Emoji dictionary
馃椏 Moai emoji
摆尘辞丑听why]聽or [ee-ster ahy-濒耻丑苍诲听stach-oo ih-moh-jee]
What does 馃椏 Moai emoji mean?
The moai emoji depicts a head with elongated ears, nose, and a heavy brow, appearing to be carved out of gray stone.
Use of the moai emoji is usually meant to imply strength or determination, and it’s also used frequently in Japanese pop-culture posts.
Where does 馃椏 Moai emoji come from?
What the $&** is a moai?
Well … moai is a type of rock carving found on Easter Island in Polynesia, dating back to the year 1250. They are monolithic creations, with the faces of deified ancestors; the oversized heads are the largest feature of the figures.
The origin of this emoji is a bit clouded, as some claim it was suggested by Japan in reference to a statue referred to as Moyai at the Shibuya Station in Tokyo, Japan, something of a landmark. Moyai looks a bit like the Easter Island moai statuary, with the long broad nose and pronounced brow. But, the similarity ends there.
The Moyai statue, a gift in the 1980s to the district from Japan’s volcanic Nii-jima Island, has very full lips (moai are thin) and the carving implies a mane of hair, which is not a feature of the maoi carvings. Nii-jima is home to numerous volcanic rock carvings of large faces and heads, called Moyai, which means聽‘to work together in effort’ in the local dialect. They are like the younger cousins of Polynesia’s ancient carvings.
The emoji, in our opinion, more closely resembles the Eastern Island relics. But some feel Japan sought the Moyai emoji as an accompaniment to other emoji, such as the Japanese flag and the Tokyo Tower. Others think the Polynesian relics are so distinctive and historic, that they deserved the emoji treatment.
That said, the emoji was approved as part of聽Unicode 6.0聽in 2010 under the name 鈥淢oyai,鈥� not “moai,” and added to聽Emoji 1.0聽in 2015.聽 It’s unclear when the spelling changed to “moai.”
Most platforms’ version of this emoji present a reasonable representation of actual moai, also spelled mo鈥榓i because we had to add another name just to confuse you … although most of the ancient carvings of the actual statues include bodies as well.
Emojipedia
Examples of 馃椏 Moai emoji
Who uses 馃椏 Moai emoji?
The moai emoji is seen frequently in social-media posts that revolve around Japanese and Korean pop music聽 (like BTS, also known as Bangtan Boys), and in posts related to Japanese and Polynesian culture in general.
However, it can also be used to imply strength, silence, and mystery.
I鈥檓 how the replies are literally from people who LIVE IN asian countries talking about how they discovered them through radio/tv 馃椏
Like y鈥檃ll are literally proving our point. No one outside of Asia heard about kpop without SNS— 鈸呪搻鈸熲搻 鈺帮笌鈰冿笌鈺笌 (@papa_shouto)
They鈥檙e seriously so gorgeous.
— clarisse 鈽�锔忦煑� LY Oakland – RM Day (@hiHOBIhi)
literally what is jungkook so fine for 馃椏
— mauhan 鉁堬笍 home (@mauhan)
Now iv that didn鈥檛 KO him what will 馃馃椏馃殏馃殞馃敤馃挘 馃嚥馃嚱馃嚢馃嚳
— BOXING CORNER 2锔忊儯4锔忊儯/7锔忊儯 (@boxingcorner247)
These x Legends Shakers tho…
– Stone Cold 鉂勶笍
– The Rock 馃椏
– Macho Man 馃挭
– Ultimate Warrior 馃挄
– Ric Flair 馃専
– The Undertaker 馃槇
– NWO 鈽狅笍GET EM鈥� HERE: 馃憟馃槑馃敟
— G FUEL庐 (@GFuelEnergy)
Of course, it’s also used in reference to the real moai of the Polynesian Easter Island, and to things “Tiki” related, or even tropical in flavor.
Head over to the Buskerfest happening outside of E Building! Make tie dye shirts with Project Lighthouse, jump and climb on numerous bouncy castles, see street performers, and more. 馃す鈥嶁檪锔忦煂堭煑�
— Algonquin College (@AlgonquinColleg)
Come out to Denton Bronco Stadium this Friday @ 7!!!!!! As the Knights take on the Bronco, wear Hawaii themed clothes!!!鈿旓笍馃尭馃椏
— IHS Student Section (@ihsstudentsec)
Note
This is not meant to be a formal definition of 馃椏 Moai emoji like most terms we define on 亚洲网紅露点, but is rather an informal word summary that hopefully touches upon the key aspects of the meaning and usage of 馃椏 Moai emoji that will help our users expand their word mastery.