A Language Expert Breaks Down Gen Z’s Common Emoji Meanings — & How Adults Are Misunderstanding Them
Emojis were created to convey thoughts more easily — but they seem more confusing than ever. Texting someone your age or older is fairly straightforward. Texting a teen on the other hand? We can barely decode their slang and grammar usage, so there’s no way we can keep up with their emoji choices too!
In a time before emojis, we had to get creative. Like smiley faces “:)”, hearts “<3”, laughing “xD”, and if you were really advanced, shrugging “¯\_(ツ)_/¯”. So when emojis became popular (the crying laughing emoji ???? was the Oxford Dictionaries’ Word of the Year in 2015), our millennial hearts rejoiced. Now there is a pictograph for everything! Laughing face, crying face, hearts in every color. Food, flags, families — we barely needed words anymore because we could have entire emoji conversations. We laughed at the poop emoji, advocated for more diverse options, and even made an entire Emoji Movie. We thought we were funny using eggplants and peaches to represent something that wasn’t food (*wink wink*).
But then something changed. A younger generation came in and everything we thought we knew about emojis shifted. Teens and young adults are using emojis in weird ways — and reacting to our emoji use in even weirder ways. Why are they using a skull? What’s up with the random pregnant women? Why do they get so mad when we send a thumbs up?!
Some of these we’ve figured out with context clues — ????is passive aggressive — but others we’re at a total loss. In honor of World Emoji Day today, we asked a language expert to help us decode Gen Z’s commonly used emojis and how adults are misunderstanding them.
Emoji Slang
Taking emojis at face value is your first mistake. Gen Z uses it to mean something completely different and represent the trends and slang of the moment.
“Gen Z is the first generation to not remember a time before the internet, surrounded by rapid-fire communication and constantly evolving, compounding memes and trends,” Noël Wolf, a linguistic and cultural expert at the language learning platform Babbel, tells SheKnows.
“In that environment, language moves quickly and is often layered as trends play off on one another,” she continued. “Emojis have become a kind of shorthand for irony, inside jokes, and social cues that don’t always translate literally.”
Just look at Gen Z slang for example, with words like rizz, grug, skibidi, and more becoming part of common vernacular. “It stands to reason that if we can create completely new words, emojis would take on a different meaning as well,” Wolf explains. “Unlike previous generations, who may have used emojis as a direct emotional cue, Gen Z bends and repurposes them constantly — like a living, digital slang.”
Context-Dependent
You have to look at context clues and subtext to understand what teens are saying. “Emojis are a mirror of the times,” Wolf explains. “As communication becomes more visual, fast-paced, and filtered through social media, it’s only natural that these small symbols carry a lot more cultural weight.”
“Emojis are today’s slang, and like all slang, they reflect the values, humor, and creativity of the generation using them,” Wolf adds.
Unlike previous generations that use emojis literally (smiley face to mean happy, etc.), teens today are different. “Gen Z uses emojis less as literal symbols and more as emotional tone-setters,” Wolf says.
“There’s a layer of subtext in Gen Z’s emoji use that can completely flip the meaning,” she explains. “It’s less about the emoji itself and more about how and when it’s used — and whether the tone is ironic, sincere, or something in between. Each emoji is context dependent.”
Dark Humor
Dark humor is prominent in Gen Z internet culture, so it makes sense that it shows itself in their emoji use as well.
“One of the clearest examples is the skull, or sometimes the coffin, emoji which Gen Z uses to say ‘I’m dead’—not to express fear or morbidity, but to show they’re laughing uncontrollably,” Wolf says. “The same goes for some combination of emojis – the two large eyes with a mouth in between (????️????????️) is a human face, but is also meant to symbolize awkwardness, shock and general discomfort.”
“There’s a kind of gleeful absurdity to how they use emojis, often mixing dark humor with playfulness, like utilizing the pregnant woman emoji to indicate their attraction to someone,” she adds. “This layered irony is central to Gen Z’s communication style.”
Conversation Starters
Rather than trying to keep up with every subtle shift, use the changing emoji meanings to start a conversation with your teens.
“Don’t worry about memorizing every emoji’s meaning – instead, you can simply ask your kids!” Wolf says. She adds, “Use your curiosity as an opportunity to connect with your kids rather than decode them. Emojis are playful, expressive tools, and Gen Z uses them to build identity and community. If you’re curious, your child will likely enjoy explaining the meaning.”
To help you catch up a little, keep reading for a list of the top 10 most commonly misunderstood emojis.
10 Most Misunderstood Emojis
Babbel teamed up with Emojipedia, the authority on emojis, to share the 10 commonly used (and mis-used) emojis across generations.
- ???? Skull: Gen Z: “I’m dead.” Used to express laughter and amusement. Older Generations: Used literally to reference death, danger, or dark themes.
- ???? Thumbs Up: Gen Z: Seen as passive-aggressive or dismissive; can be used ironically. Older generations: Sincerely used to show approval, agreement, or encouragement.
- ???? Slightly Smiling Face: Gen Z: Seen as passive-aggressive, insincere, or masking discomfort; can be used ironically. Older generations: Used to express friendliness or politeness.
- ???? Loudly Crying Face: Gen Z: Used to express laughter or emotional overreaction in a humorous way. Older generations: Used to convey disappointment or sadness.
- ???? ???? Person with White Cane: Gen Z: Used sarcastically to imply willful ignorance, aka “pretending not to see.” Older generations: Rarely used; interpreted as a literal representation of visual impairment or accessibility.
- ???? Moai: Gen Z: Represents emotional detachment or deadpan humor; often used ironically. Older generations: Rarely used; interpreted literally as a statue.
- ???? Person Standing: Gen Z: Conveys awkwardness, discomfort, or passivity in a situation. Older generations: Rarely used; understood literally as a depiction of a standing person.
- ???? Billed Cap: Gen Z: Slang symbol for “cap” (lie); “no cap” means telling the truth. Older generations: Rarely used; interpreted literally as an emoji of a cap.
- ???? Nail Polish: Gen Z: Symbolises confidence, sass, indifference, or showing off. Older generations: Used to reference beauty, self-care, or to reference manicure plans.
- ???? Pleading Face: Gen Z: Conveys cuteness, vulnerability, or “simp” behavior in an exaggerated or performative way. (“Simp” = over-the-top affection or admiration, usually done playfully or ironically.) Older generations: Viewed more literally as disappointment or sadness.
These celebrity parents are sharing the struggle — and sweetness — of raising teenagers.