What Does UwU Mean In Gaming? (Revealed!)

In gaming, UwU is an emoticon meant to depict a sweet face. It is used in a variety of gaming contexts, including live game chat for online games, discussion forums and Discord servers, and more. It is meant to convey a certain kind of affection, joy and happiness.

“UwU” is among the older versions of an emoticon face that circulate online today.

Some might consider it past its time, but others are seeing this as a revival of its usage.

In any case, it is still being used in gaming today and usually conveys a more specific meaning than a simple smiley face would.

Let’s find out more.

In This Article

What is “UwU” in gaming?

First and foremost, UwU is simply an emoticon, a string of characters put together to look like a face.

Anyone who has spent anytime online will be familiar with these. “UwU”, though, is quite different in many ways from most emoticons.

It has perhaps stronger associations with certain groups of people, as well as certain periods of the internet, than any other.

It’s not known where UwU started, although it’s thought to have originated in chatrooms in the mid-2000s, when home internet was becoming the standard.

It developed to be associated with “emo” culture and certain social media sites such as Tumblr.

It’s also thought that it is based on the faces anime characters might make to convey happiness and cuteness.

Anime was and is extremely popular with this corner of internet culture.

Many would consider it a dated emoticon, the kind of thing that is “cringe” to use now.

But things like this always come and go in and out of fashion.

In gaming, today, it has mostly the same meaning.

It is used to convey a kind of meek humility, a playful cuteness that the cuteness of the UwU face is trying to convey.

It is used in many different games but particularly in things like Roblox with a relatively young audience.

It’s often used, just as any emoticon is, to add some emotion to a message in chat.

“Had fun playing tonight guys UwU” is an example of how it might be used.

It’s meant simply to add a cute little smile to the end of a message.

What does UwU stand for?

UwU does not stand for anything in the sense that its letters are not supposed to represent certain words.

UwU, as I said, is meant to be a representation of an exaggerated human face—the two Us acting as large eyes looking down, and the W represents a warm smile on a happy face.

As I’ve said, though, these things tend not to be completely free of some implicit association.

UwU “stands for” a very specific kind of warmth and emotion, almost a kind of vulnerability between the person saying it and whoever is listening.

This is part of why it has caught on in gaming.

Online gaming spaces can get extremely competitive if not outright toxic, and so using innocent emoticons like this is a good way of breaking down barriers and ensuring everyone is being kind to each other.

Again, it’s very popular in children’s games like Roblox.

Does UwU mean flirting?

Well, it always depends on the context, but it certainly can be used in this way.

As I’ve said, UwU is used to create a certain vulnerability, a certain openness between people online.

It’s also meant to be very cute, almost to the extent of batting your eyelashes at someone.

So, while you shouldn’t jump to conclusions and still the emoticon is mostly just used to convey a certain kind of happiness and joy, in some contexts it could mean flirting!

What is an UwU boy?

Because of its rather specific associations, people who use UwU are often somewhat compartmentalized by those who do not use it.

They are thought of as being a certain kind of person.

With that in mind, the term “UwU boy” has arisen to mean, in its most basic sense, any boy or male who uses UwU.

They are perhaps thought of as being more vulnerable, more at peace with themselves on the whole, or, by some, perhaps more immature.

These “UwU boys” can be found on social media or playing games, too.

But it is just an emoticon, after all, so whether there really needs to be a term for such a person is an open question!

What does “OwO” mean in gaming?

OwO is a slightly different version of UwU, meant to convey something different but not all that different.

It retains the sense of fun and whimsy, the kind of vulnerability that is associated with UwU.

OwO is meant to convey more surprise, as the eyes are wide open now, and so it’s used both for cute factor but also to emphasise something is surprising.

“Did you see that guy on the other team, he was so good OwO” for example.

It keeps things cute and happy while also conveying a true sense of surprise.

Though we don’t know for sure when this type of emoticon first appeared, its usage has come and gone a lot over the years.

It is strange that something like a string of three characters could go in and out of fashion, and yet this and many others do, constantly.

At the moment it has seen a huge revival in gaming, and so it may catch on more generally again.

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Founder - @PollyWebster

Polly Webster is the founder of Foreign Lingo and a seasoned traveler with a decade of exploration under her belt.

Over the past 10 years, she has journeyed to numerous countries around the globe, immersing herself in diverse cultures, traditions, and languages.

Drawing from her rich experiences, Polly now writes insightful articles about travel, languages, traditions, and cultures, sharing her unique perspectives and invaluable tips with her readers.

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