How To Flirt With Emoji: A Handy Guide

With the reveal of the all-new diverse emoji keyboard, many of us have rediscovered our deep love for the tiny little iMessage icons that add a dose flair to all our text messages, Instagram bios, and Tweets. The update changes the keyboard so emojis aren't assuming all of us are white and straight; furthermore, it also makes it easier to slide through all the options more fluidly and access your favorite emoji with greater speed. With all these icons right at our fingertips, we can move beyond communicating simply with words: We can express ourselves more freely, share visual version of feelings, or even perform my personal favorite function: Flirting with emoji.

Flirting via the emoji is relatively simple; however, it's also a delicate art. While there are a few emoji that are obvious in their flirtatiousness (the heart eyes, the kissy face, the couple kissing, and the lipstick print emoji, for example), there are some that are a little more subtle. These might be trickier to incorporate into your emoji flirting vernacular, but it's by means impossible.

Need a little help? I've painstakenly crafted a how-to guide for all your flirt-moji needs. Read on for all the details!

Flirting With Emoji 101:

Before you start flirting with emoji, obviously you need to know what each little symbol means. Here, we have a simple key that should explain all the basics.

Advanced Flirting With Emoji:

Sometimes, though, you need slightly more explicit flirt-mojis like the ones seen here. Many of these could go beyond just flirting and be used for sexts.

So, now that you've got the basics down, let's up your game a little bit. Here are some examples of actual flirt-versations you can start with your lover, boo thang, or bae:

"Would you like to get drunk and makeout later tonight?"

"Could I potentially interest you in watching the sunset and then some fiery-hot fingering later?"

"We should watch a movie and see where that takes us."

When in doubt, send a pizza emoji:

With this option, your intended will definitely know it's real. Nothing can possibly go wrong with pizza-themed flirting.

"I love your cat and your butt."

"But, like, actually you've got a great butt."

"Can I touch your butt?"

If you're ever in a rut about something sexy, flirty, or silly to say to the person you most want to say it to, remember that emojis can be an empowering tool that can help you get a rich message across in just a few characters. So go ahead and explore — and remember: Anything can be made flirtatious. You just have to get creative sometimes!

Images: Emojipedia; Maya M (10)