Lost in Translation

There are two types of people in the world: people who use emojis, and those who don’t. We’re fans of the over-the-top expressions, and they can be useful when depicting emotions via text message. Without them, a text seems dry, and your carefully cultivated sarcasm could be mistaken for rudeness without a little winking guy sticking out his tongue. And that would be tragic.

Emojis can be especially useful when communicating with someone you like. You might be texting someone you just started dating, or would like to start dating, and you’re nose-diving into a total fail of a conversation. It’s awkward. It’s clunky. You’ve run out of casual text-worthy topics, and you’ve only been talking for an hour.

We’re here to help. Whether you need to start tossing out an ironic humble brag or two, accompanied by the cool-guy sunglasses face, or dish out a sweet compliment with the heart-eyes emoji, we have you covered.

We’ve compiled the 14 most common emojis used in the flirting game so that you might step up yours.



Speaking of heart eyes, here he is. Use this one wisely and sparsely, young sensei.



If you enjoy the art of banter, this face will be your go-to. It tells your texting comrade to take your teasing with a grain of salt.



This is my boyfriend’s personal favorite: “Did the dishes, babe *sunglasses Emoji*.”



An emoji for more advanced relationships, the kissy-heart face is reserved for couples who are taking the next step.



This is the emoji equivalent of saying, “Awww, you’re the sweetest. Thanks!” Sometimes, faces speak louder than words.



In case you’re dating a Shakespeare of compliments and need to switch up your thank-you emojis, this one’s for you.



Hey, we all stick our foot in our mouth sometimes.



The new version of LOL. If you actually laugh so hard you cry when you use this emoji, we applaud you.



Self-explanatory. Wink, wink.



The playful pout: a genius emoji move in trying to get one’s way.



Parking ticket? Long line at Whole Foods? Stuck in traffic on Central Expressway? All perfectly acceptable instances to use this guy.



Isn’t it the most irritating thing in the world when someone doesn’t appreciate your joke? Agreed.



The “uhh-let’s-forget-that-happened” emoji.



Because, well, it’s true.