Purple heart emoji
Copy the purple heart ๐ and learn its meanings: affection with a twist of luxury, BTSโs โI purple youโ, awareness campaigns and the US Purple Heart medal โ plus how it compares to the red, pink and blue hearts.
Published ยท Updated
What the purple heart means
๐ (purple heart) is love with a particular flavour. Purple carries associations of royalty, luxury, creativity and spirituality, so the purple heart often reads as fancy affection or I adore this rather than plain romance. It is also a signature colour: for BTS fans (โI purple youโ, from the groupโs 2016 phrase borahae), for several awareness campaigns that use purple ribbons, and for teams and brands with purple in their colours.
In the United States the Purple Heart is a military decoration for those wounded or killed in service, and ๐ is sometimes used on the relevant days to honour recipients. Context makes each meaning clear; on its own, ๐ is simply a warm heart in a colour that feels a little more special than red. See the black heart guide and broken heart guide for the other hearts people search for most.
Compare the options
| Emoji | Name | Use it for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| purple heartU+1F49C | Affection, luxury, creativity, BTS, purple causes | Meaning is largely stylistic | |
| red heartU+2764 U+FE0F | Classic love, support | Romantic by default | |
| pink heartU+1FA77 | Soft, sweet, cute | Newer (Emoji 15.0); limited support | |
| blue heartU+1F499 | Calm, loyalty, trust | See the blue emoji guide | |
| growing heartU+1F497 | Growing affection, excitement | Animated-looking; playful | |
| black heartU+1F5A4 | Alternative style, grief | See the black heart guide |
Everyday uses
- Compliments: โthis outfit ๐โ
- Fandom: ๐ in bios and replies among BTS ARMY
- Friendship: some friend groups adopt one heart colour as โtheirsโ
- Aesthetic combos: ๐โจ๐, ๐ฎ๐, built in the combo studio
- Awareness posts: paired with the relevant ribbon or hashtag
Text faces you can copy
Plain-character faces that paste anywhere. Tap one to copy.
- outline heart
- filled heart
- heavy heart
- rotated heart
- curly heart
Purple heart shades and related terms
The purple heart emoji ๐ is the only heart in this exact colour, but there is no separate lavender heart or dark purple heart emoji. People use ๐ for all these purple shades. You can also pair it with other purple symbols like ๐ฎ or ๐ฃ to build a purple-themed message. This colour leans towards creativity and spirituality, so it suits messages that arenโt strictly romantic.
There is no single purple fire emoji, but pairing ๐ with ๐ฅ makes a purple heart on fire. This combination works in captions about passion, excitement or something that feels loving and powerful.
Purple heart tattoos and stickers
The Purple Heart is a US military decoration awarded to service members wounded or killed in action. A purple heart tattoo often draws on that meaning of honour and remembrance, or it can represent creativity, spirituality or BTS fandom. Small purple heart tattoos also work well as matching designs between friends or partners.
On messaging apps, you can send the purple heart emoji ๐ on its own or use sticker packs that feature purple heart designs on WhatsApp, Discord or Telegram. Fan communities sometimes create custom ๐ stickers for group chats.
Chat examples
Real messages with ๐, and a reply that fits.
you did amazing tonight ๐
couldnโt have done it without you ๐
concert tickets secured ๐
SCREAMING
for the group chat ๐๐
love you all
Questions people ask
What does ๐ mean from a girl or a guy?
Affection, usually platonic unless the conversation is romantic. Purple is chosen for style; it does not carry a hidden code.
What does โI purple youโ mean?
A phrase from BTS meaning โIโll love and trust you for a long timeโ, coined by member V in 2016. Fans use ๐ as shorthand for it.
Is ๐ the Purple Heart medal?
The emoji is a plain purple heart, but people do use it to honour Purple Heart recipients, especially on National Purple Heart Day in the US (7 August).
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.
