Chinese Emojis: What 🙂, 🙏, 🐶 and WeChat Stickers Mean in China

沉浸 TeamSeptember 3, 202610 min read

Chinese emojis look like the ones on your phone, but they don't always mean the same thing. The plain smiley 🙂 reads as cold or passive-aggressive in a Chinese chat, and the dog head 🐶 means "just kidding." Send the wrong one and you can come across as annoyed when you were trying to be friendly.

This guide walks through the standard emojis that mean something different in China, the built-in WeChat emojis and their names, the numbers and letters people type instead of emojis, and how to type all of it. It pairs well with our guide to Chinese internet slang, since a lot of these emojis are shorthand for slang words. Both belong to the wider world of Chinese culture online, where a single picture can carry a whole joke.

Standard emojis that mean something else in China

Most of these meanings come from puns. Chinese has a lot of words that sound alike, so an emoji often stands in for a word that sounds like its name. Here are the ones you'll see most, with the Chinese reading behind each.

Chinese emoji meanings: the big ones

🙂 微笑 (wēixiào, "smile"). This is the famous "fake smile." To older people it's a normal, polite smile. To younger people it feels dismissive, like someone smiling through gritted teeth. If you want to look friendly, use 😄 or 😊 instead.
🐶 狗头 (gǒutóu, "dog head"). Adding a dog head marks the message as a joke. It comes from the phrase 狗头保命 (gǒutóu bǎomìng, "dog head saves my life"): I said something spicy, but I'm kidding, so please don't come after me.
🍉 吃瓜 (chī guā, "eat melon"). Watching drama unfold from the sidelines. The 吃瓜群众 (chīguā qúnzhòng, "melon-eating masses") are the crowd who grab a snack and enjoy the show without getting involved.
🐂🍺 牛逼 (niúbī, "awesome"). Cow plus beer sounds like niúbī, a crude word for "amazing." The polite version is just 牛 (niú, "cow"), as in "你太牛了" (you're so cool). Keep the two-emoji version for close friends.
🌚 the dark moon face. Sarcasm, mischief, or "I'm up to something." It's the emoji version of a sly grin.
🍋 柠檬 (níngméng, "lemon"). Jealousy. A 柠檬精 (níngméngjīng, "lemon spirit") is someone who's sour about other people's good luck. Sending 🍋 or "我柠檬了" means "I'm jealous," usually in a joking way.
🤡 小丑 (xiǎochǒu, "clown"). Self-mocking. "小丑竟是我自己" (the clown was me all along) is what you say when you made a fool of yourself, like waiting hours for a reply that never came.
🦆 鸭 (yā, "duck"). The duck stands in for the particle 呀 (ya), which sounds the same. So 冲🦆 reads as 冲呀 (chōng ya, "charge!" or "go for it!"). You'll also see it as 冲鸭 in text.
🐴 马 (mǎ, "horse"). Horse is the first half of 马上 (mǎshàng, "right away"). "我🐴到" means "I'll be there in a second."
🙏 the pressed hands. Most people read it as "please" or "thanks," close to 谢谢 (xièxie, "thank you"). Some people read it as a high five, which can cause funny mix-ups.
👍 thumbs up. Safe and common. It means "good," "got it," or "nice work," same as everywhere else.
🌹 玫瑰 (méigui, "rose"). Flirting or warmth. Sent to a crush it's a hint. Sent by an aunt it's just affection, so read the room.
😂 laughing with tears. Still popular, but Gen Z sees it as a little old-fashioned. Younger users type "哈哈哈" or "hhh" instead, or send a sticker.
🥺 the begging face. Cute pleading, the emoji version of 撒娇 (sājiāo, "acting cute to get your way"). Common when asking a favor.

Emojis for Chinese New Year

Around the holidays, chats fill up with festive emojis. These mean what they look like, but each one ties to a real tradition.

🧧 红包 (hóngbāo, "red envelope"). The classic New Year gift of money. Our red envelope guide explains who gives them and how much.
🏮 灯笼 (dēnglong, "lantern"). Hung up for the holiday and for the Lantern Festival two weeks later.
🐉 龙 (lóng, "dragon"). Luck, power, and the dragon dance.
🧨 鞭炮 (biānpào, "firecracker"). Set off to scare away bad luck.

String them together with a greeting like 新年快乐 (xīnnián kuàilè, "happy new year") and you've got a message ready to send. See our guide to Chinese New Year for more greetings.

WeChat emojis and their meanings

微信 (Wēixìn, WeChat) is the main chat app in China, and it has its own built-in emoji set that looks nothing like the ones on an iPhone. Each one has a Chinese name, and people refer to them by name. These are the ones worth knowing.

WeChat emoji meanings, by name

微笑 (wēixiào, "smile"). The infamous one. The WeChat smile has slightly lowered eyes, which makes it look even colder than the standard 🙂. Parents send it to mean "okay." Friends send it to mean "I'm not okay with this."
呲牙 (cīyá, "bared teeth"). A big toothy grin. This is the friendly, happy default for most people.
偷笑 (tōuxiào, "giggle," literally "sneaky laugh"). Laughing behind your hand. Good for "hehe."
捂脸 (wǔ liǎn, "cover face"). The facepalm. Embarrassment, or "I can't believe I did that." One of the most-used WeChat emojis.
裂开 (lièkāi, "cracked" or "split open"). A face splitting down the middle. It means "I'm breaking down" or "this is too much," usually about something mildly awful, like a Monday.
翻白眼 (fān báiyǎn, "eye roll"). Exactly what it sounds like.
让我看看 (ràng wǒ kànkan, "let me see"). A face peeking through its fingers. Sent when someone hints at gossip or a photo.
叹气 (tànqì, "sigh"). Tired resignation. Pairs well with 裂开.
抱拳 (bàoquán, "fist-and-palm salute"). The old martial-arts greeting, one fist cupped in the other hand. It means respect or thanks, like "much obliged."
再见 (zàijiàn, "goodbye"). The waving hand. Older users mean "bye." Among young people it means "I'm done talking to you," so don't use it to end a friendly chat.
发呆 (fādāi, "space out"). A blank stare. "I'm zoned out" or "no idea what you mean."
666. WeChat also has stickers for typed slang like 666 (liù liù liù, "awesome"). More on that in our slang guide.

Chinese stickers meaning: the world of 表情包

Beyond emojis, Chinese chats run on 表情包 (biǎoqíngbāo, "sticker packs"). These are image memes, often a cartoon animal, a celebrity screenshot, or a fluffy cat, with a caption in Chinese. People send them instead of typing a reply, and a good sticker collection is a point of pride.

A few things to know about sticker culture:

Stickers can be saved from any chat with one tap, so popular ones spread fast.
Many stickers are just an emoji-style face plus a caption, like 我不听 (wǒ bù tīng, "I'm not listening") or 溜了溜了 (liū le liū le, "I'm outta here").
Older relatives have their own sticker style: glittery flowers, sunrises, and big red text reading 早上好 (zǎoshang hǎo, "good morning"). Expect one every day in the family group chat. Replying with a 🌹 or a thumbs-up sticker is polite.
Younger users often reply to a sticker with another sticker. A sticker "battle" can go on for a while with no words at all.

Numbers and letters that work like emojis

A lot of Chinese emoji slang isn't a picture at all. Numbers and pinyin initials are faster to type, and each one is a pun on how it sounds. This is the same idea behind lucky and unlucky numbers, which we cover in Chinese numbers 1-10.

233. Laughter. It started as the number of a laughing sticker on an old forum, and it stuck. More 3s means more laughing: 2333333.
666 (liù liù liù). "Awesome" or "nice play," because 六 sounds like 溜 (liū, "smooth").
88 (bā bā). "Bye-bye," because it sounds like the English.
520 (wǔ èr líng). "I love you," because it sounds a little like 我爱你 (wǒ ài nǐ). May 20 is an unofficial Valentine's Day. See I love you in Chinese.
1314 (yī sān yī sì). "Forever," from 一生一世 (yīshēng yīshì, "one life, one lifetime"). 5201314 means "I love you forever."
555 (wǔ wǔ wǔ). Crying, because it sounds like the sobbing sound 呜呜呜 (wū wū wū).
hhh. Laughing, short for 哈哈哈 (hāhāhā). The more h's, the funnier.
xswl. Initials of 笑死我了 (xiào sǐ wǒ le, "I'm dying of laughter").
awsl. Initials of 啊我死了 (a wǒ sǐ le, "ah, I'm dead"). Said when something is so cute or so good you can't handle it.
yyds. Initials of 永远的神 (yǒngyuǎn de shén, "eternal god"), meaning "the GOAT."
orz. Not Chinese at all, but everywhere in Chinese chats. Look at the letters sideways: a person kneeling with their head down. It means "I give up" or "I bow to you."

These puns are called 谐音 (xiéyīn, "homophones"), and they're the engine behind most Chinese emojis. Once you know the sound of a word, you can usually guess the joke.

How to type them

You've got three ways to get these emojis into a chat.

WeChat's emoji panel. Tap the smiley icon next to the text box. The first tab is the built-in WeChat set, with a name that pops up when you long-press an emoji. Other tabs hold your saved 表情包 and any sticker packs you've added.
Pinyin input. Most Chinese keyboards suggest emojis as you type. Type "weixiao" and 🙂 shows up in the suggestion bar next to 微笑. Type "gou" and you'll get 🐶 beside 狗. This is the fastest way once you know the word.
Your phone's normal emoji keyboard. Standard emojis work in WeChat too. Just remember that 🙂 and 👋 don't mean what you think they mean.

If you haven't set up a Chinese keyboard yet, our guide to typing Chinese walks through it on iPhone, Android, and desktop.

Learn the words behind the emojis

Reading real Chinese chats takes vocabulary, because every emoji pun rests on a word: 瓜, 牛, 马, 鸭. A free Chenjin account lets you hear every linked word in this article pronounced, save the ones you want as flashcards, and read short graded stories where the same words show up in context. Next time a friend sends 🍉, you'll be in on the joke.

FAQ

What does 🙂 mean in Chinese?

The plain smiley, called 微笑 (wēixiào) in Chinese, reads as cold, fake, or passive-aggressive to most younger Chinese users. Older people use it as a normal polite smile. To look warm, send 😄, 😊, or the WeChat 呲牙 grin instead.

What does the dog emoji mean in Chinese?

The dog head 🐶 marks a message as a joke. It comes from 狗头保命 (gǒutóu bǎomìng, "dog head saves my life"): I'm being cheeky, so please don't take it seriously.

What does 🍉 mean in Chinese?

The watermelon stands for 吃瓜 (chī guā, "eating melon"), which means watching drama from the sidelines. Sending 🍉 says "I'm here for the gossip" without taking a side.

What are WeChat stickers?

WeChat stickers, or 表情包 (biǎoqíngbāo), are image memes with captions that people send instead of typing. They range from cartoon cats to celebrity screenshots, and you can save any sticker from a chat to your own collection with one tap.

What does 233 mean in Chinese chats?

233 means laughter. It was the number of a laughing sticker on an early Chinese forum, and people started typing the number instead of finding the sticker. Extra 3s mean extra laughing.