Gen Z Emoji Meanings and Names: A Complete Emoji Guide

The dual emoji meanings can be entirely confusing for parents to uncover the hidden meanings of their children’s chats. As a concerned parent, you should be aware of “What does this emoji mean?” That’s why I’ve created the emoji dictionary in this write-up to erase your misunderstandings.

So, make sure to read these emojis and their meanings with diligence in order to be aware and protect your children from harmful emojis.

Emojis Vs Emoticons: What’s the Difference?

Emoji meanings are colorful images or icons that represent faces, objects, buildings, flags, etc. These small pictures (😊🏫🚩) are standardized by Unicode, letting everyone connect in a way that words can’t do alone.

On the other hand, emoticons are built from punctuation using standard keyword characters like 🙂 or :(). However, Gen Z and Gen Alpha use emojis over emoticons to add emotions in online chats.  

Most Used Emojis and Their Meanings on Social Media Platforms

You should skim through this section to understand a wide range of emojis, their names, and their meanings. Surely, the breakdown table helps you to clear the air about what does this emoji mean.

1. Face Emojis Meanings

Emojis	Names	Meanings
😄😁	Grin/Grinning	Used to show happiness, excitement, and good-natured amusement.
🙂	Slightly happy face	Reflects happiness, but it often feels like a subtle smile used in a formal setting.
🤣	ROFL (Rolling On the Floor Laughing)	Indicate uncontrollable, extreme laughter and a funny situation.
😭	Loudly crying	This sob emoji is used to convey intense emotions, such as tears of happiness or sorrow.
😀😃	Smile/Smile with big eyes	Another classic smiley that is also used to show joyfulness, with a big smiley face.
🥺	Pleading	Used to show adoration, sadness, cuteness, shyly ask for something, or beg.
😆	Laughing	People use this emoji when something hilarious happens.
😅	Grin sweat	Built to show actual sweat while working out, but commonly used when someone says something risky or awkward.
😂	Joy	It is used to represent crying happy tears, similarly to saying “that’s so funny.”
😊	Blush	A relaxed emoji with an extra bit of happiness and rosiness on the cheeks, labeled as “blush.”
😇	Smiling Face with Halo	It is used to convey innocence, purity, blessings, or angelic behavior.
🙃	Upside-down face	Gen Z uses this emoji when they don’t know exactly what to say, often in the context of silliness, irony, or sarcasm.
😉	Wink	It is the most flirtatious emoji, used to convey a joke, secret, or hidden message.
😌	Relieved	The name itself indicates that it is a sign of relief, peace, calm, and satisfaction.
😍	Heart eyes	Used to describe a visually appealing object or person, or to express adoration.
🥰	Smiling face with three hearts	Used to show love, warmth, and being cherished for someone you talk to or something you have.
😘	Kissing heart	People use this emoji to send a digital and playful kiss with a red heart. It can be romantic or flirty.
😗😙😚	Kissing/ Kissing smiling eyes/ Kissing closed eyes	Variations of kisses that are used to convey affection, love, and playful smooches.
😋	Yum	It is primarily used when something looks delicious, tasty, or yummy.
😛😝😜	Face with tongue/ Squinting Face with Tongue/ Winking Face with Tongue)	Someone can use these emojis to say “just kidding” or for lighthearted teasing.
🤪	Zany face	It means someone is going crazy, excited, or acting out of control.
🤨	Face with raised eyebrows	Used when someone may question something, be suspicious, or express disbelief.
🧐	Face with Monocle	A monocle lets someone know that you are looking at them closely and suspiciously.
🤓	Nerd face	Often used to describe a nerd or a smart person in a playful manner.
😎	Smiling face with sunglasses	Represent a stylish, cool, confident, and carefree look.
🤩	Star-Struck	When something is unbelievable or amazing happens.
🥳	Partying face	Showing someone at a party in a good mood, like at a birthday or anniversary.
😏	Smirk	It signifies slyness, flirtation, mischief, or playfulness in online texting.
😔	Pensive face	Used to express sadness, disappointment, and frustration.
😟	Worried face	Describe feelings of concern, unhappiness, or tension about a situation.
😫😩	Tired/Weary face	Used to show exhaustion, frustration, or being overwhelmed.
😢	Cry	Sadness, pain, disappointment, or feeling upset.
😤	Triumph	Representing something huffing in annoyance, frustration, and triumph.
😠	Angry face	This emoji meaning signifies anger, annoyance, and irritation at a certain level.
😡	Rage emoji	When someone is feeling very angry and has strong negative emotions.
🤬	Face with Symbols on Mouth	It signifies that someone is cursing, swearing, and using vulgar language.
🤯	Exploding Head	It is for situations when your mind is blown, indicating extreme shock and amazement.
😳	Flushed face	This emoji generally expresses embarrassment, shyness, or surprise.
🥵	Hot face	It portrays someone physically attractive in a flirtatious way.
🥶	Cold face	It can express extreme cold or freezing weather.
😶‍🌫️	Face in clouds	Being lost in thoughts, confused, absent-minded, and dreamy.
😱	Face Screaming in Fear	The emoji shows immense fear, shock, or disbelief.
🤗	Hugging face	It means offering a warm hug, showing love and gratitude.
🤔	Thinking face	Used when someone is pondering or questioning someone’s statement.
🤫	Shushing face	When someone is trying to stay silent or confidential.
🙄	Face with Rolling Eyes	Used to convey boredom, annoyance, disapproval, and frustration.
🥱	Yawning	This emoji meaning being tired, sleepy, or bored.
😴	Sleeping	It is used for nighttime wishes to indicate tiredness or sleepiness.
🤤	Drooling face	This emoji means strong desire, attraction, or craving, and is often used for delicious food.
😮‍💨	Face exhaling	Represent feelings like relief or exhaustion after a long day.
😵	Spiral Eyes	Feeling dizzy, unwell, or drunk after an intense situation.
🤐	Zipper-Mouth Face	Representing sealed lips, silence, or, to say, “don’t open your mouth.”
🤢🤮	Nauseated/Vomiting face	Indicate physical sickness, literal disgust, or strong disapproval/dislike for something unpleasant.
🤧	Sneezing face	Used to describe that someone is sick or catching a cold.
😷	Face with Medical Mask	This emoji meaning feeling sick, protecting against germs, or representing health.
🤕	Face with Head-Bandage	Someone is physically, emotionally, or mentally injured, sick, or hurt.
🤑	Money-Mouth Face	Used to express financial success, making money, and being rich.
🤠	Cowboy Hat Face	It signifies confidence, adventure, or achievement with a brave face.

2. Hand Signal Emoji Meanings

Emojis	Names	Meanings
🤲	Palms Up Together	Resembling the Islamic gesture for praying to God or showing humility.
👐	Open Hands	This emoji signifies openness, or a hug to show warmth and affection.
🙌	Raising Hands	Often used for congratulations and cheering someone on.
👏	Clap	People used this emoji like a “bravo” or a round of applause.
🤝	Hand Shake	It symbolizes agreement, greeting, partnership, or sealing a deal.
👍	Thumbs Up	Indicating a simple yes or agreement.
👎	Thumbs Down	A simple no or disapproval.
👊	Face Punch	It signifies a desire to harm someone or a friendly fist bump.
✊	Raised Fist	It is a symbol of unity, strength, and empowerment.
🤛🤜	Left-Facing Fist and Right-Facing Fist	Modern gestures of greeting, congratulations, or a high five in friendship.
🤞	Fingers crossed	Used to express hope for good luck and a positive outcome.
✌️	Peace sign/victory hand	It means peace, victory, or goodwill, typically used as a goodbye.
🤟	I Love You	It is a sign language of “I love you” to show support and affection.
🤘	Rock On	Symbolizing concerts with music, excitement, and attitude.
👌	OK hand	This emoji indicates that something is perfect or excellent.
🤏	Pinching hand	It means something is a tiny amount in online texting.
👈👉	Backhand Index Pointing Left/Right	It indicates a different focal point and a piece of information.
☝️👆👇	Index Pointing Up, Backhand Index Pointing Up, Backhand Index Pointing Down	Used to draw attention to texts or links.
🖖	Vulcan Salute	It means “Live long and prosper” to indicate good vibes.
👋	A waving hand	Most commonly used to say “hello” or “goodbye.”
🤙	Call me/hang loose	Ask someone to call or catch up with this emoji.
🖕	Middle finger	A rude gesture to insult someone or to show anger.
✍️	Writing hand	Representing the act of writing or learning something.
🙏	Folded hands	Used to emphasize prayers and gratitude to God.

3. Other Smiley Emoji Meanings

Emojis	Names	Meanings
😈	Smiling face with horns	Often used for playful being devilish, naughty, and mischievous behavior.
👿	Angry Face with Horns	This emoji represents bad or negative behavior.
👹	Japanese Ogre	A monstrous figure, describing anger, fantasy, or problems.
👺	Japanese Goblin	It is meant to be a proud and figurative monster.
🤡	Clown face	Someone is acting foolishly or silly after making a mistake.
💩	Pile of Poo	It is primarily used for a poo, disgust, or something bad.
👻	Ghost	Represent anything supernatural or Halloween.
💀	Skull	It usually means “I’m dead” for extreme laughter and embarrassment.
👽	Alien	Used to denote outer space or strange people.
🤖	Robot face	It is used for futuristic concepts, technology, and automation.
🎃	Jack-O’-Lantern	It symbolizes Halloween, autumn, spooky fun, and carved pumpkins.
😺😸😹😻😼😽🙀😿😾	Smiley, smile, joy, heart eyes, smirk, kissing, scream, crying, pouting cat	These emojis are widely used by people who love cats.

4. Character and Gender Emoji Meanings

Emojis	Names	Meanings
👶	Baby	It means a baby, purity, or innocence.
👼	Angel	It is related to hope, sweetness, or goodness.
👧🧒👦	Child emojis	This emoji represents a young girl, a boy, and a child.
👩🧑👨	Adult emojis	It denotes a standard adult woman, a person, and a man.
👩‍🦱🧑‍🦱👨‍🦱	Curly-haired individuals	When someone is speaking with a curly-haired person.
👩‍🦰🧑‍🦰👨‍🦰	Red-haired person	When someone is talking about a red-haired person.
👱‍♀️👱👱‍♂️	Blonde-haired person	When someone is talking about a blonde-haired person.
👩‍🦳🧑‍🦳👨‍🦳	White-haired person	This emoji is for people who have white hair.
👩‍🦲🧑‍🦲👨‍🦲	Bald person	This emoji is for people who have or are talking about a bald person.
🤰	Pregnant person	It is used for a pregnant lady.
👩‍🍼🧑‍🍼👨‍🍼	Person feeding baby	It depicts a person who is cradling or feeding a baby.
🙇‍♀️🙇🙇‍♂️	Bowing person	This emoji signifies deep respect, apology, or gratitude.
💁‍♀️💁💁‍♂️	Woman/Person/Man tipping hand	Used to showcase confidence and sassiness like an expert.
🙅‍♀️🙅🙅‍♂️	Gesturing no emoji	It is typically used to show refusal and disagreement.
🙆‍♀️🙆🙆‍♂️	Gesturing OK emoji	It is a casual way of showing agreement in online texting.
🧏‍♀️🧏🧏‍♂️	Deaf person	This emoji is used to refer to someone who is deaf.
🙋‍♀️🙋🙋‍♂️	Raising hand	When someone has raised a question or asks to speak.
🤦‍♀️🤦🤦‍♂️	Face-Palming	It is used to express frustration, embarrassment, and disbelief.
🤷‍♀️🤷🤷‍♂️	Shrugging person	This emoji represents confusion or a lack of knowledge about a situation.
🙎‍♀️🙎🙎‍♂️	Pouting person	It signifies feelings of sadness, annoyance, or mild disagreement.
🙍‍♀️🙍🙍‍♂️	Frowning person	Similar to pouting, it is also used to express disapproval and general unhappiness.
💇‍♀️💇💇‍♂️	Haircut emoji	Represents people getting haircuts or symbolizes salons.
💆‍♀️💆💆‍♂️	Head Massage	Showing relaxation, self-care, or a spa day.
🧖‍♀️🧖🧖‍♂️	People in a steamy room	It indicates that someone is relaxing in a steamy environment like a sauna.
💃🕺	Dancers	It primarily means dancing, celebration, fun, and excitement.
🕴	Person in a suit levitating	This emoji is used to convey a “rude boy” vibe or mysteriousness.
👩‍🦽🧑‍🦽👨‍🦽	Person in a manual wheelchair	It signifies disability awareness, wheelchairs, or a person with physical challenges.
🚶‍♀️🚶🚶‍♂️	Walking emoji	Used to indicate a person walking away in reality or ending the conversation.
🧎‍♀️🧎🧎‍♂️	Kneeling	Used to show prayer, respect, humility, or even solidarity.
🏃‍♀️🏃🏃‍♂️	Running	Showing someone is running or working out.
🧍‍♀️🧍🧍‍♂️	Standing	It is used to express awkwardness and neutrality.
🗣	Speaking head	This emoji represents the act of verbal announcement or sharing an opinion.
👳‍♀️👳👳‍♂️	Woman/Man/Person wearing a turban	This emoji displays a person who is wearing a turban.
👷‍♀️👷👷‍♂️	Construction worker	It is widely used when someone is talking about construction and physical labor.

5. Family and Friends Emoji Meanings

Emojis	Names	Meanings
👯‍♀️👯👯‍♂️	Dancers with bunny ears	It is typically used when friends are having fun together or partying.
👫👭👬	Holding hands	People holding hands symbolize friendship or partnership.
👩‍❤️‍👨💑👩‍❤️‍👩👨‍❤️‍👨	Couples with hearts	Represent romantic relationships between different genders.
💏👩‍❤️‍💋‍👩👩‍❤️‍💋‍👨👨‍❤️‍💋‍👨	Couple Kiss emoji	It indicates that two people are kissing, showing love and affection.
👨‍👩‍👦👨‍👩‍👧👪👨‍👨‍👧👨‍👨‍👦👩‍👩‍👧👩‍👩‍👦	Family with one child	This emoji is representative of a family having one child.
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦👨‍👩‍👦‍👦👨‍👩‍👧‍👧👨‍👨‍👦‍👦👨‍👨‍👧‍👧👩‍👩‍👦‍👦👩‍👩‍👧‍👧👨‍👨‍👧‍👦👩‍👩‍👧‍👦	Family with two children	This emoji is representative of a family having two children.
👩‍👧👩‍👦👨‍👧👨‍👦	Single parent with a child	It is used to denote a family with a single parent and a child.
👨‍👧‍👦👩‍👧‍👦👨‍👧‍👧👩‍👦‍👦👩‍👧‍👧👨‍👦‍👦	Single parent with two children	Symbolizes a single parent taking care of two children.

6. Body Part Emoji Meanings

Emojis	Names	Meanings
💪🦾	Muscle/Mechanical arm	It is used to flex physical power, hard work, or motivation.
🦶	Foot	This emoji is used to describe walking or kicking.
💅	Nail care	It is a girlish emoji used to convey confidence and attitude, or being unbothered.
🤳	Selfie	It is used when someone is talking about posting or taking a selfie.
🦵🦿	Leg/Mechanical leg	This emoji typically represents walking, running, or a similar activity involving the legs.
💋	Kiss mark	A lipstick-stained kiss is used to convey love and affection in a flirtatious manner.
👄	Lips	It is commonly used in reference to makeup and beauty products.
🫦	Biting Lips	This emoji is used to convey flirty, excited, or romantic feelings.
🦷	Tooth	Used when discussing dental issues or a visit to the dentist.
👅	Tongue	When someone wants to lick something or see tasty food.
👂🦻	Ear/Ear with hearing aid	Used when someone wants to show they are listening closely.
👣	Footprints	It represents walking, journeys, or discovery that leaves a mark.
👀	Eyes	Used when someone is watching, paying attention, or has seen something suspicious.
🧠	Brain	It primarily signifies thinking, intelligence, ideas, or mind.

7. Nature and Flower Emoji Meanings

Emojis	Names	Meanings
💐	Bouquet	It represents a gift of flowers that symbolizes love and affection.
🌸	Cherry Blossom	This emoji means beauty, spring, new beginnings, and happiness.
🌹	Rose	It is used to express “I love you” for occasions like Valentine’s Day.
🥀	Wilted Flower/Rose	It indicates heartbreak, grief, loss, sadness, and mourning.
🌺	Hibiscus	Used to represent tropical vibes, femininity, and beauty.
🌵	Cactus	It describes desert environments, finished or broken beyond repair.
🎄	Christmas Tree	It is commonly used in Christmas celebrations, holiday cheer, and winter.
🍀	Four-leaf clover	It symbolizes good luck, fortune, rarity, hope, faith, and love.
🍁	Maple leaf	This emoji represents Canada or the autumn season.

8. Heart Emoji Meanings

Emojis	Names	Meanings
🧡	Orange heart emoji	It is especially used to show warmth, friendship, and care.
💛	Yellow heart emoji	This emoji represents love, happiness, and positivity.
💚	Green heart emoji	It is used when talking about harmony, environment, health, and nature.
💙	Blue heart emoji	The blue heart emoji meaning is the symbol of peace, loyalty, and trust.
💜	Purple heart emoji	The purple heart emoji meaning love, spirituality, and luxury, and is often associated with the K-pop BTS group (Army).
🖤	Black heart emoji	The black heart emoji meaning is used when someone is talking about sorrow, grief, and dark humor.
🤍	White heart emoji	This emoji is used to represent the purest form of love, comfort, calm, and deep friendship.
🤎	Brown heart emoji	It shows love, coziness, warmth, stability, and a close bond.
💔	Broken heart emoji	It is often used after breakups, heartbreaks, and disappointments.
❤️‍🔥	Heart on fire emoji	It is a representative of burning and passionate love.
❤️‍🩹	Bandaged heart emoji	Showing healing, recovery, or comfort after emotional pain and heartbreak.
❣️	Heart exclamation	It represents intense love with excitement, surprise, or admiration.
💕	Two heart emoji	This emoji can be used romantically to show love and close bonds.
💞	Revolving hearts emoji	This emoji meaning mutual love, strong affection, and romance.
💓	Beating heart emoji	It is perfect to show a heartbeat when talking about love and excitement.
💗	Growing heart emoji	It shows romantic feelings getting stronger and growing.
💘	Heart with arrow emoji	Shows falling in love, often used on Valentine’s Day.
💝	Heart with ribbon emoji	It signifies that someone is giving their heart as a gift.
💟	Heart decoration emoji	Used as a cute or special symbol to indicate positive emotions.

9. Gen Z Emojis with Their Hidden Meanings

Emojis	Names	Hidden Meanings
🔥	Fire	It is used to describe excellent, hot, and impressive things.
💯	100 points	This emoji is used when someone is talking about perfection, support, and authenticity.
👁👄👁	Eyes with mouth	Watching with a wide-eyed expression, showing interest or total focus.
🕯️	Candle	Used when manifesting or hoping for something.
🚪	Door	Indicates the end of the conversation or situation.
🍌	Banana	Used as a code emoji for male genitalia.
🍆	Eggplant	Similar to a banana, it primarily signifies male genitalia.
🍑	Peach	Commonly used for buttocks or booty due to its shape.
🐱	Cat face	Represent female genitalia.
🙈	See-No-Evil Monkey	Used in a flirtatious or playful context.
🚩	Red flag	It is a universal sign of toxic behavior in relationships.
💣	Bomb	Symbolize something is amazing or explosive drama.
🐍	Snake	Used to describe someone being fake, disloyal, or two-faced.
🔪	Kitchen knife	This emoji meaning signifies emotional betrayal or a major threat.
👑	Crown	Used to call someone “king or queen.”
🏳️‍🌈	Rainbow flag	It typically symbolizes LGBTQ+ pride and diversity.
🏳️‍⚧️	Transgender flag	It represents the transgender community.
🎨	Artist Palette	Used to discuss creativity, art, and artistic expression.
🧿	Nazar amulet	An ancient symbol of protection against the “evil eye.”
👠	High-heeled shoe	It represents fashion, glamor, style, and confidence.
🎀	Ribbon	This emoji is widely used with “pookie” slang for cuteness.

How Saferloop Helps You to Ensure Children’s Safety?

As a concerned parent, you may wonder how to prevent your kids from using harmful and explicit emojis. That’s why the Saferloop parental control app is designed to help parents keep track of their children’s online behavior. It offers a wide range of safety features and tools to protect kids on digital platforms, including:

• Monitor calls, messages, and other activities directly.
• Set screen time limits and routines on devices to prevent excess usage.
• Filter content, apps, and websites to create a safe digital environment.
• Track real-time location and set digital boundaries for their safety.
• Send emergency alerts, reports, and SOS updates if something suspicious is detected.
• Provide Saferloop safety checkup extension for Chrome to add an extra layer of security to their cyberspace.

These services allow you to be aware of how your kids are interacting on digital platforms, ensuring their online safety and privacy.

Wrapping Up!

The above-mentioned glossary helps you understand different emoji meanings and their usage during chit-chat, like a Gen Z. It will enable you to add visual expression in online conversations, text messages, and on social media platforms to convey your thoughts effortlessly. 

Furthermore, as a helicopter parent, you should stay updated with a slang dictionary to analyze the real meanings of your kids’ conversations. Plus, installing the Saferloop parental control app helps you to monitor their online activities with ease.

Author’s note:

Being a parent of a teen daughter, I always stay in sync with Gen Z and Gen Alpha trends, slang terms, and modern emojis to connect with her like a modern parent. Surely, it helps me to build healthy relationships with my daughter and keep track of her online behavior.

To add an extra layer of security, I also installed the Saferloop parental control app on our devices to establish some restrictions for safety purposes and supervise her 24/7 easily.

Frequently Asked Questions