Grinning Squinting Face Emoji
U+1F606:laughing:About Grinning Squinting Face π
Grinning Squinting Face () is part of the Smileys & Emotion group in Unicode. Added in Unicode E0.6. Type on GitHub and Slack to use it. Click copy above to grab it, paste it anywhere.
Works in iMessage, WhatsApp, Discord, Slack, Instagram, Twitter, Gmail, and every app that supports Unicode.
Often associated with closed, eyes, face, and 12 more keywords.
Meaning varies across cultures, see cultural notes below.
Scroll down for the full story: meaning, trends, combos, and more.
How it looks
What does it mean?
A yellow face with a broad open smile, eyes squeezed shut. You're laughing so hard you can't see. π is the emoji form of XD, the text emoticon that dominated early-2000s chat rooms, AIM away messages, and DeviantArt comments before graphic emoji existed.
The connection is literal: X represents closed eyes, D represents an open laughing mouth. Turn XD into a face and you get π. The earliest Urban Dictionary entry for XD was submitted on March 29, 2003, defining it as "a laughing face." π arrived in Unicode 6.0 (2010) under the spectacularly verbose name "Smiling Face with Open Mouth and Tightly-Closed Eyes." That's 11 words to describe what XD said in two characters.
Here's the problem: π exists in the shadow of π and π€£. Google Trends shows π at 78-99 while π sits at 5-8. That's not a rivalry. That's a rounding error. π won the laughing emoji war so decisively that π, the face that was supposed to mean "laughing hard," barely registers. π was Oxford's 2015 Word of the Year. π was never word of the anything.
π occupies an awkward middle ground in the laughter hierarchy. It's stronger than π (happy) but weaker than π (crying laughing). In practice, most people skip directly from π to π, leaving π as the emoji equivalent of a B-side track that never got radio play.
Where it does get used: reactions to jokes that are funny but not hilarious, playful banter between friends, and sarcastic laughter. The squinted shut eyes give π a quality that π lacks. You can use π to laugh AT someone in a way that feels more cutting than π. "Oh you really thought that would work π" reads more mocking than the same sentence with π, which reads more sympathetic.
There's also a generational angle. XD was the laughing emoticon for millennials who grew up on AIM), MSN Messenger, and early forums. The "Rawr XD" subculture of 2006-2010 emo/scene kids made XD a cultural marker for an entire era of internet history. π carries traces of that DNA. For anyone who typed "LOLOL XD" unironically in 2007, π hits different. For Gen Z, who consider π itself passΓ© and use π instead, π barely exists.
Laughing hard with eyes squeezed shut. It's the emoji version of XD. Stronger than a smile (π), but not as intense as crying-laughing (π) or rolling-on-the-floor (π€£). It's the laugh you make when something is funny but you haven't lost composure.
Effectively, yes. XD is a text emoticon where X represents squinting shut eyes and D represents an open laughing mouth. π is the graphic version. The earliest Urban Dictionary entry for XD dates to March 2003. Unicode standardized π in 2010. Same face, different format.
The Meanest Grin: Negative Sentiment Across the Family
What it means from...
Playful and light. π from a crush means they found something you said genuinely funny, and they're comfortable enough to show it. It's less loaded than π (flirty) and warmer than π (which can feel generic). If someone squint-laughs at your jokes, they like your humor.
The most natural home for π. Friends use it for inside jokes, roasting each other, reacting to memes, and general banter. "I can't believe you did that π" is classic friend energy. No subtext, just amusement.
He found something funny. π is a playful, low-stakes emoji. It's less loaded than π (flirty) and less intense than π (could mean anything). From a crush, it means he likes your humor. From a friend, it's standard banter. Don't overthink it.
She's amused and being playful. π from a girl usually means she found something genuinely funny. It's warmer than a π reaction (which can feel reflexive) because it's less commonly used, suggesting she specifically chose it. In flirty contexts, it signals she's comfortable and having fun.
Emoji combos
Origin story
Before π existed, XD ruled the internet.
The emoticon appeared in the late 1990s and early 2000s as chat rooms and instant messaging exploded. Read sideways, X represents tightly shut eyes and D represents an open laughing mouth. The earliest Urban Dictionary entry dates to March 29, 2003, defining XD as simply "a laughing face." By December 2003, someone had already submitted "ecks dee" as the phonetic spelling.
XD was everywhere: AIM conversations, MSN Messenger, Gaia Online, Neopets forums, DeviantArt comments. It became the default way to say "I'm laughing" online. Then it became something more. The emo and scene subculture of 2006-2010 adopted XD as part of its linguistic identity. "Rawr XD" ("roar" + laughing face) became the catchphrase of an era, typically used alongside phrases like "I'm so random" and "rawr means I love you in dinosaur." On July 12, 2004, DeviantArtist SilentRepear uploaded an illustration titled "OMG RAWR XD," cementing the phrase in early internet culture.
By the 2010s, XD had shifted from genuine expression to cringe material. Forums began stigmatizing it. The emoticon that once meant "I'm laughing so hard my eyes are shut" became shorthand for "I'm a 14-year-old emo kid in 2008." When Unicode standardized emoji in 2010, π inherited XD's meaning but not its cultural baggage. Or at least, not all of it.
Today XD survives in two forms: π on emoji keyboards, and ironic nostalgia in millennial TikToks about their "Rawr XD era."
Approved in Unicode 6.0 (2010) as SMILING FACE WITH OPEN MOUTH AND TIGHTLY-CLOSED EYES. Added to Emoji 1.0 in 2015. Renamed via CLDR to "Grinning Squinting Face." The original name (11 words) is one of the longest in the Unicode emoji standard, which is ironic for an emoji that replaced a two-character emoticon (XD).
The XD-to-Emoji Succession (2004β2026)
Design history
- 2003Earliest Urban Dictionary entry for XD emoticon (March 29), defined as 'a laughing face'β
- 2004DeviantArtist SilentRepear uploads 'OMG RAWR XD' illustration, linking XD to emo/scene culture
- 2010Unicode 6.0 approves U+1F606 SMILING FACE WITH OPEN MOUTH AND TIGHTLY-CLOSED EYESβ
- 2015Added to Emoji 1.0. Renamed via CLDR to 'Grinning Squinting Face'
- 2015π named Oxford Word of the Year, cementing the crying-laughing face as the dominant laughing emoji. π never catches up.β
Around the world
United States (Gen Z)
Gen Z has embraced π as a "less cringe" alternative to π, which became associated with millennial and boomer humor. π reads as more genuine, wholesome laughter versus π's sometimes ironic or exaggerated usage.
Japan & East Asia
The squinted eyes (XD style) have deep roots in Japanese emoticon culture. The kaomoji (οΌβ½οΌ) predates the emoji by years. In East Asian digital culture, π reads as the natural graphical evolution of text-based laughter expressions.
Europe
In some European cultures, π reads as lighthearted teasing or playful sarcasm rather than genuine belly-laugh amusement. The squinted eyes can signal "I'm laughing AT this" rather than "I'm laughing WITH this," depending on context.
Because π won. Oxford named it Word of the Year in 2015. It became the universal laughing emoji. π existed first (both were in Unicode 6.0, 2010) but π's tears made it more expressive, more shareable, and more iconic. π got squeezed between π (happy) and π (hilarious) with no clear lane of its own.
Depends on your generation. For millennials who grew up typing XD on AIM, π is nostalgic. For Gen Z, who consider even π outdated, π barely registers. The emoji itself isn't cringe, but its ancestor XD carries cultural baggage from the 'Rawr XD' emo era that some people find embarrassing and others find endearing.
Popularity ranking
Search interest
Often confused with
π has tears streaming down (crying with laughter). π has dry eyes squeezed shut (laughing hard but no tears). In practice, π completely dominates: it scores 10x higher in search interest and was named Oxford's Word of the Year in 2015. Most people use π for any intensity of laughter and never reach for π.
Do's and don'ts
- βDon't use it to mock someone who might not find it funny (the shut eyes can read as laughing AT them)
- βDon't use it in professional contexts where the sarcastic reading could cause problems
- βDon't confuse it with π (happy with smiling eyes, not laughing with shut eyes)
- βDon't use it expecting people to notice the difference from π (most won't)
It can be. The squinted shut eyes give π a 'laughing AT you' quality that π doesn't have. 'Nice try π' can read as either supportive or dismissive depending on context and relationship. If you want to avoid the sarcastic reading, add more context or use π instead.
Caption ideas
Aesthetic sets
Type it as text
Fun facts
- β’π is the emoji form of XD, the text emoticon whose earliest Urban Dictionary entry dates to March 29, 2003. XD stood for squinted eyes (X) and an open laughing mouth (D).
- β’The "Rawr XD" meme (2006-2010) made XD a cultural signifier for the emo/scene subculture. "Rawr means I love you in dinosaur" + XD became the catchphrase of an entire internet generation.
- β’π's Unicode name ("Smiling Face with Open Mouth and Tightly-Closed Eyes") is 11 words long, one of the longest in the emoji standard. The emoticon it replaced was 2 characters.
- β’π was named Oxford Word of the Year in 2015, permanently establishing it as the world's laughing emoji. π never had a chance after that.
- β’Google Trends shows π at 78-99 search interest while π sits at 5-8. The difference isn't a gap, it's an abyss. π is the forgotten member of the laughing family.
- β’In some forum communities, XD was stigmatized as a form of low-effort posting. The emoticon that once meant heartfelt laughter became associated with spam and cringe, partly because the emo subculture that popularized it became a target of ridicule.
- β’The Emoji Sentiment Ranking found π has the highest negative sentiment rate (15.5%) of any grinning face β more than double π's 6.0%. Those shut eyes aren't just a design choice; they statistically land in meaner tweet contexts.
Common misinterpretations
- β’π can read as mocking rather than friendly. The shut eyes give it a 'laughing AT you' quality that π doesn't have. In a group chat, 'Nice try π' might land as supportive ("good effort!") or dismissive ("that was pathetic") depending on the relationship. When in doubt, add context.
- β’Some people use π interchangeably with π, not realizing there's a difference. At emoji sizes on most phones, the distinction between squinting eyes and crying eyes is subtle enough to miss. If you're sending π expecting the recipient to notice it's not π, they probably won't.
- β’For Gen Z, π can feel dated in the same way its ancestor XD feels dated. The generational shift toward π for laughter and ironic emoji use means π reads as "sincere millennial" to younger users.
In pop culture
- β’Know Your Meme's XD entry documents the emoticon's spread from early-2000s chat rooms through emo culture to eventual meme status. π is XD's graphical descendant.
- β’The "Rawr XD" meme became a symbol of 2006-2010 emo/scene internet culture. On July 12, 2004, DeviantArtist SilentRepear uploaded "OMG RAWR XD," one of the earliest documented uses linking XD to emo identity.
- β’Oxford University Press naming π Word of the Year in 2015 was the moment that sealed π's fate. The tears-of-joy face became the canonical laughing emoji, pushing π into permanent B-tier status. The announcement clip shows the cultural weight of crowning an emoji as a word.
- β’TikTok's "Rawr XD era" nostalgia trend has millennials ironically revisiting their 2008 MySpace selves. XD (and by extension π) is being reclaimed as a badge of honor for surviving the emo era. The Emo & Scene Kid Era of the 2000s documents the black eyeliner, MySpace angles, and questionable hair choices that XD came packaged with.
- β’If the laughing emoji hierarchy reminds you of a timeline card game, you'd enjoy Chronology Game, where you sort 2000+ historical events in order, from the first emoticon (1982) to the emoji standard (2010) to Oxford's Word of the Year (2015).
Trivia
For developers
- β’π is . Unicode name: SMILING FACE WITH OPEN MOUTH AND TIGHTLY-CLOSED EYES. CLDR name: "grinning squinting face." Common shortcodes: (Slack, Discord, GitHub). Note: gives π, not π (which is ). This naming inconsistency trips up developers.
- β’The grinning family occupies U+1F600-1F606 with gaps. π is the last in the sequence (U+1F606). If building a laughter intensity picker, the logical order would be: π (U+1F604) β π (U+1F606) β π (U+1F602) β π€£ (U+1F923). But the codepoints don't follow this order, so don't sort by codepoint for UX purposes.
The earliest documented use is an Urban Dictionary entry from March 29, 2003. But XD likely appeared in chat rooms and forums in the late 1990s. It became culturally significant through the emo/scene subculture of 2006-2010, where 'Rawr XD' became a catchphrase.
See the full Emoji Developer Tools guide for regex patterns, encoding helpers, and more.
Where does π fit in your laughter lineup?
Select all that apply
- Grinning Squinting Face Emoji (emojipedia.org)
- XD (Know Your Meme) (knowyourmeme.com)
- Rawr XD (Know Your Meme) (knowyourmeme.com)
- Oxford Word of the Year 2015 (oup.com)
- Gen Z emoji usage (Vice) (vice.com)
- Emoji meanings (Dictionary.com) (dictionary.com)
- Generational emoji guide (UPrinting) (uprinting.com)
- Laughing emoji hierarchy (1000logos.net)
- U+1F606 codepoint (codepoints.net)
- Emoji Sentiment Ranking v1.0 (Novak et al.) (kt.ijs.si)
Related Emojis
More Smileys & Emotion
All Smileys & Emotion emojis β
Share this emoji
2,000+ emojis deeply researched. One click to copy. No ads.
Open eeemoji β