Emojis are now a part of everyday conversation for you. But are you using them correctly? Here's a quick question. What do you think this means, a punch or a fist-bump?
If you thought that's a fist-bump, you've been doing it wrong. While Emojipedia, the best emoji-to-English dictionary, says you can use it as either, here's a clue: the shortcode for that is
:facepunch:
or
:punch:
. Sorry fist-bumpers!
Are there any other emojis you are misusing? Try these quizzes to find out. And then use the other apps and sites listed below to ensure you never make another mistake.
1. Beginner Level Quizzes (Web)
This isn't actually a single quiz, but a few different ones. They range from emojis that everyone should know to seldom-used symbols. But hey, it's like learning one new word a day!
Buzzfeed has an excellent multiple-choice quiz to guess the meaning behind emojis. Similarly, the Metro's emoji quiz is easy enough, but try it out.
If you want something a little more challenging, the PlayBuzz Emoji IQ quiz should be up your alley.
2. Guess the Emoji (Android, iOS)
Ever seen someone type out an entire sentence out of emojis? Yup, it can be done. And if you want to be a part of the new online lexicon, you need to learn it too.
The first place to start is understanding the meanings of these emoji sentences. Test your mettle with the Guess the Emoji game, which you can even challenge your friends to.
Each level shows one of these emoji sentences, with an array letters at the bottom, and a few blank tiles that denote the answer. Rearrange the letters to fit into the tiles. It sounds easy, and the first few levels are a breeze, but boy, it gets pretty difficult later. On the plus side, it's a fun way to learn new emoji meanings.
And in case you want to play this on your computer screen, there's a Guess the Emoji online quiz.
Download -- Guess the Emoji for Android or for iOS (Free)
3. Text to Emoji Translator (Web)
All right, you can now understand the meanings behind these emoji sentences. But writing one yourself can be an uphill task. Leave it to smart translators to do the work for you.
Engineer Monica Dinculescu built a simple app to turn text into emoji sentences. Write whatever you want into the dialog box, and you will see it being turned into emoji-speak in real-time. Copy the new sentence to your clipboard and paste it wherever you want.
Just make sure you are pasting it into an app that supports emojis. Most modern apps do, but don't add it to your old Outlook Express to send it as an email.
4. WhatMoji (Web)
You don't know what some emoji means? This is the easiest way to find out. Copy-paste it in the WhatMoji search box to identify that emoji immediately.
It's not the most comprehensive dictionary (which is still Emojipedia), but it's definitely the fastest. You'll get the shortcode, the unicode, the emoji's name, and the annotation. That's all you really need to figure out the meaning anyway.
WhatMoji's focus on speed comes through with its quick-search feature. When you spot an emoji anywhere, copy it and paste it at the end of the site's web address:
whatmoji.com/<emoji>
.
If you need help with adding emojis to the search, here are some quick ways to find and add emojis or emoticons.
5. EmojiOne (Chrome, Opera, Firefox)
There's one better way to add emojis, and it can also serve as a dictionary of sorts. EmojiOne has developed extensions for the major browsers to quickly copy and insert emojis.
The extension sits in the browser's toolbar. Click it to see a small window with all the emojis you could possible need. EmojiOne updates their emoji set every year, so you'll never be left behind. Hover over any emoji to see what it means. This is probably faster than any other method you can use.
Of course, you can also copy the emoji (or a collection of emojis) and then paste it anywhere you want.
The extension is already available for Opera, but you should be able to install it on any Chromium-based browser too.
Can Emojis Replace Text One Day?
Human civilization has used hieroglyphs before, can we one day use it again? Emojis convey a lot of things without ever needing you to be literate. In the future, can emojis be the written language, replacing text entirely?