Do you use emojis (表情符号) on your smartphone? One of the nice things about emojis is that people from all over the world can understand them.
Take the basic smiley face emoji as an example, At first, I thought it was just a normal, friendly smile. Later, I found out that it can mean something different, I read online that although the emoji is smiling, its eyes are looking downward, which makes it look like a fake smile (假笑).
Or what about the smiling face with a waving hand? But actually, Chinese people use this emoji to show that they don't want to talk to someone一the hand is waving "goodbye", as in"never talk to me again".
One of my favorite emojis is the "cry-laugh" emoji. At first, it meant "rolling on the floor laughing", or ROFL. But over the years, the meaning has changed. It is often used to describe situations that are so tragic (悲伤的) that you can't help but laugh to cheer yourself up.
It looks like the language of emojis changes over time, just like real language.
A. It can mean that someone is looking down on you or even laughing at you. B. So we should be careful how we use it when speaking to others. C. But I have recently learned that some emojis have different meanings in China. D. In fact, some emojis also have double meanings in Western countries. E. It certainly looks friendly enough. |