Emoji Keyboard Shortcuts: How to Type Emojis on Any Device

March 9, 2026

The fastest way to type an emoji is with a keyboard shortcut. Here are all the shortcuts you need, for every major platform.

Windows Emoji Shortcut

Shortcut: Win + . (Windows key + period) or Win + ; (Windows key + semicolon)

This opens the Windows emoji picker: a floating panel with search, browsing by category, and recently used emojis.

Works in Windows 10 (1703 and later) and Windows 11 in any text field.

Windows 11 Additional Shortcuts

Windows 11's emoji picker also includes GIFs, Kaomoji (text art), and symbols. Use the tabs at the top of the picker to switch between them.

Clipboard history shortcut: Win + V: shows your clipboard history, including previously copied emojis.

Mac Emoji Shortcut

Shortcut: Control + Command + Space

Opens the Character Viewer: a floating emoji and symbol picker with search and categories.

Works in macOS Sierra and later (macOS 10.12+) in any text field in any app.

Alternative: Menu Bar

In most apps: Edit → Emoji & Symbols opens the same picker.

macOS Tip: Text Replacement

Go to System Settings → Keyboard → Text Replacements to create your own shorthand:

• Type shrug → gets replaced with ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
• Type thumbs → gets replaced with 👍

iPhone / iPad Emoji Shortcut

There's no keyboard shortcut on iPhone; instead, tap the emoji icon on the iOS keyboard:

1. Tap any text field.
2. Tap the smiley face icon (or globe icon if you have multiple keyboards) to switch to the emoji keyboard.
3. Tap the search icon at the top to find emoji by keyword.
4. Tap to insert.

Tip: iOS suggests relevant emojis in the QuickType bar as you type. If you type "fire", the 🔥 emoji will appear above the keyboard; tap it to insert.

Android Emoji Shortcut

On Android (Gboard), tap the smiley face icon in the keyboard toolbar to open the emoji panel.

Gboard shortcut: Some devices show the emoji directly on the space bar long-press:

1. Long-press the space bar.
2. A picker or shortcut row may appear, depending on your device.

Alternatively: Type :smile: or similar in apps that support shortcodes (like Slack or Discord).

Chrome OS Emoji Shortcut

Shortcut: Search + Shift + Space (Chromebook search key + Shift + Space)

Or press Launcher + Shift + Space.

On some Chromebooks: right-click any text field and select Emoji from the context menu.

Linux Emoji Input

Linux doesn't have a universal emoji shortcut, but there are several options:

Option 1: IBus Emoji input (Ubuntu/GNOME)

• Press Ctrl + Shift + E, then type the emoji name.

Option 2: Unicode code point entry

• Press Ctrl + Shift + U, type the hexcode (e.g. 1f600), then press Enter.
• This works in GTK apps on GNOME.

Option 3: ibus-emoji or emote

• Install emote (emoji picker for Linux): sudo apt install emote
• Use the shortcut Ctrl + Alt + E after installing.

Option 4: Copy from the web

• Use Emoji Family's copy and paste page in your browser and copy emojis to paste anywhere.

Quick Reference

Tips for Faster Emoji Typing

1. Learn shortcodes: in apps like Slack and Discord, type :fire: instead of finding the emoji manually.
2. Use the search: most emoji pickers have keyword search. Typing "heart" or "thumbs" is faster than browsing categories.
3. Pin your most-used emojis: platforms like Slack let you star or pin emoji reactions.
4. macOS text replacement: set up shortcuts for your most-used emojis in System Settings.
5. Use Emoji Family: for browsing and copying a large number of emojis at once, Emoji Family's copy and paste page has the full 3,000+ collection with instant search.