often works mixed usually removed · Platforms change their rules, so test before you rely on it.
The shrug kaomoji ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ and its variants, for “who knows” and “whatever”. The face is the katakana ツ (tsu), the arms are a macron ¯, a backslash and underscores. In Discord or Markdown, type ¯\\\_(ツ)\_/¯ so the left arm is not swallowed as formatting.
How to use
- Pick a category such as Happy, Love, Shrug or Cat, or search in your language, for example “cat”, “sad” or “table”.
- Tap a kaomoji to copy it, then paste it anywhere.
- The bar at the bottom shows the last one you copied. Tap the star to keep it in Favorites, which come first next time.
- All kaomoji were written for this page. Favorites and recently used ones are saved only in this browser.
- Some kaomoji borrow letters from Japanese, Thai or other scripts. If you see empty boxes, the app you paste into has no font for them; pick another one.
What kaomoji are
Kaomoji (顔文字, “face characters”) grew out of Japanese online forums in the 1980s and 1990s. Unlike Western emoticons such as :-), which you read sideways, kaomoji are read upright, and the eyes carry most of the feeling: ^_^ is a smile, T_T is crying, and ಠ_ಠ is a stare of disapproval. They borrow characters from many scripts, including Japanese katakana (the ツ in the shrug), Greek, Cyrillic, Kannada and box-drawing symbols.
Because they are plain text, kaomoji work wherever emoji are not wanted or not available: code comments, terminals, usernames, game chats and old phones.
Pasting kaomoji without breaking them
Some apps treat backslashes, underscores and asterisks as formatting. In Discord and other Markdown chats the shrug ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ can lose its arm; typing ¯\\\_(ツ)\_/¯ keeps it. If a kaomoji shows empty boxes, the app has no font for one of its characters; pick one from the same category built from more common symbols.
Frequently asked questions
How do I type the shrug emoticon?
Tap ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ in the Shrug category to copy it. In Markdown chats, escape the backslash and underscores, or paste it inside a code span.
What is the difference between kaomoji and emoji?
Emoji are single pictures drawn by your system. Kaomoji are built from several ordinary text characters, so they look the same in every font that has those characters.
Why do some kaomoji show boxes?
They use letters from scripts such as Kannada or Thai that the app’s font lacks. Choose another kaomoji with the same mood.
Can I save my favorite kaomoji?
Yes. Tap the star on the last copied kaomoji and it appears under Favorites, first in the list, in this browser.
Where can I use kaomoji?
Anywhere text goes: chats, comments, bios, game names and code. They are especially popular in Japanese, Korean and Chinese online communities.