spade suit
Unicode: 2660 FE0F
Description
A classic black spade suit symbol, often used in playing card games. The FE0F is a variation selector that ensures it is displayed as an emoji.
Group:
Activities > game
Status:
fully-qualified
Emotion:
Typically represents card suits, but can also be used abstractly to symbolize elegance, mystery, or a 'spade' in a metaphorical sense (e.g., 'calling a spade a spade'). It does not inherently carry a strong emotion.
Backstory
The spade suit symbol itself has ancient origins in playing cards, representing the pike or a military weapon, or sometimes nobility. It was included in the original Unicode standard (1.1 in 1993) as a symbol, and the emoji representation (with FE0F) was introduced later to ensure graphical display as an emoji.
Usage Examples
- Playing card games: 'Let's play some poker ♠️'
- Indicating a suit: 'I have the ace of spades ♠️'
- Figurative use (rare): 'Sometimes you just have to call a spade a spade ♠️'
Cultural Differences
Western culture:
Primarily associated with playing cards (poker, bridge, etc.) and gambling. Can also be a symbol for gardening tools or a digging action.
East Asian culture:
Similar association with playing cards. Less common as a standalone symbolic emoji outside of card game contexts compared to more expressive face emojis.