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How to Find Out What Emojis Mean on iPhone?
Learn what your favorite emojis mean! Follow these simple steps to quickly find out exactly what each emoji is about.
ByMarcus
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Key Takeaways:
- Why it helps: Turning on Speak Selection in your iPhone’s Accessibility settings lets it read emoji meanings aloud, which is a game-changer when messages get too cryptic.
- Quick how-to: Pop some emojis into the Notes app, highlight them, then tap Speak—your iPhone reads their meanings right back to you.
- Everyday emoji cheat sheet: 😂 usually means laughter, ❤️ stands for love, and 👍 gives the green light—keep that handy if you’re ever unsure.
- What’s coming in iOS 26: Expect fun additions like Apple Core, Orca, and Ballet Dancers—tiny updates, but they freshen things up.
- Make your own with Genmoji: iOS 18 lets you create personalized Genmoji from text prompts or by combining emojis. Feels a bit like emoji alchemy.
Emojis are cute, expressive, and sometimes confusing! With nearly 3,700 emojis available on iPhone and iPad, Apple has given us a fun and visual way to communicate everything from emotions to objects and symbols. But while it’s easy to insert emojis into messages, figuring out what they actually mean can be tricky.
Ever seen someone use the wrong emoji and completely change the tone of a message? It happens more often than you’d think. Fortunately, your iPhone has a hidden feature that helps you decode emoji meanings instantly. In this guide, we’ll show you how to make your iPhone read emoji meanings aloud and also share the most popular emoji definitions—including all the new additions in iOS 26!
How to Find Out What Emojis Mean on iPhone (2 Easy Methods)
To get started, you’ll need to enable Speak Selection on your iPhone. This allows your device to read selected text out loud—perfect for interpreting emojis.
1. Turn On Speak Selection on iPhone
- Launch the Settings app → Tap Accessibility.
- Choose Spoken Content.
- Toggle on Speak Selection.
2. Make Your iPhone Speak Emoji Meanings Aloud
Once Speak Selection is enabled, follow these steps to hear what emojis mean—using a supported app like Notes:
- Open the Notes app → Open a new note or an existing one.
- On your keyboard, tap the emoji icon on the bottom left.
If you have multiple keyboards installed, you’ll find the emoji icon next to the space bar.
- Insert the emojis of your choice.
- Press and hold the emojis until a pop-up menu appears → Choose Select All.
If you have entered just one emoji, tap Select. - Tap the arrow appearing on the second pop-up menu that appears.
- Keep swiping left until you find and tap Speak.
Now your iPhone will read the emoji aloud, giving you its intended meaning. Handy, right?
Top 50 emoji meanings on iPhone and iPad
Here’s a quick-reference list of the most popular and commonly used emojis with their meanings:
| Emoji Symbol | Emoji Name | Emoji Meaning |
| 😂 | Face With Tears of Joy | Laughter; Cheerfulness |
| ❤️ | Red Heart | Love |
| 😭 | Loudly Crying Face | Crying, sadness; Can also mean something is very cute |
| 😎 | Smiling Face With Sunglasses | Cool; Sunglasses |
| 😍 | Smiling Face With Heart-Eyes | Love, endearment |
| 👍 | Thumbs up | OK, understood; Good |
| 😊 | Smiling Face With Smiling Eyes | Happy; Blushing |
| 🥶 | Cold Face | Cold, freezing |
| 🙏 | Hands Pressed Together | Thanks; High five; Prayer |
| 🙈 | See-No-Evil Monkey | Embarrassed, blushing |
| 😘 | Face Blowing a Kiss | Blowing a kiss; Love |
| 😱 | Face Screaming in Fear | Scared; Surprised, shocked |
| 😬 | Grimacing Face | Unsure; Tense |
| 🙌 | Hands Raised in Celebration | Appreciation |
| 👏 | Clapping Hands | Clapping; Celebration |
| 🔥 | Fire | Approval, appreciation; Hot |
| 😄 | Beaming Face With Smiling Eyes | Happiness, joy |
| 💔 | Broken Heart | Sadness; Brokenhearted |
| 🤣 | Rolling on the Floor Laughing Face | Laughter; Joy |
| 👌 | OK Hand Sign | Understood; Agreement |
| ☹️ | Frowning Face | Sadness; Disappointment |
| 😡 | Red Angry Face | Anger, madness |
| 🥰 | Smiling Face With Hearts | Love; Appreciation |
| 💯 | Hundred Points Symbol | Excellent; Understood |
| 👀 | Eyes | Surprised, shocked; Shifty |
| 😪 | Sleepy Face | Tired |
| 😞 | Disappointed Face | Upset, disappointed |
| 🤬 | Face With Symbols Over Mouth | Angry, distraught |
| 🤒 | Face With Thermometer | Sick |
| 🥺 | Pleading Face | Cute, adorable; Admiration |
| 🤯 | Exploding Head | Mind blown; Shock |
| 😏 | Smirking Face | Confident |
| 🥵 | Hot Face | Hot |
| 💀 | Skull | Skull; Laughter |
| 👋 | Waving Hand | Greetings, goodbye |
| 🤡 | Clown Face | Funny |
| 🤷♂️ 🤷♀️ | Man/Woman Shrugging | Uncertainty; Indifference |
| 🎉 | Party Popper | Celebration, excitement |
| 💕 | Two Hearts | Love |
| 😴 | Sleeping Face | Tired |
| 🍀 | Four Leaf Clover | Lucky |
| ✅ | Check Mark Symbol | Approval, understanding |
| 🤔 | Thinking Face | Deep in thought |
| 😐 | Neutral Face | Indifference; Unsure; Awkward |
| 😕 | Confused Face | Confused |
| 😉 | Winking Face | Wink; Joking; Cheeky |
| 😇 | Smiling Face With Halo | Innocent |
| 😮 | Surprised Face With Open Mouth | Shock, surprise |
| 🤢 | Nauseated Face | Sick, nausea |
| 🧐 | Face with monocle | Suspicious look |
| 🫠 | Melting face | Blushing |
| 🫶 | Heart hands | Depicts love |
| 🫡 | Saluting face | Respect |
| 🫢 | Face with open eyes and hand over mouth | Giggling |
| 💪 | Flexed Bicep | Strong |
What Are the New Emojis in iOS 26?
With iOS 26, Apple adds even more personality to your conversations! Based on final approvals from the Unicode Consortium, eight new emojis are expected to land in the iOS 26.2 or 26.3 update.
- Apple Core
- Ballet Dancers
- Distorted Face
- Fight Cloud
- Hairy Creature
- Orca
- Trombone
- Treasure Chest
Bonus: Emoji Customization with Genmoji in iOS 18
iOS 18 introduced a powerful new feature called Genmoji, which lets you create custom emojis from text prompts. It’s powered by Apple Intelligence and makes emoji creation fun and personal.
You can even blend multiple emojis to create one-of-a-kind reactions—perfect for expressing those “no words can explain” moments!
Looking for what came in the iOS 18.4 emoji batch? Here’s your list:
| Emoji Symbol | Emoji Name |
| Sleepy/tired face with bags under eyes | |
| Fingerprint | |
| A leafless tree | |
| Root vegetable | |
| Harp | |
| Shovel | |
| Splatter | |
| Flag of Sark | 🇨🇶 |
Wrapping up…
Emojis have become a universal language of expression. Now that you know how to find emoji meanings on your iPhone, you can text with confidence and avoid those awkward mix-ups.
Whether you’re laughing, loving, or just feeling a little, there’s an emoji for everything.
So, what’s your go-to emoji? Drop it in the comments below!
Also read:
- How to use Memoji on your iPhone and iPad Pro
- How to combine emojis on iPhone
- Best Emoji apps for iPhone and iPad
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Marcus
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