__ __ __ _,
\\ \\ / ___ '|| ___ ___ __ _ _ ___ _/|_ ___
\\ /\\ / //_\) || // \)// \\ ||'||'|| //_\) || // \\
\/ \/ \\__,_||_\\__,\\_//_||_||_||_\\__, \|_\\_//
___ ___ ____ ____
/\ (( / // | || || ___ _,_ _/|_
/_\\ \\ (( || || __\\'||\) ||
_/ _\\_/__)) \\__,_||_ _||_ ((_||_||_ \|_
The simplest forms of ASCII art are combinations of two or three characters for expressing emotion in text. They are commonly referred to as 'emoticon', 'smilie', or 'smiley'.
There is another type of one-line ASCII art that does not require the mental rotation of pictures, which is widely known in Japan as kaomoji (literally "face characters".) Traditionally, they are referred to as "ASCII face". More complex examples use several lines of text to draw large symbols or more complex figures.
The list only shows some popular examples for demonstration purposes. Hundreds of different text smileys were developed over time, but only a few were generally accepted, used and understood.
| ASCII art emoticons | Meaning |
|---|---|
:-) or :) or :] or =] or =) or =D |
Classic Smile |
;| or ;) or ;D or (^.~) or (o_^) |
Winking |
:( or =( or =[ or D= or D=> ):< or :C |
Classic Sad |
:-o or =O or =o or =0 or :O or :o or :0 |
Yawn or Surprised |
:3 or =3 or :} or =} or (",) or ^_^ or n_n |
Smile |
XD or xD |
Dying of laughter |
>=D or >=D> |
Evil Laugh |
:S or :s or =S or =s |
Confused |
>=) or >=)> or >=] or >=]> |
Evil Grin |
O.O or O_O or o_o or o.o or 0.0 or 0_0 or O.o or O_ or 0.o or 0_o or o_0 or o.0 or o.O or o_O |
Gasp, Surprised, Astonished |
:B or =B |
Buck-Tooth |
:,( or :'( or :*( or :.( or :_( or :,[ or :'[ or :*[ or :.[ or :_[ or :,{ or :'{ or :*{ or :.{ or :_{ or =,( or ='( or =*( or =.( or =_( or |
Crying Smiley |
:-# |
With Braces or Sick Smiley |
T_T or TT_TT or QQ or Q_Q or ;_; or ;-; or ;~; or ;A; or T^T or T.T or t.t or v_v |
Crying |
:P or :p or xp or xP or XP or c(: or :t |
Tongue Sticking Out |
D:< or ]:< or >:[ or ):< or >:( |
Angry |
:/ or :\ or :| or :E or |: or /: or \: or D: or =/ or =\ or =| or =E or D= |
Indifferent, Worried, Amazed |
8D or BD or 8) or B-) |
smiley with glasses |
-_- or -.- or = ^ = or >.< or >_< |
Annoyed, Not Surprised, Serious, Really? |
;) or ;] or ;D |
Winking Smile |
:D or =D |
huge grin, very happy |
?_? or -.- or -.-' or -_- or -_-' or =_=' or m( or ._. or .-. or (>_>) |
Annoyed, Sweat-drop, not surprised, Facepalm |
| ?_? | A look of disapproval or disbelief |
%-) |
Crazy |
0=) or 0:) |
Angel |
t(^.^t) or t(-.-t) or t(o.ot) or _!_(`_`)_!_ or ɩ(_)ɩor ,,l,, or ,|,, or (o_o),,l,, |
Giving you the finger |
:F |
A vampire |
:@ |
Yelling angrily |