too, like ๐ for a grinning face. These text-based shortcuts are widely supported across different devices and apps, so theyโre a reliable way to quickly get access to the most common emojis.
Common text emoji shortcuts
Here are some of the most popular and commonly used text shortcuts for emoji:
๐ | Smiling face |
๐ | Frowning face |
๐ | Winking face |
๐ | Grinning face |
:/ | Confused face |
๐ | Face with tongue out |
๐ | Crying face |
<3 | Heart |
:O | Surprised face |
8) | Sunglasses face |
This covers many of the most common emoji emotions and expressions. But there are shortcuts for many more emojis as well, including hand gestures, animals, food, and more.
Platform-specific emoji shortcuts
Beyond the standard text shortcuts, some platforms also support their own custom shortcuts for accessing emojis:
Slack emoji shortcuts
Slack has its own set of emoji shortcuts that use the : prefix followed by the emoji name. For example:
๐ | ๐ |
:laughing: | ๐ |
:heart_eyes: | ๐ |
You can search the full Slack emoji list to find shortcut codes for specific emoji.
Discord emoji shortcuts
Discord uses backslash character shortcuts along with emoji names. For example:
\:smile: | ๐ |
\:joy: | ๐ |
\:heart_eyes: | ๐ |
Again, you can lookup Discordโs emoji index to find the shortcut format for any emoji.
GitHub emoji shortcuts
To insert emojis on GitHub, use colons around the emoji name like Slack but without the : prefix. For example:
๐ | ๐ |
:tada: | ๐ |
:heart: | โค๏ธ |
So GitHub follows the same naming convention but without the : before the shortcut word.
Unicode emoji codes
In addition to text shortcuts, every emoji has an underlying Unicode codepoint associated with it. This codepoint is what devices and platforms actually use to interpret the emoji character.
You can use these Unicode emoji codes in some contexts by typing the hexadecimal codepoint. For example:
U+1F642 | ๐ |
U+1F60A | ๐ |
U+2764 | โค๏ธ |
However, Unicode codes are not as widely supported and can be cumbersome to type, so text-based shortcuts are usually preferred.
Emoji picker tools
If you struggle to remember the shorthand codes for emojis, there are tools that provide a visual emoji picker and then insert the correct code for you:
- Emojipediaโs Emoji Picker lets you visually pick emojis and copy the relevant code for your platform.
- GetEmoji is another emoji picker tool covering major platforms like Slack, Discord, and more.
- Some platformโs native emoji pickers, like Slack and Discordโs, will also show you the text shortcut for an emoji when you select it.
These pickers can be helpful if you want to look up the code for a specific emoji rather than relying on memory.
Why use emoji shortcuts?
Emoji shortcuts provide the following advantages compared to hunting through emoji menus:
- Speed: Retrieving frequently used emojis is much faster.
- Convenience: You donโt have to switch to an emoji keyboard or picker.
- Platform consistency: Shortcuts work across different devices and apps.
- Familiarity: Shortcuts become memorable the more you use them.
The only downside is having to memorize codes for your most-used emojis. But overall, emoji shortcuts can optimize your emoji experience.
Conclusion
Emoji shortcuts remove the friction from inserting emojis in digital communication. Whether you use common text shortcuts like :), platform-specific codes like Slackโs :joy:, or an emoji picker, unlocking shortcuts can seriously improve your emoji game.
So next time you go to insert a frequently used emoji, try typing the shortcut code instead of searching through menus. Your chatting and messaging will become much more seamless and efficient.