Teen emoji uses and their meanings
What's cool, what's not cool?
If you're looking for a guide to the emojis teens are using in 2025, then you've come to the right place!
In the luna app, we hear from thousands of teens and have a dedicated team of teen ambassadors who have given us their insight into the emojis they use, how they use them, and what's just uncool.
We'll keep this updated as we learn new emojis from our community of teens 💡
And you can also discover the slang words teens are using right now via our guide.
Emojis to use and their meanings:
💀 (skull): typically to indicates being "dead from laughter" – not recommend for parents to use, considered cringe
🔥 (fire): impressive, attractive, or related to karma
🤭 (face with hand over mouth): mischief, amusement, or being cheeky
😭 (crying face): funny, to indicate laughing hard
🫣 (peeping eye): when saying something slightly embarrassing or niche e.g. “is it just me who…”
😔 (pensive face): showing sympathy or sadness
😋 (face savouring food) = excitement
😛 (face with tongue) = excitement
😝 (squinting face with tongue) = excitement
🤣 (side crying with laughter): when something is funny
🥲 (crying smiley): when saying something that slightly bothers you
🫶 (heart hands): empathy, care, or affection
❤️🩹 (mending heart): a sympathetic emoji for offering support
🙈 (see-no-evil monkey): used in a flirtatious or playful context
🕯️ (candle) = when manifesting / hoping for something
🌚 (new moon): to convey when you’re being a bit rude or sarcastic
👉👈 (pointed fingers): feeling shy
🤲 (open hands): a gesture of asking or requesting
👹 (monster face): feeling weird or freaky
👁👄👁 (eye, mouth, eye): watching with interest, total focus
🧇 (waffle): used in slang as "stop waffling" (stop talking nonsense)
👀 (eyes): side-eye or looking suspiciously, more sarcastic than interested
🤓 (nerdy face): to indicate an "erm, actually" moment, often used sarcastically
🥵 (hot face): used to express attraction or being impressed by someone
🔗 (link): used to explain linking up, like planning to meet in a certain place or get together to hang out
Emojis to avoid and their meanings:
🥹 (pleading face): considered cringe and “beggy” in certain contexts
🥴 (woozy face): cringe in specific situations
💅 (nail polish): while often used for “slay,” it's losing its popularity and can come across as outdated
😳 (flushed face): may be used too dramatically, making it over the top
❤️ (red heart): not terrible, but teens prefer 🫶
👍 (thumbs up): considered old fashioned, not cool
Trending cute emojis with no strict meaning:
🌷✨🎧🍵🌊💐🌞🌸🎀💕🩷♡
How we created this article:
luna's team of experts comprises GPs, Dermatologists, Safeguarding Leads and Junior Doctors as well as Medical Students with specialised interests in paediatric care, mental health and gynaecology. All articles are created by experts, and reviewed by a member of luna's senior review team.
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