Every heart emoji color has a unique meaning. From romantic red to mysterious black, discover what each heart emoji truly represents and when to use them.
Each heart color carries a different emotional significance. Choosing the right heart emoji can make your message more meaningful and nuanced.
The classic symbol of true love, deep romantic feelings, and passionate affection. It is the most universally recognized heart emoji and carries the strongest emotional weight.
Red has symbolized love across cultures for centuries. The red heart is the default, go-to heart emoji for expressing genuine love and is understood universally.
Represents warmth, care, and friendship that hasn't quite reached romantic love. Often used when you like someone but aren't ready to commit to the red heart. It signals positive energy and enthusiasm.
Orange blends the passion of red with the cheerfulness of yellow. In dating, sending an orange heart can signal the 'friend zone' or a relationship that's still developing.
Symbolizes pure friendship, happiness, positivity, and joy. It represents a warm, platonic love free from romantic connotations. On Snapchat, it means you are each other's best friend.
Yellow is associated with sunshine, energy, and optimism in most cultures. The yellow heart is the safest choice for showing affection without romantic undertones.
Represents nature, growth, renewal, and sometimes jealousy. It is commonly used in environmental awareness, health and wellness contexts, and to express a love for nature.
Green symbolizes life, nature, and renewal globally. However, in some contexts, it can also represent envy ('green with envy'). It's popular in eco-friendly and health communities.
Symbolizes trust, loyalty, confidence, and deep platonic love. It conveys a sense of stability and reliability, often used for friendships, sports teams, and professional relationships.
Blue represents calmness, trust, and depth. In many cultures, it's associated with wisdom and confidence. The blue heart often signals a mature, stable form of love or appreciation.
Represents compassion, love, and spiritual connection. Strongly associated with the BTS K-pop fan community (ARMY), luxury, and creative expression. Also references the Purple Heart military honor.
Purple historically represents royalty and spirituality. BTS popularized 'I Purple You' (meaning lasting trust and love), making the purple heart one of the most iconic fandom symbols worldwide.
Can represent dark humor, sorrow, grief, or an edgy/alternative aesthetic. It's popular in goth and alternative subcultures. Despite its dark appearance, it can also express a deep, unconditional form of love.
Black often symbolizes mourning and mystery, but in modern digital culture, the black heart has been reclaimed as a fashion statement and expression of individuality. It's especially popular in alternative communities.
Symbolizes pure, unconditional love, innocence, and peace. Often used to express a love that transcends physical attachment, or to show support during difficult times.
White universally represents purity and peace. The white heart is often used in memorial posts, to honor loved ones who have passed, and in contexts requiring a gentle, pure expression of love.
Represents earthiness, warmth, and comfort. It is used to express love for nature, chocolate, coffee, and fall/autumn themes. Also used as a symbol of racial diversity and solidarity.
Brown connects to earth, stability, and warmth. It gained significance as a symbol of racial diversity and solidarity. Also strongly associated with comfort foods and the cozy autumn season.
Represents cuteness, sweetness, and gentle affection. A lighter, more playful form of romantic love compared to the bold red heart. Often associated with crushes, flirting, and feminine energy.
Pink traditionally represents gentleness, romance, and femininity. The pink heart emoji (added in 2022) fills the gap between platonic friendship hearts and the intense red heart.
Symbolizes peace, calm, and a gentle, serene form of love. Associated with clear skies, water, and tranquility. A softer alternative to the standard blue heart.
Light blue evokes the sky and water, representing openness and tranquility. Added in 2022, it provides a gentler option than the deeper blue heart for expressing calm affection.
Represents neutrality, balance, and a reserved form of affection. Can express sadness or a love that exists in a grey area, neither fully committed nor completely absent.
Grey sits between black and white, representing balance and neutrality. The grey heart (added in 2023) is perfect for nuanced emotional expression where other colors feel too strong.
Beyond colors, these special heart emojis express specific emotions and situations, from falling in love to healing from heartbreak.
Cupid's arrow through a heart, symbolizing falling in love or being struck by love at first sight.
References Cupid, the Roman god of love, whose arrow causes people to fall in love.
A gift of love, representing love presented as a present. Used for special occasions and Valentine's Day.
The ribbon wrapping signifies love as something precious to be given and received.
A shimmering heart expressing excited, giddy love. More enthusiastic than a plain heart, suggesting a magical or special kind of love.
The sparkles add a magical quality, suggesting love that feels extraordinary and dazzling.
A heart getting bigger, representing growing feelings and increasing love. Shows love that is expanding and deepening over time.
The concentric hearts suggest love that keeps getting bigger, like feelings growing stronger.
A pulsing, beating heart representing a racing heartbeat from excitement, nervousness, or love.
References the physical sensation of a racing heartbeat when experiencing strong emotions.
Two hearts orbiting each other, symbolizing mutual love and affection between two people.
The revolving motion suggests two people in sync, their love dancing around each other.
Two small hearts together, representing love between two people, or love floating in the air.
Less intense than a single large heart, these two hearts suggest a sweet, playful love.
A heart used as an exclamation point, expressing enthusiastic agreement or emphasizing something with love.
Combines the emphatic nature of an exclamation mark with the emotion of a heart.
A heart split in two, representing heartbreak, loss, disappointment, and emotional pain from ended relationships.
The universal symbol of heartbreak, used across cultures to express emotional pain and loss.
A heart engulfed in flames, representing burning, passionate love, intense desire, or lust.
Added in 2020, it captures the intensity of passionate love that feels like it could consume you.
A heart with a bandage, representing recovery from heartbreak, healing from emotional wounds, and resilience.
Added in 2020, this emoji acknowledges that healing from heartbreak is a process, offering hope and comfort.
| Emoji | Name | Best For | Intensity |
|---|---|---|---|
| ❤️ | Red Heart | Romantic love | Strong |
| 🧡 | Orange Heart | Warm friendship | Medium |
| 💛 | Yellow Heart | Best friends | Light |
| 💚 | Green Heart | Nature & health | Medium |
| 💙 | Blue Heart | Trust & loyalty | Medium |
| 💜 | Purple Heart | Fans & royalty | Medium |
| 🖤 | Black Heart | Dark humor & edgy | Strong |
| 🤍 | White Heart | Pure love & peace | Gentle |
| 🤎 | Brown Heart | Diversity & earth | Warm |
| 🩷 | Pink Heart | Cute & sweet | Light |
| 🩵 | Light Blue Heart | Calm & serene | Gentle |
| 🩶 | Grey Heart | Neutral & balance | Subtle |
| 💘 | Heart with Arrow | Falling in love | Strong |
| 💔 | Broken Heart | Heartbreak | Strong |
| ❤️🔥 | Heart on Fire | Passion & desire | Intense |
| ❤️🩹 | Mending Heart | Healing | Hopeful |
Know your audience. A red heart to a close friend is different than to a new acquaintance. When in doubt, use the yellow heart for platonic friendships.
Context matters. The same heart emoji can mean different things in different conversations. A black heart in a goth aesthetic post is very different from one in a grief context.
Platform differences. Heart emojis look different on Apple, Google, Samsung, and other platforms. The meaning stays the same, but the visual appearance varies.
Combine hearts. Use multiple heart colors together (e.g., 🧡💛💚💙💜) for rainbow or pride themes, or mix special hearts for emotional storytelling.
Less is more. A single, well-chosen heart emoji can be more impactful than a string of hearts. Choose the color that best matches your intention.