How to use emojis in WhatsApp

Emoji is a Japanese word that literally means ‘image plus character’. In modern language, emojis refer to images that often appear in WhatsApp, for example. In the past, the smiling faces were also called smileys, and somewhat later the word emoticons was used a lot. Now the term emoji is common.

Emojis express a feeling, action, opinion or object. Some have a very clear meaning, such as the pizza or the image of a flower or a cat. From other pictures it may be a bit unclear what it expresses. Like two hands together. Does that mean praying or two people giving a high five? Read more about this in the article ‘Which emoji do I use?’

To insert an emoji during a conversation on WhatsApp:

• Open WhatsApp.
• Tap the tab chats.
• Tap the chat where you want to insert the emoji.
• Tap the face icon (Android) to the left of the text box. On the iPhone, tap the text box and then tap the face icon on the keyboard.
• The emojis overview opens. There are different categories. For example, the face represents different smileys and the category with the image of a football contains emojis that have to do with sports. Tap the category you want to use.
• Tap the emoji you want to insert. Some emojis come in multiple skin tones. Want a different color emoji? Then hold your finger on the emoji a little longer and tap the emoji in the desired color.
• To start typing again, tap the text box or the keyboard to its left (Android). On the iPhone, tap ABC on the keyboard.

Also check out our video on how to insert emojis in WhatsApp on an Android phone.