What Do the Different Emoji Hearts Mean?  ## Metadata - Author: [[kottke.org]] - Full Title: What Do the Different Emoji Hearts Mean? - Category: #articles - Summary: In a casual chat on Discord, the use of emoji hearts sparked curiosity about their meanings, leading to a search for official interpretations. While Emojipedia provides names for hearts like growing, beating, and revolving hearts, their meanings are not universally agreed upon. Individuals offer varied interpretations, ranging from expressions of deep affection to romantic sentiments, with the revolving hearts emoji causing particular confusion. Despite attempts to decipher their significance, Emojipedia acknowledges that these hearts may simply convey what is visibly apparent without a definitive coded meaning. - URL: https://kottke.org/24/03/what-do-the-different-emoji-hearts-mean #### What Do the Different Emoji Hearts Mean?  The other day while chatting on Discord, I paused to pick out an emoji to apply to a friend’s comment. I wanted to use a heart to show that I liked the comment, but I’d already used the red heart and wanted to add a little more flair. Usually I just pick a pink one arbitrarily, but in that moment, I was like, WTF do all these little hearts actually mean? Do they have official meanings? Am I using them wrong? [It’s](https://blog.emojipedia.org/what-every-heart-emoji-really-means/) [a](https://www.seventeen.com/life/tech-social-media/g43542479/heart-emoji-meanings/) [common](https://www.womenshealthmag.com/sex-and-love/g35382506/heart-emojis-meaning/) [question](https://later.com/emoji-meanings/hearts-and-objects/), and the answer seems to essentially be: “No, there are no official meanings,” although according to [Emojipedia](https://emojipedia.org/symbols) the hearts do at least have official names: growing heart, beating heart, and revolving hearts (to choose the three that were least obvious to me).  The revolving hearts were the most confusing, in my opinion. Why are they revolving? According to [The Pioneer Woman](https://www.thepioneerwoman.com/just-for-fun/g46672582/heart-emoji-meanings/), they mean “falling in love, or deep affection.” That didn’t seem right, so I asked a few friends. * “Sending love?” my husband said. “I don’t know.” * “Love,” a friend said. “But specifically between you and the person you’re sending it to. It’s like a step up from ❤️.” * Another friend said something similar: “Like ❤️,” she wrote, “but 10% more girlie and romantic.” * I asked Jason. “I would say there’s a strong feeling of being intertwined,” he said. “Like, I wouldn’t send that to a friend. I don’t think I have ever received that particular emoji from anyone.” * “Ok, I’ve never used that particular one,” another friend echoed, “but I always use the two hearts 💕 instead of a red heart, because I think it’s cuter. I have no idea what 💞 means.” Emojipedia leaves it open-ended in its [💞 emoji-descriptor](https://emojipedia.org/revolving-hearts): “Hearts revolving around one or more other hearts.” (Around even *more* hearts?) In [a 2020 post](https://blog.emojipedia.org/what-every-heart-emoji-really-means/), Emojipedia also acknowledged that “intrinsically each heart has no more coded meaning than what meets the eye.”, What Do the Different Emoji Hearts Mean?, kottke.org, 01hr8g9eghz5hs8eb52r2bvytv.