What is the meaning of the smiley 👹?

👹 represents a ogre from the Japanese folklore, called oni. This emoji is used to express evil, a comical threat, or a scary atmosphere. Depending on the context, it can also convey hunger or a monstrous creature. We'll tell you everything!

You can also find out more by clicking here are the 10 emojis that 9 out of 10 people misunderstand. And you, do you really know them?

To test your knowledge of emojis like 👹, you can take the quiz here :

The Origin of the 👹 Emoji

The emoji 👹 represents a ogre from the Japanese folklore, a creature called oni (Oni). In traditional Japanese folktales, the’oni is a terrifying demon, often associated with calamities and punishments. This red-faced monster, with horns and fangs, has haunted Japanese culture for centuries.

This emoji was first proposed in 2007, then in 2009, before being integrated into the standard Unicode. Here are the details of the two proposals.

Emoji 👹 Suggestion 1

• Number : L2/07-257
• Last name : Working Draft Proposal for Encoding Emoji Symbols
• Proposed by : Markus Scherer, Kat Momoi and Mark Davis
• Year: 2007

Emoji Proposal 2: 👹

• Number : L2/09-026
• Last name : Emoji Symbols Proposed for New Encoding
• Proposed by : notably Kat Momoi, Markus Scherer and Mark Davis, with Yasuo Kida and Peter Edberg (Apple) as well as Darick Tong (Google)
• Year: 2009

Both of these proposals were approved by the Consortium Unicode. The ogre joined Unicode 6.0 in 2010, and was later published in a version Emoji 1.0 on June 2, 2015, the date from which it began to spread across major platforms.

The Meaning and Examples of How to Use the 👹 Emoji

This emoji is used to represent evil, exorcism, or a comic threat. It also expresses anger, hunger, or a festive atmosphere, like Halloween. Visually, this monster mask displays deliberately exaggerated features, classified in the category emoticons and emotions :

• a piece of skin red and shaggy hair in battle
• two horns on his head and a deformed nose
• of the bulging eyes, sometimes infused with blood, depending on the platform
• of the sharp teeth and disorderly

These primitive features give him a frightening appearance, but also a dazed look that creates a comical effect. On major platforms such as Google, Microsoft, Discord Where Twitter, the appearance varies slightly, but the idea remains the same: a monster mask rooted in the Japanese tradition of’oni.

What does the 👹 emoji mean depending on the context?

The exact meaning depends on the tone of your conversation. On social media and messaging apps, you'll come across it in several contexts:

• Halloween: associated with masks, demons, and skulls 💀 and pumpkins to create a spooky atmosphere.
• Humor: to dramatize a minor outburst of anger or intense hunger in an exaggerated way, often with the 😱 emoji or the 🤬 emoji.
• Comic Threat: to portray a menacing or monstrous character in a lighthearted conversation.

Emojis related to and similar to 👹

The ogre mask is often used with other emojis that share the same monster and demon theme:

• 😈 the smiling face with horns
• 👿 the diabolical face angry
• 👺 the mask tengu, another creature from Japanese folklore
• 👽 The Alien, for a quirky fantasy universe
• 🎃 the Halloween pumpkin

Examples of how to use the 👹 emoji

Here are three concrete examples of how you can slip this ogre emoji into a sentence:

1. Are you looking for a ogre in France 👹?
2. L'oni 👹 is a symbol of the Japanese folklore.
3. This boss from the game is a real monster 👹, unbeatable!

How do I copy the 👹 emoji?

To copy the 👹 emoji, simply select the 👹 character above, then press copy and paste in your message. It works on almost all recent platforms and apps.

Features of the 👹 emoji

Here are the technical details of the emoji Japanese ogre, which is useful if you want to embed it in a page or check its meaning on the Unicode.

Now you know everything about this Japanese ogre ! Its history, its meaning, and the right contexts for using it—from a simple, spooky wink to setting the mood Halloween including the depiction of a oni monstrous. And if you have any other ideas for how to use it, feel free to share them with us in the comments!