Here's a handy glossary of heart emoji meanings for every communication style, according to an actual emoji expert
A Guide to Heart Emoji Meanings, According to an Emoji Expert
Updated on Jan. 28, 2025
With an endless array of emojis at our fingertips—and new ones constantly popping up—knowing when and how to use them is more important than ever. This is especially true for the emoji we use to express love … or is it passion? Heartbreak, maybe? Truth is, there’s a surprising range of heart emoji meanings.
To get the scoop, we spoke with Keith Broni, the editor-in-chief of Emojipedia, the go-to guide for everything emoji. He shares expert insights on heart emoji meanings and how to choose the perfect one for any occasion.
Looking to send a flirty heart to a crush on Valentine’s Day? Need the right heart to show your significant other how you feel? Or perhaps you’re looking for a heart that conveys sympathy, joy or support. According to Broni, heart emojis are “the most versatile of all the emojis.”
Keep reading to unlock the full spectrum of heart emoji meanings—and discover which one is perfect for your next message.
Get Reader’s Digest’s Read Up newsletter for more personal tech, humor, travel and fun facts all week long.
What do the different heart emojis mean?
According to Broni, this is a popular question, even among texting experts. “I get asked this question a lot, and I don’t want to disappoint anyone, but the answer is almost anything and everything,” he says. “The colors don’t have a set meaning.”
But that’s by design. The heart emojis are so popular because you can use them to convey a range of positive human emotions, including romance, affection, love, happiness, peace, gratitude, excitement, agreement, sympathy and even sometimes condolences. There are a few that have highly specific meanings, though, especially when used in a particular context or alongside other emojis.
How many heart emojis are there?
There are more than 40 emojis that use a heart (including the popular heart-eyes emoji). Don’t get too hung up on that number, though. Unicode, the body that decides which emojis are included in the standard set, is constantly adding new emojis to the list of available pictograms. For instance, in 2024, it added the mushroom, phoenix and “nodding” emojis, among others.
Heart emoji meanings
Ready to dive in? We’re breaking down the most popular heart emojis, the meanings behind them and when you should (and should not) use them.
❤️️ Red heart meaning
This is the most popular heart emoji—and the most versatile. Unfortunately, it can also be the most confusing, Broni says. A red heart can be as innocuous as liking a picture on social media, as bland as saying you received and understood a text or as emotional as declaring your undying affection as part of a love message.
When to use: Technically, you can use this in almost any context, which is why it’s generally on the short list of suggested emojis. Use it any time you want to convey a positive emotion.
When to skip: Because red sometimes symbolizes romance, don’t use the red heart emoji if you want to be clear that your response is not romantic. “I generally don’t recommend people use the red heart in a business context, like on Slack,” Broni says. “You want to be perfectly clear that your intentions are only professional.” Conversely, because it is a default response in so many programs, it can come across as perfunctory or impersonal. If you’re learning how to be romantic, consider avoiding it when showing truly genuine affection.
💙 Blue heart meaning
One of the classic hearts, the royal-blue heart emoji is particularly popular for brands and marketers online, Broni says. “It shows that you love something, but not in a way that would be weird for a product,” he explains. “Like, it might be weird to say you red-heart love your new vacuum.”
When to use: To show you love a specific product or brand. It’s especially popular on X (formerly Twitter). It’s also popular in political posts.
When to skip: There’s really no wrong time to use the blue heart emoji, other than any time when a heart emoji would be inappropriate.
🩷 Pink heart meaning
The pink heart was introduced only in 2022, but it’s already surging in popularity. “This was one of the most requested emojis ever,” Broni says, adding that it’s his personal favorite heart emoji.
When to use: Just as you would with the red heart, feel free to use this to convey any positive emotion—but without the potential romantic connotation.
When to skip: It can come across as childish or overly lighthearted, so skip it in situations where you want to be strictly professional or keep the tone more serious.
🩵 Light blue heart meaning
A brighter shade than the traditional royal blue, this heart is also new to the roster. It’s a top pick for combining with other heart emojis.
When to use: This is a popular choice for representing friendship and feelings of warmth and for adding to anything with the color blue.
When to skip: This heart is pretty benign, so it’s unlikely to be misunderstood. But you can skip it in any situation where hearts wouldn’t be appropriate (again, in a professional setting). And don’t overdo it: Overusing any emoji can clutter your messages or lead to misinterpretation.
🩶 Gray heart meaning
Part of a fresh batch of emojis that landed in 2023, the gray heart joined pink and light blue in offering fresh ways to show love. No, people weren’t clamoring for a gloomy heart. It was created because they like to use emojis together and because there are lots of gray emojis to pair it with.
When to use: To convey a muted or somber affection or in conjunction with something gray that you love. For instance, pairing it with the gray camera emoji might imply that you love old-school photography.
When to skip: When you really want to emphasize a positive feeling, a more exuberant color might be more appropriate and will likely get your point across better.
💚 Green heart meaning
The green heart is surprisingly popular online because of its association with the K-pop band NCT. It’s also used in conjunction with other green emojis.
When to use: When you love something green or are celebrating Christmas (pair it with a red heart, naturally) or St. Patrick’s Day.
When to skip: You really can’t go wrong with the green heart.
🧡 Orange heart meaning
This heart came in 17th on the list of most-used heart emojis, and it might not have cracked the top 20 if it weren’t for its association with Halloween.
When to use: Paired with other orange emojis, to celebrate Halloween or if it’s your favorite color.
When to skip: This one can get lost in texting; on small screens, it’s easy to mistake for the yellow heart. Still, it’s pretty standard, and you could use it in any situation in which a heart is appropriate.
💛 Yellow heart meaning
This is considered the most neutral heart, perhaps because of its association with the yellow used in many emojis to convey a skin tone without specifying a race.
When to use: When you want to express a positive emotion in the least offensive way possible. It’s great when used with “thinking of you” messages.
When to skip: You’re probably fine to use this one as much as you like.
💜 Purple heart meaning
Out of all the heart emojis, the purple heart surprised Broni and his research team the most. “It was the third most used heart emoji on Twitter in our 2020 study, and it was all because it’s the heart that the BTS fandom uses online,” he explains. This shows the power of both the color purple and K-pop fans.
When to use: If you’re part of the BTS army or you’re talking about a Purple Heart military medal.
When to skip: Almost any other time. Even if you don’t write a post about K-pop or the military, it’s likely to get grouped with those posts by the algorithm. Still, no one owns the purple heart emoji, and it’s not offensive to use it in most contexts, so go ahead and use it if you’d like.
🤍 White heart meaning
Broni says this is the one heart with a fairly specific color meaning. “It’s almost exclusively used to express condolences after a loss,” he says.
When to use: When you want to send angel vibes (paired with the angel emoji), condolences or sympathy to someone suffering a loss. It can also be used in aesthetic posts, paired with other white emojis.
When to skip: Any other time. It’s become so associated with mourning that it is the first thing most people think of when they see it.
🤎 Brown heart meaning
This is the least favorite of all the colored hearts, perhaps because people associate brown with another top brown emoji: the poop emoji. It does, however, have some important uses, Broni says.
When to use: When expressing your identity as a person of color or in support of Black and brown people. “This one became popular online during the Black Lives Matter movement,” he says, adding that emojis can convey a lot in political situations.
When to skip: This isn’t bad to use in other contexts, so feel free to communicate with it if you like.
🖤 Black heart meaning
This was the first of all the heart emojis, popping up on black-and-white phones in Japan in the ’90s. It’s a classic.
When to use: When you want to share a sad heart, either as your current mood or to show empathy for someone who is suffering. It’s also popular in aesthetic social media posts—for instance, as part of a caption of a picture of a black outfit.
When to skip: When you’re expressing simple, uncomplicated positive emotions, pick any of the colored hearts instead.
❤️🩹 Mending heart meaning
According to Emojipedia, the mending heart is the opposite of the broken heart.
When to use: To send sympathy to a loved one who might be going through a difficult time or to express healing and recovery.
When to skip: If you’re looking to express romantic love.
❤️🔥 Heart on fire meaning
The heart-on-fire emoji is a symbol of passion or lust. Emojipedia states that this heart also indicates “a sense of burning a past love and moving on.”
When to use: To show desire toward someone you’re crushing on or partnered with. It’s a flattering response to a selfie.
When to skip: In your new relationship.
💘 Heart with arrow meaning
The Cupid’s heart emoji is mostly used to represent romantic love.
When to use: To send extra love to a sweetheart or to use in a flirty text.
When to skip: Any other situation. Don’t send this to someone to represent affection or kindness, as they will likely interpret it as a romantic overture.
💓 Beating heart meaning
Those little vibration lines around the pink heart symbolize a heart beating, indicating extra passion.
When to use: Any time you would use the pink or red heart but want to add even more emphasis on your affection—perhaps within a Valentine’s Day message.
When to skip: In a new relationship or friendship (you don’t want to come off as too eager).
💔 Broken heart meaning
The fact that the broken heart is the fifth most used heart emoji might say something about the current state of the world. It’s most often used to indicate any type of sadness, ranging from being upset after a major breakup to feeling heartbroken about a national tragedy.
When to use: Any time you’re feeling sad, glum, gloomy or downright despondent. In conjunction with the red heart, it can show mixed feelings about something.
When to skip: Any time you really mean the red heart emoji.
💕 Two hearts meaning
The double heart is the ultra-affectionate emoji, showing warmth and love of all types.
When to use: To add an extra dose of happiness and love, beyond a single heart.
When to skip: When you’re not particularly close to someone, as this can convey more intimacy than a single pink heart.
💖 Sparkling heart meaning
This is my personal favorite and the heart emoji I use most often. I like to think of it as the heart with jazz hands—a demonstrative, over-the-top, sparkly love.
When to use: When you want to add a bright spot to someone’s day and send a big boost of love and care.
When to skip: Because it is a little extra, skip it if you’re worried about being taken seriously. This one is definitely not for professional settings.
💗 Growing heart meaning
Just like the Grinch’s heart grew three sizes, this heart emoji shows growth, progress and increasing love.
When to use: When you want to add extra oomph to your expression of love, affection or gratitude.
When to skip: Avoid this if you don’t want to mistakenly express romantic love.
💝 Heart with ribbon meaning
This cute little heart is wrapped in a bow, symbolizing the offering of your heart to someone as a gift.
When to use: This can be an expression of generosity and unconditional love, so use it with close loved ones.
When to skip: Situations where you don’t want to be overly familiar.
💞 Revolving hearts meaning
This heart emoji works best when it’s animated as a GIF, showing the two hearts circling each other—like two people who are tied together by their love.
When to use: With close loved ones, especially those with whom you share a reciprocal love and affection.
When to skip: With people you’re not particularly close to.
💟 Heart decoration meaning
This emoji is an icon of a picture of a heart—or a symbol of a symbol—making it a little more detached.
When to use: When talking about a heart symbol specifically.
When to skip: When you really want to convey love or affection, using this symbol can come off as cold.
♥️ Heart suit meaning
Even though it’s part of the card suits emoji collection, people often use this heart in contexts unrelated to a deck of cards. Famously, John Mayer once decreed it the “most masculine” of the heart emojis. (Which … gave men more freedom to express their emoji emotions?) Note: On most phones, this emoji shows up as red or dark red.
When to use: Any time you would use the regular red heart (on some phones, it’s hard to even tell the difference between the two).
When to skip: Any time the red heart emoji is inappropriate.
❣️ Heart exclamation meaning
I always thought this was a heart balloon, but it turns out this is a punctuation mark, an exclamation point with a heart as the stem instead of a traditional line. (Honestly, that makes more sense now that I really look at it.)
When to use: Any time you want to add an exclamation point with love or convey exuberant love.
When to skip: Any time you are worried about your sentiment being misinterpreted as romantic love.
🫀Anatomical heart meaning
What would a heart emoji list be without the anatomically correct heart?
When to use: When you’re talking about a medical condition or if you want to be extra vulnerable and truly “bare your heart” to someone.
When to skip: Any time you are trying to be really romantic. (Many folks find this version of the heart a little icky.)
🫶 Heart hands meaning
Even though these hands are clasped together in a heart shape, they’re more often used to show support or friendship than romance or love. Many fandoms, including those of Taylor Swift, use the heart hands to show their support and appreciation for the singer.
When to use: As a low-key way of telling someone you’ve got their back and are there for them.
When to skip: With someone you’re trying to show true love or romantic feelings for.
Should you always follow emoji heart meanings?
“One of the greatest things about emojis is their ability to grow and change, representing different things over time and in different contexts,” Broni says. This means you can create your own meanings for emojis that connect you with others in a group—maybe you use various colored heart emojis to represent different Hogwarts houses in a Harry Potter fan club, for instance. You can express a particular sentiment, like using the blue and yellow hearts together to support Ukraine. Or you can keep it uniquely personal, using various hearts to identify close contacts in your phone.
Ultimately, the heart emojis represent the meaning that you give them, so get creative and have fun.
About the expert
|
Why trust us
Reader’s Digest has published hundreds of articles on personal technology, arming readers with the knowledge to protect themselves against cybersecurity threats and internet scams as well as revealing the best tips, tricks and shortcuts for computers, cellphones, apps, texting, social media and more. For this piece on emoji heart meanings, award-winning journalist Charlotte Hilton Anderson tapped her experience as a relationship, etiquette and lifestyle writer and interviewed Keith Broni, the editor-in-chief of Emojipedia. We rely on credentialed experts with personal experience and know-how as well as primary sources including tech companies, professional organizations and academic institutions. We verify all facts and data and revisit them over time to ensure they remain accurate and up to date. Read more about our team, our contributors and our editorial policies.
Sources:
- Keith Broni, editor-in-chief of Emojipedia; interview, Jan. 9, 2024
- Emojipedia: “New emojis in 2023–2024”
