An emoticon, more commonly known as a smiley, is a string of text characters that is designed to represent a human facial expression and convey a particular emotion. They can be used to show humour and other feelings that are difficult to communicate in text-based environments such as instant messaging, chat rooms and e-mails. Without emoticons, the lack of visual and verbal cues can otherwise cause what were intended to be humorous, ironic, sarcastic or otherwise non-serious comments to be badly misinterpreted, which may result in misunderstandings and arguments. Emoticons can therefore be used not only to spice up your chat, but may also allow you to express your true feelings clearly.

Some of the most commonly used emoticons are listed below; you may find it easier to visualise them if you tilt your head sideways, to the left.