water buffalo
Unicode: 1F403
Description
A close-up, grey, realistic depiction of a dragon's head, typically facing left, with horns, scales, and often a visible nostril or eye. It does not depict a full body.
Group:
Animals & Nature > animal-mammal
Status:
fully-qualified
Emotion:
Generally neutral, functional, or descriptive given it's an animal face, but can evoke a sense of mythical wonder, power, or fantasy depending on context.
Backstory
This emoji was introduced in Unicode 6.0 (2010), representing the head of a dragon. It's part of a set of animal faces/heads introduced around that time. It complements the full-bodied dragon emoji (1F409 Dragon) and was likely included to offer a different, more portrait-like representation of the mythical creature.
Usage Examples
- Referring to fantasy themes: 'Reading a new fantasy book 🐉'
- Discussing mythical creatures: 'What's your favorite mythical beast? Mine's the dragon 🐉'
- Used in contexts related to names or zodiac: 'Born in the year of the Dragon 🐉'
- As an aesthetic element for strong visuals: 'Building a new gaming setup, going for a dragon theme 🐉'
Cultural Differences
Western culture:
Often associated with mythical beasts, fantasy stories, sometimes seen as menacing or powerful.
East Asian culture:
Dragons are powerful and benevolent creatures, symbolizing good luck, power, and prosperity. This specific emoji might be used for general dragon references rather than evoking specific positive symbolism, as more detailed dragon emojis (e.g., 1F409 Dragon) are available. However, in a limited context, it could still refer to these positive attributes, albeit less strongly than a full dragon emoji.