What is the difference between an emoticon and a kaomoji?

Emoticons are Western-style sideways expressions using standard keyboard characters, like :-) for a smile. Kaomoji are Japanese-style text faces that are meant to be read upright, using a wider range of symbols and characters to create more detailed and expressive faces, like (◕‿◕) or (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻.

Who invented the first emoticon?

Computer scientist Scott Fahlman is credited with proposing the first digital emoticons :-) and :-( on a Carnegie Mellon University bulletin board on September 19, 1982, to distinguish jokes from serious posts online.

Where can I use kaomoji today?

Kaomoji are widely used on social media platforms like Twitter, Discord, and in messaging apps. They are especially popular in gaming communities, anime forums, and anywhere expressive text art is appreciated. Our generator helps you copy and paste them easily.

History Of Emoticons And Kaomoji - A Complete Visual Guide

The Evolution of Digital Expression

The history of emoticons and kaomoji is the history of human emotion finding a home in digital text. What began as simple punctuation marks to denote tone has evolved into a rich, global language of text-based art. This guide traces that journey from the first proposed smiley face to the intricate Japanese kaomoji used today, complete with an interactive generator to create your own.

Interactive Timeline: Key Milestones

1982

The First Digital Emoticon: Scott Fahlman posts :-) and :-( on a Carnegie Mellon University bulletin board, suggesting their use to mark jokes and serious content. This is widely considered the birth of the digital emoticon.

Late 1980s - 1990s

Kaomoji Emerges in Japan: On Japanese mobile phones and early internet forums, users begin creating complex, upright text faces using a wider character set (JIS X 0208). Unlike Western sideways emoticons, kaomoji (顔文字, "face character") could express more nuance, like (＾▽＾) for joy or (´･_･`) for worry.

1999

Emoji is Born: Shigetaka Kurita creates the first set of 176 pictorial emoji for a Japanese mobile carrier. While distinct from text-based kaomoji, this innovation shares the same goal: efficient emotional communication in digital spaces.

2010s - Present

Global Adoption & Creativity: Emoticons and kaomoji become staples of global internet culture, used on platforms from Twitter and Facebook to Discord and gaming chats. The "table flip" kaomoji (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻ becomes an iconic meme.

Create Your Own Kaomoji

Use the generator above to create classic emoticons or Japanese kaomoji. Click on any example below to copy it instantly to the output box.

(◕‿◕)

(╥﹏╥)

(╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻

(♥‿♥)

(≧◡≦)

(´･_･`)

:-)

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Cultural Impact and Usage

Kaomoji and emoticons did more than just convey emotion; they built community and identity online. In anime and gaming fandoms, specific kaomoji became shorthand for inside jokes and shared feelings. Their text-based nature ensures they work on virtually any platform, making them a universal tool for personal expression where emoji might not render correctly.

Related Tools and Guides

Explore more about text-based creativity on our site. Check out our All Tools hub, or dive into specific generators:

Zalgo Text Generator - Create creepy, glitchy text.
ASCII Art Generator - Convert text to classic keyboard art.
Sparkle Text Generator - Add glittery symbols to your text.
Complete Guide to Unicode Symbols - Learn about the characters behind the art.