What Does ^^ Mean In Texting? (Answered!)

^^ is meant to represent a happy face in texting. It can be used to express amusement or happiness. It can simply mean one person agrees with a message sent, or it can be added to messages to indicate emotion. In that sense, it’s really like any other emoji.

The truth is that ^^ doesn’t have a very specific, set meaning.

It can mean a wide variety of things, depending on the person and the context.

However, it is basically used as a happy face, to express happiness of some kind—it’s just up to you to interpret beyond that.

Let’s find out more.

In This Article

What does ^^ stand for in texting?

^^ is used to represent a happy face.

The two symbols are supposed to be eyes looking up, with eyelids slightly closed, in a slightly cartoonish happy expression.

When used in texting, then, this face can mean a whole variety of things, including happiness, whimsy, amusement, or any number of other happy emotions. “It was so nice to see you tonight ^^” for example.

It’s simply meant to show the reader that you’re happy.

So, in that way, ^^ doesn’t stand directly for anything in terms of meaning.

It’s not meant to express a specific idea, phrase or sentiment, but rather just to try and express the emotion you’re feeling through the oft cold-feeling medium of texting.

Nowadays, of course, devices come pre-loaded with stylised emojis, but plenty of people still prefer these more old-school style, custom emojis.

However, it can be taken in a slightly different way, depending on the context.

One other thing it might mean is that the person is agreeing with what you are saying. It’s meant to point to the message above theirs.

This is naturally a completely different use of it. usually, though, there’s likely to be more than just two of the symbol.

For example:

“I think we’re going to have a great weekend!”

“^^^^”

The signs are being used to point to the above message to signal that they agree with it.

In most cases, it should be clear from context which of these two things they mean.

The second meaning we’ve given is far less common on texting than it is on social media, as it is usually used to indicate to others that you agree with the person—not the person themselves.

So, in all likelihood, it probably does mean a face.

Where does this originate?

Where does ^^ come from?

It’s not clear when exactly this started being used, but we can certainly trace it a bit more keenly than other texting and internet slang.

It was plainly already in use by the early 1990s, when commercial cell phones were first becoming popular.

So, it originated very shortly after texting got started.

Like other, similar emojis, many people think that it arose out of anime fandom.

Anime is a particular kind of Japanese animated show or movie, and often the characters make a face that looks like ^^.

Thus, originally fans of anime began using this emote to mimic the anime.

Then, eventually, that spread beyond the anime fandom into general use.

In terms of the other usage, to mean pointing to a message to indicate you agree with it, that is much later. It arose out of feed-based social media, where comments would actually appear underneath things they were responding to.

It then spread backwards to texting that way, although again it is far less common in this context.

What’s an appropriate response to this, then?

How do you respond to ^^?

Well, it really depends.

There may not be anything you need to say at all. It may be something that comes at the end of a conversation.

“Okay, I’ll see you tonight!” “^^” for example.

There’s nothing that needs to be said here.

If you do want to respond, though, you could simply return the emoji, or use a different one to express happiness as well.

There’s really not that much to be read into this kind of thing. In all likelihood, you don’t need to sweat over how to respond to this.

It’s just meant to show that the person is happy.

Nothing more than that.

What does ^^ mean on social media?

While this symbol can certainly still be used to mean the emoji on any social media, here is also where you are more likely to see it used in a different way.

It is perhaps most commonly used on Twitter. Replying to a “tweet” puts your reply underneath that tweet.

Thus, if the tweet expresses something that you agree with, then this is a way to signal that—whether to your own followers or the person who posted it.

In the same way, pointing emojis are also used—whether pointing up or pointing down.

The point is that you agree.

Again, though, given the enduring popularity of anime in the western world, use of this emoji is still just as prevalent as it ever was.

So, you should be able to tell the difference—two on their own is usually an emoji.

Asking what ^^ means is ultimately a bit like asking what “:)” means, then.

It’s just an emoji, it’s used to represent an image rather than semantic meaning.

Of course, our real facial expressions do express unsaid things, but there’s still no way of categorically saying what any facial expression “means”.

So, with ^^, it’s probably going to be easiest to figure it out from context!

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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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