Curious if there’s a text snowman or skier? Looking for the big, emoji version of an arrow? Find out here how to get the plain text version of emojis and vice versa for use in documents, texts and websites, for example.
First, You Can Get Schönberg out of California, But…
After accepting a professorship at UCLA, Arnold Schönberg moved to Brentwood in March of 1936. The renowned twelve-tone composer would keep the house (not too far from the Mann’s residence in LA) at the foothills of the Santa Monica mountains until his death in 1951.
That, of course, does not mean he never left California again. To the best of my knowledge, he never visited the picturesque Baltic Sea’s town of Schönberg, though, some 12 mi (25 km) from Kiel in Germany.
What Schönberg would have found in Schönberg is—California, of course, one of its districts.
So, while you can get Schönberg out of California, getting California out of Schönberg will then be considerably more challenging.
With that in mind, how about getting a text character out of an emoji?
How to Get the Plain Text Version of Emojis
Time needed: 3 minutes
To get the textual representation of an emoji character (to incorporate in text, using custom color, etc.):
- Enable an input method for your system that lets you enter Unicode codepoints directly.
Windows: How to Type Any Unicode Character on Windows
Mac: How to Enter a Unicode Character on a Mac
HTML: You can get your browset to render the text version of an emoji; see below.
Even easier: Instead of entering the codepoints directly, copy them using the converter below. - Enter the codepoint for the emoji you want to turn into text.
Example: Use
U+1F310for a globe with meridians and longitudinal lines (🌐).
Identifying emoji: You can usually reveal hidden characters and Unicode code points for any text using desktop and web tools. - Enter the codepoint
U+FE0Eimmediately afterwards.Here’s why: This codepoint modifies the character before it; switching it to its textual representation.
Not always: Note that this does not work for all characters; only emoji that have a text version can be modified like this.
Example:U+1F310U+FE0Ebecomes 🌐︎.
Looking for an emoji for vice versa? The “Vice Versa” Emoji and How to Get It
Get the Colorful Emoji Version of a Unicode Text Symbol
To ensure the emoji version of a symbol is displayed:
- Input the Unicode codeoint for the symbol you want to show as an emoji.
Unicode input: See above for Unicode input methods.
Example:U+2714is a checkmark ✔︎. - Enter
U+FE0Fimmediately following the first codepoint.
Example:U+2714U+FE0Fbecomes ✔️.
How to Get the Plain Text or Emoji Version for Symbols in HTML
To instruct browsers to render a symbol as either an emoji or as a text character using HTML:
- Follow the character immediately with the appropriate Unicode character entity from the table below in the HTML source code.
| Function | HTML Entity |
|---|---|
| Select text version | ︎ |
| Select emoji version | ️ |
Emoji ⇋ Plain Text Symbol Converter
| Text Character | Emoji | |
|---|---|---|
|
|
How to Get the Plain Text Version of Emojis (and Vice Versa): FAQ
What happens if no plain text version for an emoji exists?
For emojis that consist of a single Unicode codepoint that do not have a corresponding text representation, the emoji will typically be displayed.
For emojis that are themselves a combination of multiple codepoints, the result is unpredictable but will usually involve the original emoji plus a stray character; in theory, combining multiple codepoints with a modifying character should be possible.
If a character does not have a corresponding emoji, the character itself will be displayed as an emoji.
What are some symbols I can try?
In the converter, you can try some of the following to reveal their text—or emoji—counterpart:
| Text Character | Emoji |
|---|---|
| ☀️ | |
| ⛈︎ | |
| ☃️ | |
| 🌐︎ | |
| ↕️ | |
| ⚡︎ | |
| ⌛ | |
| ⛷︎ | |
| ☺️ | |
| ☑ | |
| ⚙️ | |
| ⌚︎ |
Looking for emoji to convert? The Best Emoji Finder Websites
(How to get the plain text version of emojis and vice versa first published November 2023, last updated September 2024)