How to find out what emojis mean on iPhone (2024 guide)


Emojis are cute! Emojis bless us with a unique way to express everything, from mood swings to monotonous symbols. Interestingly, Apple offers a stunning collection of nearly 3,700 emojis for iPhone and iPad users. While using emoticons is easy, understanding their meanings can be challenging for some.

For instance, you must have seen people insert the wrong emojis in messages and give a different meaning to the text. However, iPhone allows you to find the meaning associated with a particular emoji. Want to know how? Use these easy-to-follow steps to decode the language of emojis.

2 Ways to find out what emojis mean on iPhone

First, you need to enable Speak Selection and then make the iPhone read the expression out on an emoji-supported app. Follow these simple steps, and you’ll be good to go!

Turn on Speak Selection on iPhone

  1. Launch the Settings app → Tap Accessibility
  2. Choose Spoken Content.  
  3. Toggle on Speak Selection.

    Tap Accessibility click Spoken Content toggle On Speak Selection in Settings

Make your iPhone tell you the meaning of emojis

Now, after making the changes in the Settings app, let’s try this feature on an iOS app that supports emojis. We have taken the Notes app as an example here.  

  1. Open the Notes app → Open a new note or an existing one.
  2. 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.

    Tap the emoji icon in keyboard
  3. Insert the emojis of your choice.
  4. Press and hold the emojis until a pop-up menu appears → Choose Select All.
    If you have entered just one emoji, tap Select.
  5. Tap the arrow appearing on the second pop-up menu that appears.
  6. Keep swiping left until you find and tap Speak.

    Tap Select All tap arrow click Speak in Notes
  7. Now, your iPhone will read aloud the meaning of the emoji you selected.

Top 50 emoji meanings on iPhone and iPad

We have highlighted the most common yet popular iPhone emoji meanings list below. Do check them out.

Emoji SymbolEmoji NameEmoji Meaning
😂Face With Tears of JoyLaughter; Cheerfulness
❤️Red HeartLove
😭Loudly Crying FaceCrying, sadness; Can also mean something is very cute
😎Smiling Face With SunglassesCool; Sunglasses
😍Smiling Face With Heart-EyesLove, endearment
👍Thumbs upOK, understood; Good
😊Smiling Face With Smiling EyesHappy; Blushing
🥶Cold FaceCold, freezing
🙏Hands Pressed TogetherThanks; High five; Prayer
🙈See-No-Evil MonkeyEmbarrassed, blushing
😘Face Blowing a KissBlowing a kiss; Love
😱Face Screaming in FearScared; Surprised, shocked
😬Grimacing FaceUnsure; Tense
🙌Hands Raised in CelebrationAppreciation
👏Clapping HandsClapping; Celebration
🔥FireApproval, appreciation; Hot
😄Beaming Face With Smiling EyesHappiness, joy
💔Broken HeartSadness; Brokenhearted
🤣Rolling on the Floor Laughing FaceLaughter; Joy
👌OK Hand SignUnderstood; Agreement
☹️Frowning FaceSadness; Disappointment
😡Red Angry FaceAnger, madness
🥰Smiling Face With HeartsLove; Appreciation
💯Hundred Points SymbolExcellent; Understood
👀EyesSurprised, shocked; Shifty
😪Sleepy FaceTired
😞Disappointed FaceUpset, disappointed
🤬Face With Symbols Over MouthAngry, distraught
🤒Face With ThermometerSick
🥺Pleading FaceCute, adorable; Admiration
🤯Exploding HeadMind blown; Shock
😏Smirking FaceConfident
🥵Hot FaceHot 
💀SkullSkull; Laughter
👋Waving HandGreetings, goodbye
🤡Clown FaceFunny
🤷‍♂️ 🤷‍♀️Man/Woman ShruggingUncertainty; Indifference
🎉Party PopperCelebration, excitement
💕Two HeartsLove
😴Sleeping FaceTired
🍀Four Leaf CloverLucky
Check Mark SymbolApproval, understanding
🤔Thinking FaceDeep in thought
😐Neutral FaceIndifference; Unsure; Awkward
😕Confused FaceConfused
😉Winking FaceWink; Joking; Cheeky
😇Smiling Face With HaloInnocent
😮Surprised Face With Open MouthShock, surprise
🤢Nauseated FaceSick, nausea
🧐Face with monocleSuspicious look
🫠Melting faceBlushing
🫶Heart handsDepicts love
🫡Saluting faceRespect
🫢Face with open eyes and hand over mouthGiggling
💪Flexed BicepStrong

What are the new emojis in iOS 17.4 

Giving a breather to its already vivid emoji collection, Apple is here with a new stack of iOS 17.4 smileys. The list has 118 dynamic emoticons comprising six new concepts and four gender-neutral family emojis.  

Alongside, there are revamped direction-defining variants of the current people emojis, totaling 108 when considering gender and skin tones. You will also find a big change in the design of family emojis.

Now, in the place of colorful people emoticons, you will find multiple combinations of white silhouettes placed against a grey square icon. I know you must be curious to know about the latest iOS 17.4 emojis, so here is a table defining some of the new emoji symbols and names.  
 

Emoji Symbol Emoji Name  
‍🐦‍🔥Phoenix 
‍🍋‍🟩Lime wedge
⛓️‍  Broken Chain 
🍄‍🟫Brown Mushroom
‍🙂‍↔️Head shaking horizontally 
‍🙂‍↕️Head shaking vertically 
🚶‍➡️Person walking facing right
🏃‍➡️Person running facing right
‍🧎‍♂️‍➡️Person kneeling facing right  
‍🧑🏻‍🦯‍➡️Person with white cane facing right 
‍🧑🏻‍🦽‍➡️ Person in manual wheelchair facing right
‍🧑‍🦼‍➡️Person in motorized wheelchair facing right
🧑‍🧑‍🧒Family of two adults and child
🧑‍🧒‍🧒Family of an adult and two children
🧑‍🧒Family of an adult and a children
🧑‍🧑‍🧒‍🧒Family of two adults and two children
🪬Hamsa Amulet (A blue hand with an eye in the center)
🪯Khanda Emblem (symbol of the Sikhism)
🪈Yellow flute
🪇Maracas
🪪Identification card
🛻Pickup truck

Moreover, iOS 18 is expected to launch a few more new emojis such as a sleepy face with bags under eyes, fingerprint, leafless tree, beetroot vegetable, harp, shovel, splatter, etc.

Wrapping up

Emojis let you interact and connect with others and give an interesting look at your message. I hope now you can easily find emoji meaning on your iPhone and don’t have to worry about messing up with emojis while texting.

So, switch to emoji texting now! And don’t forget to share your favorite emoji in the comments section.

Also read:

author avatar
Marcus Editor
Marcus Mears III is a lifelong technology enthusiast with half a decade of experience developing prose that keeps readers in the know. With hundreds of reviews, buying guides, and how-to explainers across a number of tech and lifestyle publications like How-To Geek, MakeUseOf, and iGeeksBlog, Mears’ work helps readers around the globe learn to make the most of their devices and software. He uses a 2016 MacBook Pro as his daily driver laptop and a self-built Windows PC for gaming and productivity.

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