American flag emoji
🇺🇸 is really the letters U and S in disguise, which explains why Windows can’t draw it. Copy it here and see the emoji that go with it.
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How the American flag emoji works
🇺🇸 (flag: United States) is not one character. It is two regional indicator letters, 🇺 and 🇸 (U+1F1FA U+1F1F8), which a device that supports flags draws as one flag. That design choice explains the odd things people notice: copying the flag and deleting one character leaves a lone 🇺; searching for “US” finds it; and on Windows, which ships no flag artwork, it appears as the letters “US” in boxes. Every country flag works this way, and the Flags collection lists all of them.
In messages it is patriotism, the Fourth of July, elections, sport (“USA! 🇺🇸”), travel and, in bios, nationality. It pairs with 🦅, 🎆, 🗽 and 🏈, and with 🇬🇧 🇨🇦 🇲🇽 for comparisons and trips.
Compare the options
| Emoji | Name | Use it for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| flag: United StatesU+1F1FA U+1F1F8 | The United States; patriotism, the Fourth, sport | Shows as “US” on Windows | |
| eagleU+1F985 | Freedom, America as an idea | See the eagle emoji guide | |
| Statue of LibertyU+1F5FD | New York, liberty | Landmark | |
| fireworksU+1F386 | Fourth of July fireworks | See the party emoji guide | |
| flag: Palestinian TerritoriesU+1F1F5 U+1F1F8 | Another two-letter flag | See the Palestine flag guide for the same mechanics |
Typing and troubleshooting
- Copy 🇺🇸 from the card above, or search “United States” or “flag” in your emoji keyboard.
- If it pastes as “US” letters, the receiving device lacks flag artwork (Windows desktop apps are the usual case). The character sequence is still correct.
- If it pastes as a different flag, two regional letters from separate flags have merged; put a space between flags in a row.
Chat examples
Real messages with 🇺🇸, and a reply that fits.
happy 4th 🇺🇸
🎆🇺🇸
landed in New York 🇺🇸
have fun!
game day 🇺🇸🦅
let’s go
Questions people ask
Why does the American flag emoji show as “US”?
Flags are pairs of regional indicator letters. Windows does not include flag images in its emoji font, so it shows the letters instead. Phones, Macs and most browsers show the flag.
How do I type the US flag emoji on a keyboard?
Open the emoji keyboard (Win + . on Windows, Control + Command + Space on Mac) and search “United States”. On Windows you will see the letters US rather than a flag.
Is there a US flag without the stars?
No. The emoji is the full flag; Unicode does not encode variants of national flags.
About this guide
Written and maintained by the Emoji Directory editorial team, without ads or sponsorship. Meanings describe how the emoji is commonly used in public posts and messages, not an official definition. Names, code points, versions, keywords and translations come from the Unicode Emoji 18.0 and CLDR data; shortcodes from the gemoji project. Last reviewed . Spotted a mistake or a new usage? Tell us, or read how the directory is made.
