Learn how to access unique emoticons and ASCII faces on your iPhone or iPad by enabling the hidden Japanese keyboard for some fun ways to express yourself.
Hidden within the built-in Japanese keyboard are a slew of little-known ASCII faces. Designed by Apple, you can send these quirky characters to friends and family via iMessage or other messaging apps to express how you’re feeling—and you don’t even have to speak Japanese to use them!
Access ASCII faces on your iPhone or iPad
As these ASCII faces are only available in the Japanese keyboard, you’ll first have to turn it on. Navigate to Settings > General > Keyboard > Keyboards, then tap Add New Keyboard, select Japanese from the list of languages, choose Kana, and tap Done.
With that done, it’s time to try out our newly added keyboard. Open an app that supports typing, like Messages or WhatsApp, then touch and hold the globe icon in the keyboard’s bottom-left corner to see all your added keyboards and switch to the Japanese Kana keyboard. Now, tap the ^_^ key next to the emoji key.
The ASCII faces appear in the first row, so swipe left or right to browse them. Or, hit the arrow button to view and scroll through all of the hidden emoji faces. To use a face, tap it and hit the send button.
ASCII faces on iPhone and iPad
Being able to access these fun ASCII faces via the built-in keyboard saves you a bunch of time. Instead of painstakingly typing them, ASCII faces are just a tap away, and you don’t have to install any apps. These characters work in all apps that support keyboard switching, including popular services like iMessage, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, and Telegram.
ASCII facial expressions aren’t for everyone. But if you want to do things differently and can’t stand regular emojis, these cute faces are a fantastic way to spice up your conversations. And if a friend asks how you typed them, make sure to send them this tutorial.
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