Meaning
This cheerful cat face features wide, squinting eyes and an open-mouthed grin, rendered in warm yellow or orange tones depending on the platform. The expression captures pure feline joy, with visible eye crinkles that suggest genuine delight. It's the cat equivalent of a human's biggest, most genuine smile.
People use this to express happiness, amusement, or friendliness in conversations. It works great for lighthearted moments, when you want to sound upbeat without being over-the-top, or when discussing anything cat-related. The playful nature makes it perfect for casual chats, witty comments, or just brightening someone's day.
You might pair it with good news, funny observations, or positive interactions. Unlike some cat emojis that lean sarcastic or dramatic, this one reads as straightforwardly warm and approachable, making it a reliable choice for genuine good vibes.
Design varies subtly across platforms—Apple's version tends toward rounder proportions while Google's leans slightly more angular—but the joyful intent translates everywhere. Cat-themed emoji sets are hugely popular in messaging culture, and this happy variant ranks among the friendliest. Approved as part of Unicode Emoji 0.6 in 2010, it remains one of the earliest and most beloved cat faces in the emoji alphabet.
Common Uses
- • Responding to something funny or cute
- • Expressing genuine happiness in conversation
- • Adding warmth to a casual, friendly message
- • Reacting positively to cat-related content
Popular Combos
Did You Know?
Cat emoji are disproportionately popular in Japanese messaging culture, where they originated in early mobile phone designs and remain cultural favorites—this grinning cat is especially beloved in Asia.
Keywords
Appears in Topics
Related Emoji
Technical Reference
Platform Shortcodes
:smile_cat: :smile_cat: :smile_cat: Developer Codes
| HTML (decimal) | 😸 |
| HTML (hex) | 😸 |
| CSS | \1F638 |
| JavaScript | \uD83D\uDE38 |
| Python | \U0001F638 |
| Java | \uD83D\uDE38 |
| Perl | \x{1F638} |
| PHP / Ruby | \x{1F638} |
| Punycode | xn--2r7c |
| URL Encoded | %F0%9F%98%B8 |
| UTF-8 Bytes | 0xF0 0x9F 0x98 0xB8 |
😸 in 28 languages
Names sourced from Unicode CLDR and emojibase.
| Language | Name |
|---|---|
| Bengali | চোখে হাসির সাথে মুখে হাসি বিড়াল |
| Chinese (Simplified) | 微笑的猫 |
| Chinese (Traditional) | 微笑的貓臉 |
| Danish | grinende kat |
| Dutch | grijnzende kat met lachende ogen |
| English | grinning cat with smiling eyes |
| English (UK) | grinning cat with smiling eyes |
| Estonian | lõbusate silmadega irvitav kass |
| Finnish | virnistävä kissa ja hymyilevät silmät |
| French | chat qui sourit avec des yeux rieurs |
| German | grinsende Katze mit lachenden Augen |
| Hindi | दाँत दिखाती और मुस्काती आँखों वाली बिल्ली का चेहरा |
| Hungarian | nevető macska mosolygó szemmel |
| Italian | gatto che sogghigna |
| Japanese | にやっと笑う猫 |
| Korean | 미소 짓는 눈으로 활짝 웃는 고양이 얼굴 |
| Lithuanian | išsišiepusios katės snukutis su besišypsančiomis akimis |
| Malay | kucing tersengih dengan mata tersenyum |
| Norwegian | flirende katt med smilende øyne |
| Polish | uśmiechnięty kot o wesołych oczach |
| Portuguese | rosto de gato sorrindo com olhos sorridentes |
| Russian | смеющийся кот |
| Spanish | gato sonriendo con ojos sonrientes |
| Spanish (Mexico) | gato sonriendo con ojos sonrientes |
| Swedish | flinande kattansikte med leende ögon |
| Thai | แมวยิ้มอ้าปากและยิ้มออกตา |
| Ukrainian | широко всміхнений кіт з усміхом в очах |
| Vietnamese | mặt mèo cười tươi với hai mắt híp lại |