The Arabic Letter That Looks Like a Fist: Waw (و) in Kaomoji & Emoji

As a Linux user, I’m constantly looking for interesting new tools and apps. While browsing the tech site OMGUbuntu, I came across a post about a neat little “ASCII Emoji” extension for the GNOME desktop (though I am a lifelong KDE desktop adherent).

It promised a quick way to insert text-based emojis. “Cool,” I thought, and kept scrolling.

My eyes snagged on one of the examples:

(•̀ᴗ•́)و

It wasn’t the determined face that caught my attention. It was the fist. That powerful, confident gesture wasn’t just a clever combination of punctuation. It was, unmistakably, the Arabic letter Wāw (و).

This type of smiley is a “kaomoji”.

From alphabet to art: Japanese kaomoji

Kaomoji are expressive faces made entirely from text characters. They combine symbols from various writing systems to convey emotions, also ways to write Allah in a beautiful way, and today, Unicode makes this creative mashup possible.

To ensure clarity, let’s first review the key terms and their correct usage.

• Emoticons: :-)) Text-based facial expressions made from punctuation and letters. Popular in the 1980s as a way to quickly convey emotion in digital communications.
• Emoji: 😆 Colorful pictographic symbols encoded in Unicode that represent emotions, objects, and ideas. Introduced in Japan in the 1990s and globally embraced from the 2010s for richer visual communication.
• Kaomoji: Detailed, upright text faces using a diverse range of characters (often from Unicode) for expressive nuance. Originated in Japan’s online communities, emphasizing expressive eyes and creative design, and spread globally.

The Arabic characters in kaomoji

Here’s a breakdown of the characters that made the leap from Arabic script to global art form:

• The Determined Fist: و (Wāw)

In Arabic, و can represent a letter, a word (“and“) and a device (in oaths). In kaomoji, its linguistic identity is stripped away, and its form takes over. The loop and tail perfectly form an arm with a clenched fist, injecting a feeling of “I can do this!”

Examples: (•̀ᴗ•́)و and ٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و

• The Broad Smile: ت (Tā’)

The letter ت (Tā’), which produces the /t/ sound, has the unique distinction of becoming a complete smiley all on its own. Its wide, vessel-like base creates a cheerful mouth, while the two dots above serve as perfect eyes. You’ll often see a standalone ت in online chatter among Arabic, Persian, and Urdu speakers as a quick, happy face.

• The Cheering Hands: ٩ and ۶

This is where it gets particularly nerdy and wonderful. You’ll often see kaomoji cheering with two hands, like this: ٩(◕‿◕)۶.

These are not letters, but Eastern Arabic Numerals. In the West, people call the numbers we use (1, 2, 3) “Arabic numerals.” However, many countries that use the Arabic alphabet employ a different system with forms originating in India, which they call “Indian numerals” (أَرْقَام هِنْدِيَّة – arqām hindiyyah).

٩ is the Eastern Arabic numeral for nine (tis’a, تسعة).

۶ is the variant for six (sittah, ستة), primarily seen in Persian and Urdu. Their looped shapes are ideal for drawing balled, celebratory fists.

• The Single Teardrop: ٥ (Khamsa)

The numeral for five (khamsa, خمسة) is ٥. Its beautiful, inverted heart shape is the perfect glyph for a single, dramatic teardrop or a bead of anxious sweat, adding a touch of flair that a simple comma couldn’t achieve.

Examples: (˘_˘٥) and (ಥ_ಥ٥)

A global palette of weird shapes

Arabic isn’t the only script that people have repurposed. Kaomoji artists borrow from everywhere, creating a truly global art form. Here are a few wonderfully weird examples:

• The Look of Disapproval: ಠ_ಠ Those intense, judgmental eyes come from the Kannada script of Southern India. The character ಠ is the letter ṭha.
• The Facepalm: (－‸ლ) That hand covering a face in exasperation? The character ლ is the letter lasi from the Georgian alphabet.
• The Wailing Face: (TДT) The wide-open, wailing mouth is not a letter ‘A’, but the letter Д (De) from the Cyrillic alphabet.
• The Shrug: ¯\\\_(ツ)\_/¯ The iconic “shruggie” uses the Japanese katakana character ツ (tsu) to create its smiling, indifferent face.
• The Butterfly: ƸӜƷ This delicate butterfly is built around the Cyrillic letter Ӝ (Zhe with diaeresis), flanked by the Latin letter Ƹ (Ezh reversed).

How to use kaomoji yourself

Ready to start using these yourself? Most modern operating systems have built-in kaomoji support.

• Windows (10 & 11): Press Win + . (the period key). This opens the emoji panel. At the top, you’ll see a tab for emoji, one for GIFs, and one for classic emoticons and kaomoji ( ´ ▽ )`.
• macOS & iOS: If you enable the Japanese keyboard (either Romaji or Kana), it comes with a massive, built-in library of kaomoji. On the keyboard, you can typically find them by tapping the ^_^ face icon.
• Android: The standard Google Keyboard (Gboard) has a kaomoji section. Tap the ?123 key, then the > key, and you should see a :) icon. Tap that, and at the bottom of the screen, you can select the ^_^ tab for a list of kaomoji.

Linux Desktops:

• GNOME: In most GTK applications, right-click in a text field and select “Insert Emoji.” This brings up a character map that includes an emoji section. Alternatively, the shortcut Ctrl + . or Ctrl + ; often works.
• KDE Plasma: The default emoji picker can be launched with the Meta + . shortcut. It’s primarily for emoji but allows you to search for and insert any Unicode character.
• Cinnamon: Similar to GNOME, many text fields support a right-click “Insert Emoji” context menu.

And as a final bonus, here is a classic piece of ASCII art for you to copy and paste:

/\_/\
( o.o )
> ^ <

The ASCII art above is a simple and classic depiction of a cat’s face. It’s one of the most common and recognizable examples of the art form.

Each line builds the picture: the top line (/\_/\) forms the pointed ears, the middle line (( o.o )) creates the wide eyes and head, and the bottom line (> ^ <) represents the nose and whiskers.