Meaning
A flying saucer materializes as a classic UFO—a metallic, disc-shaped craft with a domed top and typically a tripod landing gear or hovering beam beneath. The design draws straight from 1950s sci-fi imagery: sleek, otherworldly, slightly ominous yet undeniably cool. Bright colors like silver, green, or red emphasize its alien origin, making it instantly recognizable as extraterrestrial tech.
This emoji gets deployed when discussing aliens, science fiction, space mysteries, or anything bizarre and unexplainable. UFO sightings, sci-fi movies, conspiracy theories, and Area 51 memes all call for the flying saucer. It's also become a humorous way to describe something completely foreign or impossible to understand—"you're speaking alien to me."
Beyond literal extraterrestrials, it represents the unknown, the mysterious, or the hilariously out-of-place. Pop culture loves it: UFO/alien jokes, sci-fi fandom posts, and even the occasional joke about someone's bizarre behavior all benefit from its visual absurdity. It's lighter and goofier than the satellite, emphasizing wonder and humor rather than hard science.
The flying saucer's retro design is intentional—it harks back to golden-age sci-fi aesthetics rather than depicting theoretically realistic spacecraft. This vintage vibe is part of its charm. Approved as part of Unicode Emoji 5.0 in 2017, it's a relative newcomer that quickly became essential for sci-fi enthusiasts and meme creators.
Common Uses
- • Joking about aliens or UFO sightings
- • Discussing science fiction content
- • Reacting to something completely bizarre
Popular Combos
Did You Know?
The flying saucer emoji design intentionally evokes 1950s UFO artwork rather than modern scientific speculation, making it feel retro and playful—perfect for sci-fi nostalgia and alien memes.
Keywords
Appears in Topics
Related Emoji
Technical Reference
Platform Shortcodes
:flying_saucer: :flying_saucer: :flying_saucer: Developer Codes
| HTML (decimal) | 🛸 |
| HTML (hex) | 🛸 |
| CSS | \1F6F8 |
| JavaScript | \uD83D\uDEF8 |
| Python | \U0001F6F8 |
| Java | \uD83D\uDEF8 |
| Perl | \x{1F6F8} |
| PHP / Ruby | \x{1F6F8} |
| Punycode | xn--2rco |
| URL Encoded | %F0%9F%9B%B8 |
| UTF-8 Bytes | 0xF0 0x9F 0x9B 0xB8 |
🛸 in 28 languages
Names sourced from Unicode CLDR and emojibase.
| Language | Name |
|---|---|
| Bengali | উড়ন্ত চাকতি |
| Chinese (Simplified) | 飞碟 |
| Chinese (Traditional) | 飛碟 |
| Danish | ufo |
| Dutch | vliegende schotel |
| English | flying saucer |
| English (UK) | flying saucer |
| Estonian | lendav taldrik |
| Finnish | lentävä lautanen |
| French | soucoupe volante |
| German | fliegende Untertasse |
| Hindi | उड़न तश्तरी |
| Hungarian | repülő csészealj |
| Italian | disco volante |
| Japanese | 空飛ぶ円盤 |
| Korean | 비행접시 |
| Lithuanian | skraidanti lėkštė |
| Malay | piring terbang |
| Norwegian | flygende tallerken |
| Polish | latający talerz |
| Portuguese | disco voador |
| Russian | летающая тарелка |
| Spanish | platillo volante |
| Spanish (Mexico) | platillo volante |
| Swedish | flygande tefat |
| Thai | จานบิน |
| Ukrainian | летюча тарілка |
| Vietnamese | đĩa bay |