Welcome to the world of Discord, where communication is key, and symbols play a significant role in conveying messages and emotions. If you're new to this popular chat platform, you might be wondering what some of those online symbols mean. In this guide, we'll decode the most common Discord symbols and emotes, helping you understand and enhance your communication in this vibrant online community.
Discord's user-friendly interface provides various ways to express yourself through text, but it's the symbols and emotes that truly bring conversations to life. Let's dive into the world of these online symbols and understand their meanings.
Text-based Symbols and Shortcuts
Discord offers a range of text-based symbols and shorthand notations to enhance your communication. These symbols are not exclusive to Discord, but they play a crucial role in making conversations more engaging and concise.
Here are some of the most common text-based symbols you'll encounter on Discord:
Emphasis Symbols
**Bold text** is achieved by surrounding the text with two asterisks (*), doubling them for emphasis (***). Similarly, *italics* are created using a single asterisk (*).
Examples: **Hello, **bold text**! *This is* *italic* text*.
Strikethrough and Underline
Strikethrough text, ~~like this~~, is created by surrounding the text with two tilda symbols (~). Underline text, __like this__, is created by enclosing the text with two underscores (_).
Examples: ~~Strikethrough text~~ __Underline text__.
Discord Emojis and Emotes
Emojis and emotes are integral to expressing emotions and reactions in online communication. Discord offers a vast library of emojis, along with the ability to create and use custom emotes on servers with the Server Boost feature.
To access Discord's emoji library, type a colon (:) followed by a keyword representing the emotion or object you want to show. Discord will display a list of relevant emojis to choose from.
Universal Emojis
Discord supports the majority of universal emojis, like 😊, 😂, and 👍, which can be used just like any other text character. These emojis can be found in your system's emoji library or accessed using the Discord emoji picker.
Examples: 😊 Happy face, 😂 Laughing face, 👍 Thumbs up.
Custom Emotes
Server owners can upload custom emotes for their members to use. These emotes are typically represented by an animated or static image corresponding to a specific emotion, object, or reference relevant to the server community.
To use a custom emote, simply type its name surrounded by colons, like `:emote_name:`. Custom emotes are unique to each server and can only be used on that specific server.
Examples: On a server with a custom 'shocked' emote named 'shock', you would type `:shock:` to use it.
Animated Emotes
Animated emotes are GIF-like images that Loop continuously, adding a dynamic element to your communications. They function just like any other emote, being summoned by typing their name surrounded by colons.
Examples: On a server with an animated 'wave' emote, typing `:wave:` will display the waving animation.
By understanding and utilizing these symbols and emotes, you'll be well on your way to mastering Discord communication. Whether it's expressing excitement, agreement, or laughter, these tools offer a wealth of expressive potential to enhance your online discussions. Happy chatting!