Cute Kaomoji to Copy and Paste: 200+ Sorted by Mood

The cutest kaomoji, if you want one and want to move on, is ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ. It is a bear, it reads clearly at small sizes, and it survives being pasted into almost anything. If you want a face instead of an animal, use (◕‿◕✿) or (｡◕‿◕｡).

Everything below is sorted by mood, because that is how people actually look for these. Tap or click any one to copy it. There are over 200 here and none of them need an app.

How to use them

Kaomoji are made from ordinary text characters, which is the whole reason they are useful. An emoji is a picture that each company draws differently, so your 😊 is not quite your friend's 😊. A kaomoji is text, so it looks the same everywhere and nobody can redesign it.

They also read the right way up. Western emoticons like :-) need you to tilt your head. Kaomoji were built to be read straight on, which is why they can show so much more expression. If you want the fuller background, we wrote a separate guide to kaomoji and where they came from.

Classic cute kaomoji

The core set. These work in bios, usernames, messages and comments without needing any context.

• (｡♥‿♥｡)
• (◕‿◕✿)
• (｡◕‿◕｡)
• (*≧ω≦*)
• (✿◠‿◠)
• (◡ ‿ ◡ ✿)
• (´｡• ω •｡`)
• (✿╹◡╹)
• (◍•ᴗ•◍)
• ( ´ ω ` )
• (づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づ
• (*°▽°*)
• (っ˘ω˘ς )
• (´• ω •`)ﾉ
• ( ˙꒳˙ )
• (ꈍᴗꈍ)
• (●´ω｀●)
• (o^▽^o)
• (*ˊᗜˋ*)
• (っ◔◡◔)っ

ω is doing most of the work in this category. It is the Greek letter omega, and as a mouth it reads as small, soft and slightly shy, which is why it turns up in nearly every cute face. Swap it for ▽ and the same face becomes openly delighted. Swap it for ﹏ and it becomes miserable. The eyes barely change across all three.

That is the single most useful thing to understand about kaomoji. The mouth carries the emotion and the eyes carry the intensity. ◕ is wide and innocent, ◡ is closed and content, ≧ ≦ is squeezed shut. Once you can see the parts separately you can build any expression you want by swapping one character, which is exactly how most of these were made in the first place.

The ✿ and ❀ flowers sitting beside some faces are pure decoration and carry no meaning at all. They just soften the whole thing, and you can add or remove one from any kaomoji without changing what it says. More at cute kaomoji and kawaii kaomoji.

Shy and blushing

The slashes are blush marks on the cheeks. The more slashes, the more flustered the face is meant to be.

• (⁄ ⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄ ⁄)
• (///▽///)
• (〃・・〃)
• (*^ω^*)
• (*ノωノ)
• (*/▽＼*)
• (〃＾▽＾〃)
• (*/ω＼*)
• (´,,•ω•,,)♡
• (//˘ω˘//)
• (^///^)
• (//.//)
• (*´∀｀*)
• (≧◡≦)
• (ˊᗜˋ)

These are the ones to reach for when a compliment lands and you do not know what to say. They also work for secondhand embarrassment, which is arguably their most common use now.

Notice how many of them hide part of the face. (*/▽＼*) has hands over the cheeks, (*ノωノ) has one arm raised to cover, and (⁄ ⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄ ⁄) is so overloaded with blush strokes that the face is nearly buried. That escalation is deliberate and it is one of the few places where kaomoji have a genuine grammar: more slashes means more flustered, and everybody reads it the same way without being told. See shy kaomoji and blushing kaomoji for the rest.

Happy, excited and laughing

• (＾▽＾)
• (◕‿◕)
• (´｡• ᵕ •｡`)
• (*^‿^*)
• ヽ(•‿•)ノ
• (＾◡＾)
• ヽ(´▽`)/
• (◕ᴗ◕✿)
• \(≧▽≦)/
• o(≧▽≦)o
• ヽ(★ω★)ノ
• ヽ(゜∇゜)ノ
• \(^o^)/
• (*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)
• ( ´∀｀)
• (￣▽￣)
• (*≧∀≦*)
• ヾ(^∇^)
• ٩(◕‿◕)۶
• (∩˃o˂∩)

The arms matter more than the face here. ヽ ノ and \ / are raised arms, and they turn a neutral smile into actual celebration. Browse happy kaomoji, excited kaomoji and laughing kaomoji.

Dead inside, the most requested set

These get searched for more than almost anything else on this page, and they are never literal. They mean exhausted, overwhelmed, or so embarrassed you would rather stop existing. The crossed eyes are old cartoon shorthand for knocked out.

• (×_×)
• (✖﹏✖)
• (✖_✖)
• x_x
• (×﹏×)
• (✖╭╮✖)
• (✖д✖)
• (╯︵╰)
• (✗╭╮✗)
• (@_@;)
• (✖ω✖)
• (x⌓x)
• (✗_✗)
• (✗﹏✗)
• (✖▽✖)
• (✖﹏✖｡)
• (×_×;）
• (✖д✖｡)

(×_×) is the one to use if you want to be understood by everyone, since it needs no special characters at all. The ✖ versions look better but are more likely to break in an old app.

There is a real difference between the two families here. The × and ✖ faces mean knocked out, finished, no longer functioning. The ╭╮ and ﹏ mouths mean something closer to quietly suffering, still conscious and not enjoying it. (✖╭╮✖) combines both, which is why it reads as the most dramatic one on the list.

These took off well beyond their original context because they fit how people talk about exhaustion now. Saying you are dead has stopped being alarming and become a normal response to a long week, and a face that looks unconscious is a neater way to say it than typing the sentence. That is also why 💀 became the laughing emoji for a whole generation, which we get into in what the skull emoji actually means. Full set at dead kaomoji.

Sad and crying

• (╥﹏╥)
• (；﹏；)
• (ಥ﹏ಥ)
• (T_T)
• (ToT)
• (╥_╥)
• (´；ω；`)
• (｡ŏ﹏ŏ)
• (◞‸◟)
• ( ╥ω╥ )
• (πーπ)
• (｡•́︿•̀｡)
• (；へ：)
• ( ; ; )
• (つ﹏⊂)
• （；ω；）Copy
• (:_;)
• (っ˘̩╭╮˘̩)っ

ಥ is a Kannada letter and it makes the best teary eye in the whole kaomoji vocabulary. That is a good example of how these get built: somebody goes looking through a character set for a shape that works, with no interest in what the character actually means in its own language. The same thing happened with ಠ, the eye in the famous look of disapproval.

Worth separating sad from crying when you pick one. (◞‸◟) is downcast with no tears and works for mild disappointment. (╥﹏╥) is actively crying and reads as much bigger. Sending the second one about a cancelled coffee is funny precisely because it overshoots, which is most of how these get used. More at sad kaomoji and crying kaomoji.

Animal kaomoji

Bears and pandas share the ʕ ʔ brackets, which are a Georgian letter pressed into service as a furry ear. Cats use ＾ ＾ ears and whisker marks.

Bears and pandas

• ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ
• ʕ￫ᴥ￩ʔCopy
• ʕ ◕ᴥ◕ʔCopy
• ʕっ•ᴥ•ʔっCopy
• ʕ•̀ω•́ʔ✧
• ʕ·ᴥ·ʔ
• ʕ•ᴥ•ʔﾉ♡Copy
• ʕ ꈍᴥꈍʔCopy
• ʕ๑•ᴥ•๑ʔ
• ʕ♥ᴥ♥ʔCopy
• ʕ≧ᴥ≦ʔCopy
• ʕ⊙ᴥ⊙ʔCopy
• ʕ ᵔᴥᵔ ʔ
• ʕ✿•ᴥ•ʔ

Cats

• (=^･ω･^=)
• (=^･ｪ･^=)
• (=｀ω´=)
• (=^‥^=)
• ฅ(•ㅂ•)ฅ
• (=^-ω-^=)
• (^・ω・^ )
• ฅ^•ﻌ•^ฅ
• (=ↀωↀ=)
• (=^ ◡ ^=)
• =^._.^= ∫

Dogs and rabbits

• ▼・ᴥ・▼Copy
• U・ᴥ・U
• (▼ᴥ▼)
• U＾ェ＾U
• U・ω・U
• (＾• ω •＾)
• /(˃ᆺ˂)\
• /(•ㅅ•)\
• (\_/)
• (╯•ᴗ•╰)
• (≖ᆽ≖)
• U(ㅇㅅㅇ❀)U

ฅ is a Thai letter and it makes an excellent paw. ᴥ, the snout that shows up in every bear and dog face, is a small capital D turned on its side in the phonetic alphabet.

Animal kaomoji are the most reliable ones to use with people who do not know kaomoji at all. A face made of punctuation takes a second to parse. A bear reads instantly, even to someone seeing one for the first time, which is why ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ has escaped into general use in a way the more complex faces never have.

The bear and panda sets use identical brackets, and the only thing separating them is context. If you want it to read specifically as a panda rather than a generic bear, ʕ⊙ᴥ⊙ʔ with the round eyes gets closest, since the heavy eye markings are the thing people recognise. Browse bear, panda, cat, dog and rabbit kaomoji for more.

Sleepy and cozy

• ( ˘ω˘ ) zzz
• (－_－) zzZ
• (︶｡︶✽)
• (∪｡∪)｡｡｡zzz
• (。-ω-)zzz
• (￣ρ￣)..zzZZ
• (-, - )…zzzZZZ
• (_ _*) Z z z
• (´ぅω・｀)
• (ぅ-ω-)ぅ…zzZ
• (◡ ω ◡)
• ( -_-)旦~

旦 in that last one is a teacup seen from the side, which is the sort of detail that makes kaomoji worth paying attention to. More at sleeping kaomoji.

Love, hugs and uwu

• (♡˙︶˙♡)
• (´♡‿♡`)
• (♥ω♥*)
• (*♡∀♡)
• (｡♥‿♥｡)
• ( ˘ ³˘)♥
• (♡°▽°♡)
• ♡＾▽＾♡Copy
• (✿ ♡‿♡)
• (♡ﾟ▽ﾟ♡)
• ヽ(♡‿♡)ノ
• ( ´∀｀)♡
• (♥╹ω╹♥)
• (づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づ
• ⊂(◉‿◉)つ
• (つ≧▽≦)つ
• ⊂((・▽・))⊃
• ⊂(´• ω •`⊂)
• UwU
• (˶˘ ᵕ ˘˶)
• ꒰ᵕ꒳ᵕ꒱Copy
• (˘ω˘ ) uwu
• (˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶)♡

づ and つ are hiragana characters that look like a reaching arm, which is why every hug kaomoji uses one. Put it on the left, as in (づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づ, and the face is reaching toward you. Put a pair on both sides and it becomes a full embrace.

uwu deserves a note of its own, because it has drifted a long way from where it started. It began as a straightforward content or affectionate face, then got adopted so heavily online that it now carries a layer of irony for a lot of people. Used sincerely it is warm. Used in the wrong tone it reads as mocking. If you are unsure which way it will land, (˶˘ ᵕ ˘˶) says the same thing without the baggage. See love, hugging and uwu kaomoji.

Sparkle and magic

• ✧(≖ ◡ ≖✿)
• (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧
• ✩°｡⋆⸜(ू˘▿˘)⸝Copy
• ☆*:.｡.o(≧▽≦)o.｡.:*☆Copy
• ✨(◕ᴗ◕✿)✨
• °˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖°Copy
• (ﾉ´ヮ`)ﾉ*: ･ﾟ
• ⭐(˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶)⭐
• ✦(ˊᗜˋ)✦
• (∩｀-´)⊃━☆ﾟ.*
• (づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づ✧
• (っ・ω・）っ ≡≡≡≡☆
• ☆.｡.:*・°☆Copy

The trailing ﾟ.* characters are the standard way to draw a trail of light, and you can bolt them onto any face to make it look like it just cast something. ⊃━☆ is a wand with a star on the end, and it turns any face into a spellcaster in about four characters.

These are the longest kaomoji here and that is worth planning around. ☆*:.｡.o(≧▽≦)o.｡.:*☆ is beautiful in a message and a poor choice for a username field, where it will either be truncated or wrap onto a second line. Save the elaborate ones for places with room, and keep a short version of your favourite for everywhere else. More at sparkle and magic kaomoji.

Why kaomoji break, and how to fix it

Kaomoji borrow characters from Japanese, Korean, Thai, Georgian, Greek and mathematical symbol sets. That is what makes them expressive, and it is also what breaks them. If the font on the other end does not have a particular character, it shows a box or a question mark instead.

Three things that help. First, prefer simpler faces for places you cannot control, so (×_×) rather than (✖﹏✖) in an email signature. Second, be aware that some apps convert straight quotes into curly ones automatically, which quietly destroys any kaomoji using an apostrophe. Third, if a kaomoji looks misaligned rather than broken, the font is proportional rather than monospaced, and there is nothing to fix on your end.

One more thing worth knowing: character limits count every character in a kaomoji separately. A face like ☆*:.｡.o(≧▽≦)o.｡.:*☆ eats about twenty characters, which matters on platforms with tight bio limits.

If you want more text based decoration, our text art collection covers larger ASCII pieces, fancy text converts normal writing into unusual letterforms, and the full kaomoji library has 86 categories beyond the ones here. For picture emoji instead, try cute emoji combos or aesthetic emoji combos.