Red heart emoji
The classic red heart ❤️ — love, support and “sending love” — and the one small technicality that makes it show as a plain black heart in some apps.
Published · Updated
What the red heart emoji means
❤️ is the heart everyone reaches for first: love, support, “sending love”, a reaction to good news. It is romantic when the conversation is, and plain warmth when it is not — under a friend’s photo it means “lovely”, in a message to a partner it means what it says. It sits at the centre of the whole heart family, with the coloured hearts taking on the shades it does not cover.
Unicode name: red heart · U+2764 U+FE0F · Emoji 0.6 (original set) · group: Smileys & Emotion.
How people use it
- Love: to partners and family, the default heart
- Support: under a post about a hard time
- Reaction: the heart button in most apps sends ❤️
- Emphasis: “❤️ this song”
Compare the options
| Emoji | Name | Use it for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| red heartU+2764 U+FE0F | Red heart, the emoji | The one you usually want | |
| heart suitU+2665 U+FE0F | Heart suit — the playing-card symbol | Often renders as a small flat heart | |
| heart exclamationU+2763 U+FE0F | Heart exclamation: “love this!” | Emphatic | |
| heart on fireU+2764 U+FE0F U+200D U+1F525 | Heart on fire: passion | See the fire emoji guide |
Chat examples
Real messages with ❤️, and a reply that fits.
landed safely, love you ❤️
❤️❤️ sleep well
happy anniversary ❤️
best years of my life
that post ❤️
thank you!
Questions people ask
Why does my red heart look black?
You have the character without its variation selector, or you copied ♥️ (heart suit). Some apps then draw a plain text heart. The card on this page copies the full emoji sequence.
What does ❤️ mean from a friend?
Warmth and support. Between friends a red heart is not a romantic signal unless the conversation already is.
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.
