red heart
Unicode: 2764 FE0F
Description
A classic red heart symbol. The FE0F (variation selector-16) ensures it's displayed as a traditional text character, rather than the more colorful emoji style, though most modern platforms render it with color regardless.
Group:
Smileys & Emotion > heart
Status:
fully-qualified
Emotion:
Represents love, romance, affection, friendship, support, and generally positive feelings. It is one of the most fundamental and widely used emojis for conveying warmth and care.
Backstory
The red heart symbol predates digital communication, with its origins in medieval times as a symbol for the heart and later for love. It was encoded early in Unicode to cover a wide range of symbolic uses. The 'FE0F' variation selector sometimes causes confusion, but its primary purpose is to distinguish between text-style and emoji-style presentation, though modern systems frequently ignore this distinction for popular emoji.
Usage Examples
- Expressing love: 'I love you! ❤️'
- Showing support: 'Thinking of you! ❤️'
- Indicating approval: 'That's a great idea! ❤️'
- Responding to good news: 'So happy for you! ❤️'
Cultural Differences
Western culture:
Universally understood as a symbol of love, often romantic, but also familial or platonic. Used in declarations of love, expressions of liking, and to show appreciation.
East Asian culture:
Similar meaning, but sometimes used with a more general 'like' or 'approval' connotation, or to express gratitude. Less emphasis on romantic love compared to its frequent usage in Western contexts, where it dominates romantic declarations.