kaomoji

American  

[kou-moh-jee] / kaʊˈmoʊ dʒi /

noun

kaomojis plural

1. Digital Technology. a Japanese-style emoticon that uses Japanese characters, Latin letters, and punctuation marks in combination to represent a facial expression that conveys an emotion. Unlike emoticons used by English speakers that depict the face horizontally, kaomoji are vertical depictions of faces, as (^.^) smiling eyes, (^_~) a winking eye, (>.<;) a bead of sweat, or sometimes include depiction of arms, as if raised in celebration \ ^^ /.

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Etymology

Origin of kaomoji

First recorded in 1985–90; from Japanese kao “face” + moji “(written) character”; cf. emoji ( def. )

Example Sentences

You’ll be able to pick from a number of kaomoji, and there’s also now quick access to em dash and other symbols from the emoji picker.

From The Verge • May 22, 2019

The kaomoji express emotions in the way emojis do, but they’re composed of standard fonts rather than being illustrated by anyone in particular.

From Slate • Dec. 7, 2015

But Japanese emoticons—known as kaomoji, or face-text—come in a dizzying array of variations.

From Slate • Dec. 7, 2015