The True Meaning Of The Emojis: Because Neither The Flamenco Is A Flamenco Nor Is That Face Angry

Did you know that on your mobile keyboard you have neither more nor less than 3,633 emojis? Emojis are the natural substitutes for the emoticons of a lifetime and we have the clearest example in the smile, which is no longer :), but 😀; the heart, which went from being (L) or <3 to ❤️ or the xD, which is now 😆.

These are the easy ones, the ones that we all handle, but of course, with nearly 4,000 emojis, it is difficult to know the exact meaning of all of them. And that can cause misunderstandings. Because in the same way that one might think that xD means “x God” (“- So and so has died.” “- Oh, what a pity, xD”), there are those who still think that the flamenco on WhatsApp is flamenco, and I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but no.

So if some time ago I made a millennial-older man dictionary and taking advantage of the fact that Pisuerga passes through Valladolid, in this column that I publish every Saturday I have decided to do something similar with emojis. Because there is only one thing better than using a lot of emojis: don’t use them use them well.

We talk about emoji

Let’s see, nobody is going to send you to jail for using an emoji however you want. Recently I am using 🌝 a lot as a kind of substitute for “hihihi”, because we live in a free and democratic country and everyone is free to use their emojis as they want. But since knowledge does not occupy a place (except those Salvat encyclopedias), we are going to see some incorrect uses of popular emojis and their true meaning. The source for all of them is Emojipedia, which is the bible of emojis:

• 👹: I’ve seen it many times as synonymous with anger or being willing to do some mischief, but it’s a Japanese ogre called Namahage who in Japanese culture is supposed to keep evil spirits away from homes. That is, he is not a demon, but he fights against demons.
• 👺: Although many people think that it is some kind of mask, it is a tengu, an evil and cocky creature from Japanese religious folklore. The normal thing would be to use it to express some bad intentions and even cruelty.
• 😵: It’s not that he’s dead, but he’s surprised.
• 🙏: it’s neither two people colliding nor is it a person praying, but it is a representation of the Japanese gesture to say thank you.
• 🤟: It’s not a rocker giving it his all at a Motörhead concert, but it means “I love you” in American Sign Language. The fingers form an “I” (me), an “L” (love), and a “U” (you).
• 😭: please, it’s not a person crying with laughter. She is a person crying uncontrollably.
• 😣: Although it is often used to show frustration, disgust, and even that something is unpleasant, it is the face of a person making a lot of effort to do something. Its original name is “Face of Perseverance”.
• 😩: it’s not a frustrated face, but a tired one, like this one 😫 but to a lesser extent.
• 😐: theoretically it’s a neutral face, come on, it doesn’t express anything, but it’s normally used to express a kind of discomfort or the feeling of being speechless.
• 😤: this little face is not irritated or angry about anything, but is used to show that a triumph. You know that moment when you do 30 push-ups, finish, and puff with pride? Well, the same.
• 😪: it has many interpretations, but it is mainly used to express boredom. It is not misguided, but its literal meaning is “sleepy face”, that is, it is tired.
• 😬: Although it is often used as “hehe” or to express a chuckle, its original name is “Face Making Grimaces” and is intended to express nervousness, embarrassment, or discomfort. Maybe the drawing won’t help much.
• 😥: he’s not sweating or crying, it’s a sad face but with some relief, like when you do a regular exam but it could have turned out much worse.
• 🤏: it’s a pinching hand, but we all know what we’re going to keep using it for, why fool yourself?
• 🤙: It’s not Ronaldinho in a custard ad or a symbol of good vibes, but a hand making the “Call me” gesture.
• 👐: these hands are not clapping, who is clapping with open hands? Theoretically, they are hands giving a hug, but again, the drawing is not very illustrative.
• 💁 and 💁‍♂️: although we use it to express sarcasm or cunning, it is a person behind an information desk.
• 🙆 and 🙆‍♂️: I’ve usually seen it used to express that you don’t know what to do or how to proceed on a task, but it’s a person saying “OK.”
• 🙀: do you think it’s a surprised cat? Well no, its official name is “Weary Cat”, which means “tired cat”.
• 🙈, 🙉, 🙊 – Although used to flirt or talk more intimately, they are a graphic representation of the Japanese saying “See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.” You can find the original sculpture in which they are inspired in the Toshogu sanctuary, in Tokyo. By the way, their names are Mizaru, Kikazaru, and Iwazaru.
• 🍑: anyway, it explains itself, right? It’s a peach, a peach!
• 🍆: and this is an aubergine, a simple aubergine!
• 🍔: It’s a simple hamburger, but there was a tremendous move with Google because, in the Android emoji, the cheese appeared just above the bottom bun, and not on top of the meat. Sundar Pichai said on his Twitter in 2017 that Google was going to drop everything to fix it.
• 🗻: although it is used to talk about mountains, it is Mount Fuji.
• 🏩: Although it looks like a hotel, it is a “Love Hotel”, that is, a hotel that is rented by the hour to… play Parchís as a couple, I imagine. The good hotel is this 🏨.
• 💃: she’s not a flamenco, I repeat, she’s not a flamenco. If you look closely at the dress you will see that it is a tango dress. It also does not have a comb or the classic polka dots. It’s painful, I know.
• 🗼: It’s not a radio antenna, but the Tokyo Tower, the second tallest building in Japan.
• 💿 and 📀: please, let’s try not to confuse CD-ROM (grey) with DVD (yellow). There is much more information on the DVD.
• 🎥 and 📽️: they look the same, I know, but the first one is an old-fashioned video camera and the second one is a projector.
• 💬, 🗯️, and 💭: although they are all used for conversations, each of these emojis has its context: normal conversation, anger, and thought.
• 🧨: It’s not a stick of dynamite, but a firecracker. You would have to put a lot of 🧨 to match the level of destruction, I’m afraid.
• 🔰: It’s not a shield, but the Japanese equivalent of the “L” that new drivers must put on their cars when they get their license.
• 🅰️, 🆎, 🅱️: are the blood types.

And these are all. If you have any recommendations or use an emoji and you don’t know what it means exactly, you have the comments at your disposal to share with us and the rest of xatakeros. With that said, see you next Saturday. I leave you with the anthem for World Emoji Day