One day when my friend Ellie and I were messaging each other about a tweak in our meeting time, I sent “Ok, ^_^” showing I agreed to the time change with a happy face. Meanwhile, Ellie took it as a symbol of anger and quickly messaged me back asking “wait, are you mad at me, Wenxi?” Both of us realized there was a big difference of the use of emo-icon in Eastern and Western countries. As we began to explore the richness and complexity of Eastern emo-icons, and shared about cultural nuances that come along with these symbols, we realized we had to share this story with others.

1. hey wenxi, are
you meeting me at
school today for
that interview?
yes i will.
^_^

2. wenxi, are you
mad at me?
is that an angry
face?
no! it’s a happy
face! ^__^

3. cultural
misunderstandings
happen with emojicons
we want to educate you about what these emojicons
really mean.

4. emojicons are a simple,
powerful way to express
emotion
… but only if you’re “emoji-literate.”
pro tip: it’s all about the eyes.

5. “happy”
emojicons
^ . ^
^ _ ^
^ __ ^
^0^///
hi wenxi, how are
you feeling today?
i just woke up and
grabbed a coffee
^ . ^

6. “trying to be
cute”
emojicons
0_-
^_-
-_^
did you remember
that we have a
NOWhaus
presentation today?
yes, of course! ^_-
i can’t wait

7. laughing
emojicons
233333333333
hahahahaha
it might be a
little ridiculous!
i think so, but it will
be fun! 233333333

8. “i’m in a rush”
emojicons
ε=ε=ε=ε=ε=ε=┌(;￣◇￣)┘
ヽ(￣д￣;)ノ=3=3=3
it will!
ahh!
ヽ(￣д￣;)ノ=3=3=3

9. stressed or
worried
emojicons
> . <
>—<
…>_<…
>0<
what are you up to
the rest of the day?
i have so much
work to do …>_<…

10. crying
emojicons
T^T
T0T
T_T
T__T
π_π
t_t
t.t
oh wenxi, please
don’t cry!
i’m not crying for
real, but i’m crying
inside T^T

11. let’s take a moment
to reflect…

12. kissy
emojicons!
=3=
—3—
^3^
— ｡—
no worries, we will
go have a drink
tonight =3=
drinks?!?!

13. surprised or
questioning
emojicons
Σ（・□・；）
o_O
@_@
yes, drinks!!!
Σ（・□・；）

14. sleepy or
overwhelmed
emojicons
+__+
(-_-)zzz
(_ _)..zzZZZ
i know we’ll need
drinks at the end
of a long day.
yes, too many team
meetings! +__+

15. a body
language
emojicon
orz
i feel you.
orz
heyyy you stole my
word! but i feel
you…

16. shy emojicons
o^ ^o
v . v
0 - 0||
wenxi, did you
seriously just say
“i feel you”?
yes, i did! o^ ^o

17. interested or
curious
emoicons
>_>
<_<
that’s hilarious.
did you know that
maureen is going
next? >_>

18. ‘goodbye’
emojicons
(^-^)/
(・ω・)ノ
(=ﾟωﾟ)ﾉ
yes, she’s going to
be great. i’ll see you
after this for drinks.
yes, drinks.
great! (^-^)/

19. make your own emojicon!
eyes
mouth
extras
> < ^ o @ T t +
0 _ . __ ~ O 0 —
z Σ /// ||| ε = ┌ …

20. bye-bye!
(・ω・)ノ