Smileys & People Emoji

Smileys and People emoji form the backbone of digital communication. This category contains over 500 emoji, making it the largest in the Unicode Standard. It includes facial expressions ranging from pure joy to deep sadness, hand gestures used worldwide, and people emoji representing diverse professions, activities, and family configurations.

The face emoji subcategory alone has evolved dramatically since the original yellow smiley. Today you can express subtle emotions like the pleading face, the melting face, or the face holding back tears. Many of these have developed cultural meanings beyond their original designs — the slightly smiling face, for instance, has become associated with passive-aggressive messaging in many online communities.

Hand gestures like thumbs up, peace sign, and the waving hand are among the most universally understood emoji. The people category has expanded significantly to include skin tone modifiers (introduced in Unicode 8.0) and gender-inclusive options, reflecting the growing demand for digital representation.