Happy Kaomoji

Q: What is the happy kaomoji?

The best-known happy kaomoji is (^_^) , two caret eyes and an underscore mouth, often called the original kaomoji. Bigger versions like (≧▽≦) and \(^o^)/ show stronger joy. All of them are plain text, so you can copy one and paste it anywhere you type.

Q: What does ^_^ mean?

^_^ is a smiling face. The two carets are eyes curved into happy crescents and the underscore is the mouth. It means happy, pleased or friendly, and it is gentle enough for almost any message.

Q: How do I make a kaomoji look more excited?

Change the eyes and add arms. Swap ^ ^ for squeezed eyes like ≧ ≦ , open the mouth with ▽ , and put raised arms such as ヽ and / outside the brackets. Adding a sparkle like ✧ at the end pushes it further.

Smiling, laughing and cheering text faces, from the first kaomoji ever posted to arms thrown up for joy. Tap any face to copy it.

Happy kaomoji are Japanese text faces that smile, laugh or cheer, built from ordinary characters and read upright, like (^_^). They carry the warmth a plain full stop cannot, which makes them the everyday workhorses of kaomoji. Tap any face below to copy it, or open the kaomoji picker for every mood on one page.

Happy Kaomoji to Copy and Paste

Every face is plain text, so it looks the same in a chat, a caption or an email.

50 happy kaomoji. Click any face to copy it.

How to Read a Happy Kaomoji

In a kaomoji the eyes do the smiling. The mouth can stay almost the same while the eyes change the whole mood.

(^_^) is the classic smile: two carets for eyes curved up like closed, happy lids, and a flat underscore for the mouth. Japanese sources date it to a 1986 post on the ASCII NET bulletin board.
(≧▽≦) squeezes the eyes shut with ≧ and ≦ and opens the mouth wide with ▽. It reads as a delighted squeal.
ヽ(´▽`)/ throws both arms up. The left arm is ヽ, a katakana repeat mark, and the right is a plain slash.
\(^o^)/ does the same with two backslash and slash arms and a round o mouth, a small shout of hooray.
v(^_^)v puts a peace sign made from a letter v on each side of the classic face.

When to Use Happy Kaomoji

Use them anywhere a smile would soften or lift a line: thanking someone, sharing good news, saying good morning, or replying to a joke. Pick the size of the face to match the moment. (^_^) is a polite smile you can send almost anyone, while ヽ(´▽`)/ is for real celebration among friends.

More Kaomoji Categories

Happy faces have close cousins. Dancing kaomoji put the joy in motion, sparkle kaomoji add a little magic, cute kaomoji soften it, and greeting kaomoji turn a smile into a hello.

FAQ

What is the happy kaomoji?

The best-known happy kaomoji is (^_^), two caret eyes and an underscore mouth, often called the original kaomoji. Bigger versions like (≧▽≦) and \(^o^)/ show stronger joy. All of them are plain text, so you can copy one and paste it anywhere you type.

What does ^_^ mean?

^_^ is a smiling face. The two carets are eyes curved into happy crescents and the underscore is the mouth. It means happy, pleased or friendly, and it is gentle enough for almost any message.

How do I make a kaomoji look more excited?

Change the eyes and add arms. Swap ^ ^ for squeezed eyes like ≧ ≦, open the mouth with ▽, and put raised arms such as ヽ and / outside the brackets. Adding a sparkle like ✧ at the end pushes it further.