About this series: Language, differently: This article is part of a short editorial series exploring communication in unexpected forms—from emoji and color to grammar, false cognates, cultural drift and more. It’s a look at how meaning is shaped, reshaped, and sometimes lost across borders, cultures, and digital spaces. If language is power, then understanding how we miscommunicate is just as vital as knowing how we connect.
Emojis: you would think everyone using these icons all mean the same thing, right? It’s not always so simple, as the confusion in the conversation above highlights.
Sometimes, a message might have a more ambiguous meaning than you might think… 🙏- maybe they were thanking you? Or were they asking for a high five, or perhaps even holding their hands in prayer?
The rise of emoji as the global language
In 2017, The Emoji Code by linguist Vyvan Evans proclaimed that the “Emoji is the new universal language.” What started as a footnote to text-based conversation is now a widespread phenomenon, adding color, emotion, and expression to messages.
According to the Unicode Consortium, 92% of the world’s population uses these colorful pictograms, with a pretty similar pattern of global use. Over 10 billion emojis are used daily, with 70% of people reporting that the images convey their feelings better than words. Emojis have gained widespread traction in everyday communication, changing how people message, invading pop culture, and altering digital dialogue.
A semiotic minefield: why meanings vary
While there’s no doubt that emojis have earned a vital place in modern-day communication, these digital icons are far from a universal language. Researchers from the University of Nottingham published a study reporting that age, gender, and culture impact how people interpret emojis.
The most significant difference in emoji interpretation stemmed from culture, with British participants being more accurate than Chinese users. Like other forms of communication, context always matters, and beyond the hype, the truth is emojis are neither “universal” nor a complete “language.” A linguistic tool adding color to the conversation? Sure. However, over-relying on these modern-day hieroglyphs can lead to serious misinterpretation.
In Western culture, rhe thumbs-up symbol 👍 is a sign of approval, but in the Middle East, it is a cultural faux pas, equivalent to the middle finger and interpreted as vulgar and offensive.
In the West, you might use the angel 😇(or even baby angel 👼) emoji to protest your innocence, but in Chinese culture, angels represent death or misfortune and are interpreted in the context of mourning or loss.
Even supposedly universal emojis (such as the smiling face 😀😃😄😁) have different cross-cultural meanings. In China, the symbol is interpreted as a mocking tone, or implies distrust, disbelief, or an obnoxious attitude.
Back to that confusing praying hands 🙏 emoji.
Although widely interpreted across social media as a symbol of prayer, some users think it’s a high-five. The meaning is also drastically different across East and West. The gesture means “thank you” or “please” in Japan, while in India, the symbol is a little more literal and seen as a “Namaste”.
Even in the same cultural context, a symbol as simple as the painting nails 💅 emoji can have several meanings. Aside from beautification, the painting nails emoji is a tone marker, indicating sassiness, nonchalance, or self-confidence. It can also be a form of expressing self-love or self-care.
Then there’s the crying 😭 emoji, which could signal genuine sadness or distress or contrarily that something is so hilarious, it causes the person to laugh with tears. In any case, it expresses extreme emotion, both grief and joy.
On platforms geared towards Gen Z, like TikTok, the crying emoji is more likely to signify tears of laughter. On Instagram (the platform of choice for older millennials), it probably expresses genuine tears.
You may send an emoji with a particular emotion in mind, but the person at the receiving end might confer a different meaning. People don’t just send emojis – they also receive them.
Emojis and platform-specific tone
It is also crucial to consider that emojis render differently across different platforms, operating systems, and devices, meaning they are far from universal, looking distinct on Apple platforms versus Android and Microsoft.
The grimacing face 😬 emoji looks slightly different on Apple versus Android or Microsoft Teams, leading to a subtle shift in tone and expression. A paper published by the University of Minnesota entitled “Blissfully Happy or Ready to Fight” looked at the varying meanings of emoji in closer detail, concluding that “in many cases, when two people consider the same emoji rendering, they may interpret both the sentiment and semantic meaning differently.”
Thus, brands using emojis in their marketing may want to consider that consistency of emoji-powered messaging isn’t even guaranteed across platforms.
Considerations for global brands
There’s no doubt that emojis enable brands to connect to audiences in a fun, emotive, and quirky way, but marketers should be careful not to neglect emoji meaning by culture.
In the next part of this post, we look at tips and tricks to get emoji-led marketing right and how to avoid common pitfalls.
1. Test emoji usage across regions
Who are you targeting? As with any marketing campaign, audience research is a critical first step for global customer engagement. Marketers must look at how users use emojis in the local context. Social media channels, ratings and reviews, and gathering customer feedback are insightful resources to gauge how your local audience communicates. Marketers should ensure their message aligns with their audience and that they understand which emojis resonate locally.
2. Use emojis to enhance tone, not carry meaning
Going overboard with emojis can confuse the message, so brands should use them sparingly to enhance meaning, tone, and expression. Brands should avoid relying on emojis as the message itself, as this leaves room for misinterpretation and potential confusion.
3. Be cautious in formal communications
There’s a time and a place to use emojis; it may not be appropriate for every situation. Emojis may work well for holiday brands or restaurants selling a carefree, fun experience but are less suitable for brands promoting a serious product or service, such as banks, funeral homes, or legal companies.
Moreover, context matters. Emojis wouldn’t be appropriate for crisis management, apology messaging, or responding to customer complaints.
4. Match emoji tone to your audience
Emojis are an extension of your international tone of voice, and what works for one brand may not work for another. How you use emojis may depend on your trade, but different brands within the same industry have a distinctive voice.
Brands should also consider how different audiences use emojis and how their target audience interacts online. There is a difference in how Gen Z expresses humor versus millennials and Gen X, for example. When something is funny, millennials will probably use the crying laughter 😂 emoji, whereas Gen Z will use the dead ☠️ emoji to express that they have “died” from laughter.
Is emoji the universal language (or just digital babel)?
So, are emojis a universal language? They’re both: this digital body language can connect and confuse. Emojis enrich language by adding nuance, self-expression, and complexity to cross-cultural communication. Just like, non-verbal cues, emojis shape how a conversation is received: it’s not just about what you say but how you say it.
While emoticons have their place, it is vital to consider cultural-linguistic context and awareness. In a globalized world, the ability to communicate across cultures is more important than ever. Technology and AI-powered tools (including Phrase of course) are great enablers of cross-cultural communication, helping global teams add meaning, tone, and clarity to their messaging, no matter where it occurs.
Even the tiniest symbols require localized adaptation. While emojis add color to messaging, it is also worth considering that everyone interprets art individually: if a picture tells a thousand words, an emoji might be worth a thousand different interpretations.
Speak your brand’s language clearly, everywhere.
From emojis to idioms, Phrase helps global teams adapt content with cultural nuance, linguistic precision, and AI-powered tools that scale
