Have you ever struggled to find the right words and used an emoji instead? If you’re learning English, emojis can help you express tone and meaning more clearly, as long as you use them in the right context.
To celebrate World Emoji Day, we’re exploring how these small symbols became such a big part of digital communication. We’ll look at where emojis came from and how they spread across the globe. We’ll also cover some common misunderstandings to watch out for, so you’ll feel more confident using emojis naturally and appropriately in everyday English.
The origins of emojis
Where did emojis come from?
It’s easy to think of emojis as a modern phenomenon but they’re not all that different from prehistoric caving paintings and early writing systems like Egyptian hieroglyphics.
If you grew up before smartphones, you probably remember emoticons: using punctuation marks and keyboard symbols make facial expressions like these:
:) ;) :D :( ^_^
Emoticons become popular in the late 1990s as more people around the world started using the Internet and mobile SMS text messaging.
However, the emojis that are most similar to those we use today originated in Japan, an early adopter of mobile internet services.
One of most well-known early examples is the 176-emoji set that Shigetaka Kurita designed for NTT DOCOMO, a Japanese mobile telecommunications company, in 1999. The company’s mobile internet systems offered emails with a short character limit, so emojis were introduced to give customers more space to express themselves.
Kurita’s emojis included everyday objects, transport, food, animals, weather and of course, emotions. In interviews, he shares that he drew inspiration from manga and pictograms.
Origin of the word “emoji”
Given that modern day emojis were invented in Japan, it’s no surprise that the word “emoji” has Japanese roots. The “e” means picture and “moji” means written character. What is surprising is that “emoji” has no connection to the English words “emotion” and “emoticon”. The fact that they sound the same is just a coincidence!
If you look up the word “emoji” in an English dictionary, you’ll notice that it has two plural forms. You can either follow standard English plural rules and add an ‘s’ to make it “emojis”. Or you can use the same form as the singular “emoji” (no ‘s’ ), which is influenced by the Japanese use of the word, as Japanese nouns don’t usually change in the plural form.
How emojis became global
As emojis became more popular, MSN Messenger and Blackberry launched their own sets in 2003. Google added emojis to Gmail in 2008 with Apple introducing them to iPhone OS the same year.
At first, each platform had its own set of emojis and they didn’t work across different devices. That changed in 2010, when the Unicode Consortium standardised emojis, making them accessible everywhere. The Unicode Consortium is a non-profit organisation that maintains text standards so all the world’s written languages can be used consistently across devices.
With the rise of smartphones, apps and social media, emojis quickly became a global language.
By 2015, they had become so common in everyday life that Oxford Dictionaries named an emoji as its word of the year instead of a written word, choosing the popular “Face with Tears of Joy” emoji. 😂
In 2021, Unicode reported that 92% of the world’s online population use emojis.
How emojis evolved over time
What started as a small collection of basic smileys and icons quickly expanded into the hundreds of emojis that we see on our phones today.
Each year, new emojis are created to help this visual language remain internationally relevant, diverse and inclusive.
Examples include cultural symbols and celebrations such as “Person Bowing” 🙇, to express respect or apology in Japanese culture, “Person with Headscarf” 🧕 to represent Muslim identity and 🧧 “Red Envelope” for Chinese Lunar New Year traditions.
Different skin tones and gender options were also introduced as well as the “Rainbow Flag” 🏳️🌈 for LGBTQ+ pride and identity.
How emojis are used in communication today
People around the world continue to use emojis to communicate more quickly in chats, social media and online messages. They also help make messages clearer by expressing tone, feelings and humour.
Brands quickly saw the benefits of emojis for digital marketing. These days, they’re widely used to create an emotional connection with customers and increase engagement on social media.
Many brands also use category-specific emojis in their profiles to help people quickly understand what they do, for example, a travel agency might use the “Aeroplane” emoji✈️ or a yoga instructor might display the “Person Meditating” emoji 🧘♀️.
Challenges and problems with emojis
Emojis add a lot of nuance to communication. But even though they’re meant to make messages clearer, this doesn’t always happen. Different people can interpret emojis in different ways.
Sometimes, misunderstandings happen because of cultural differences. For example, the “OK Hand” 👌 means agreement or approval in many Western countries, but in parts of Brazil and Turkey, it can be seen as offensive.
Age can also affect how people understand emojis. The “Face with Tears of Joy” 😂 was originally used to mean “laughing out loud.” However, many younger users, especially Gen Z, now see it as outdated or uncool. Instead, they often use the Skull 💀 or Melting Face 🫠 to show they are “dying of laughter.”
Even the seemingly innocent slightly smiling face 🙂, which was designed to show happiness, can sometime be interpreted as sarcastic or passive aggressive.
As emojis are increasingly being used in both professional and social contexts, this can lead to serious consequences.
If you don’t know your audience well, it can sometimes be safer to use words to avoid misunderstandings.
How World Emoji Day started
World Emoji Day was created in 2014 by Jeremey Burge, the founder of Emojipedia, an emoji dictionary website. Burge chose 17 July because that was date Apple released its iCal calendar application in 2022. If you have an iPhone, you’ll also notice that’s the date that Apple shows on its calendar emoji.
Since then, global tech companies have used the day to announce new emojis. Businesses and celebrities have also jumped on board, using 17 July to launch products like Pepsi’s World Emoji Day Pepsi cans in 2015 and Kim Kardashian’s Kimoji perfume in 2018.
Museums and libraries around the world have used the day to hold emoji exhibitions and events and the Empire State Building was lit in emoji yellow on 17 July 2017.
The future of emojis
Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing the way we use emojis.
AI models are trained to understand emojis as part of language but often overuse them in repetitive patterns to try and humanise their messages.
Because AI tools don’t always understand how people really use emojis, they sometimes use emojis that don’t fit the situation or miss more complex human emotions such as sarcasm.
This has sparked an anti-emoji trend among some users as many people now think that using too many emojis is a sign of low-quality, AI-generated content (often called “AI slop”).
But it’s not all negative. As AI improves, it’s also helping people use emojis more accurately and appropriately. For example, some businesses now use AI-powered libraries to suggest suitable emojis based on who they’re communicating with and where they are in the world.
Generative AI is also making it easy for people to create their own customised emojis and avators. As a result, it’s likely that we’ll start to move away from standard emojis and use more personlised and branded symbols, which give us more flexibility to express ourselves.
Another exciting area to watch is the integration of emojis with Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) communication.
Using emojis as an English language learner
Emojis are a great way to show what you mean if you can’t find the right vocabulary. They can help you build your confidence and express yourself more naturally during online communication.
But context and tone are everything, so the best way to start is by using emojis in low-stakes situations such as practising English with friends online.
Should I use emojis at work?
This will depend on your company and industry. If you’re working for a global company that uses emojis in team chats or internal announcements, it’s worth watching the way colleagues use them before adding your own contributions. This helps ensure you are using emojis in way that fits in with your workplace’s culture.
Can I use emojis in your IELTS test?
No, you should not use emojis in your IELTS test. IELTS is a formal language test that assesses standard written English. One of the key English communication skills that you develop while preparing for IELTS is how to adapt your language to different situations. For example, using a clear, formal tone when you’re writing an essay or applying for a job.
This is an important skill that will help you succeed not only in IELTS, but in real-life situations too.
From replying to a client’s email to responding to a social media post, learning tone and context in English communication helps you build respectful, positive relationships in both professional and social settings.
Follow our social channels this World Emoji Day for more communication tips to improve your real-world English.