Mandarin, Spanish, and English are some of the most commonly spoken languages, but there's only one that unites us all: the language of the emoji. The majority of us use them on our smartphones, but it's possible to use them on the desktop, too.

That's because Windows 10 has built-in support for emojis. No longer do you have to express things through words; now you can drop in an eggplant, frog face, or pumpkin emoji with ease. Let's find out how to enable and use them in Windows 10.

The History of Emojis in Windows

Emojis, which literally mean picture character, have been around in some form since the late 90s, originating in Japan. However, it's only recently that they've become mainstream worldwide, mostly thanks to their implementation in modern smartphones.

When Windows 7 released in 2009, emojis hadn't found their widespread appeal and they weren't built into the operating system. However, that same year they were included in the Unicode Standard, which is a system designed to achieve consistent encoding and display of written texts.

windows emojis

In 2012, Windows 8 hits the scene. Emojis are available in the operating system, but only in black and white, not in full color as could be found elsewhere. This came courtesy of a font called Segoe UI Symbol, which was also added to Windows 7 via an update. A year later and Windows 8.1 arrives, which introduces the Segoe UI Emoji font, offering color emojis.

Nowadays, Windows 10 supports a vast array of emojis, split into different categories and in full color. If you're familiar with emojis on other platforms, like iMessage or WhatsApp, you'll recognize the emojis on Windows 10. There's also support for diversity modifiers, meaning you can change the skin color on some emojis.

How to Use Emojis in Windows 10

It's easy to begin using emojis in Windows 10. Bear in mind, it's up to the program how it interprets that emoji. For example, Notepad displays simple black and white emojis, while Firefox displays full color.

There are several methods, so let's cover them each in turn.

1. Use Emojis With a Keyboard Shortcut

The best way to use emojis in Windows 10 is with a keyboard shortcut. Simply press Windows key + . (period) or Windows key + ; (semicolon) when in a text field.

The text field can be in any program, like your internet browser, word processor, chat application, and so on.

windows-10-emoji-selector-shortcut-1

Begin typing immediately to search for a specific emoji, or use the category icons along the bottom. On those emojis that support it, you can switch skin color from the palette at the top.

This method worked extremely well in our tests. However, for some reason, Discord duplicated the emoji so that it appears twice from a single click, so note that some other applications might be glitchy too.

2. Use Emojis on the Touch Keyboard

Another method to use emojis on Windows 10 is with the touch keyboard.

First, you need to enable the touch keyboard. To do so, right-click the taskbar and select Show touch keyboard button (if it isn't already checked). This will place a keyboard icon within your taskbar's notification area. Click the keyboard icon and the touch keyboard will appear at the bottom of your screen.

windows 10 touch keyboard

Note that, confusingly, this is different from the on-screen keyboard which can be enabled within Settings, which is useful if your keyboard doesn't have a numpad.

With the touch keyboard open, click the smiling face icon to access all the emojis. Use the icons along the bottom to switch emoji category, and you then scroll through the choice. Simply left click an emoji to use it. When browsing the people category, double-click it and you can change the skin tone.

3. Use Emojis With Copy and Paste

You don't necessarily need to bring up either of these menus to use emojis on Windows 10. You can copy and paste them too.

Related: Proper Emoji Etiquette: When to Use (or Not Use) Them

Whether it's from an emoji website like Emojipedia, or from a message that your friend has sent you, you can copy and paste emojis just like you can with any other text.

Emote with Emojis on Windows 10

Everyone has their own favorite emoji! They're great fun to send and they're not just limited to your mobile. Get using them in Windows 10. How else will you quickly communicate a shocked cat, ghost, or a plate of pasta?

Emojis evolve and Windows 10 will periodically update its emoji selection so that you have access to the latest and greatest.