Kaomoji

Kaomoji (顔文字) is the Japanese word for "face characters". Unlike Western emoticons :) which go sideways and have less detail, kaomoji can be understood without having to tilt your head (^_^).

AA characters such as Mona and Giko evolved from kaomoji. However, unlike AA, Kaomoji only take up one line and therefore do not need to limit themselves to certian fonts or character sets to be understood.

Notable Kaomoji

(╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻

(ﾉಥ益ಥ）ﾉ ┻━┻

(ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻

Represents someone flipping a table in anger.

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┬──┬ ¯\_(ツ)

┬─┬ノ( º _ ºノ)

Represents someone calmly putting said table back.

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uwu

owo

Represents a cat-like smile. It's associated with anime and the furry community.

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ಠ_ಠ

Represents a look of disapproval.

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West-Specific

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

( ‾ʖ̫‾)

Known as the "Lenny Face" or "deg deg". It used to be really big in 2012.

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ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ

Called "Happy Gary". He is just a happy guy that likes to dance.

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Japan-Specific

_(:3」∠)_

Represents a person lying down. It is sometimes called "Junsuke Takazawa".

Pixiv Encyclopedia

orz

Represents a person kneeling in despair.

KnowYourMeme ✧ 2ch AA Illustration Project

＼(^o^)／

This happy-looking emoticon, often paired with the phrase "My life is over", is ironically used to express profound despair.

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(((( ；ﾟДﾟ)))ｶﾞｸｶﾞｸﾌﾞﾙﾌﾞﾙ

Represents someone trembling in fear.

2ch AA Illustration Project

＞＜

Associated with the phrase "わかんないんです＞＜" / "I don't know ＞＜". However, it's more likely to be used disingenuously than to communicate genuinely not knowing shit.

2ch AA Illustration Project ✧ Nico Nico Encyclopedia

<●><●>

"I know everything <●><●>". The opposite of ＞＜.

2ch AA Illustration Project

ξ*ﾟ⊿ﾟ)ξ

ξ*〃〃)ξ

ξ#ﾟ⊿ﾟ)ξ

A tsundere emoticon, called "Tsun". She started out as Buun's girlfriend/childhood friend.

2ch AA Illustration Project

川 ﾟ -ﾟ)

川#ﾟ -ﾟ)

A kuudere emoticon, called "Kuu".

2ch AA Illustration Project

囧

Represents a miserable face. It's mostly used in China, but shows up in other countries.

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Miscellaneous Kaomoji

These are just for fun, either made by me or stolen from somewhere.

Sources:

• Wikipedia
• Japanese Wikipedia