smiley
/smaj.lɛ/
The English phrase "smiley face" can be translated into French as smiley.
The term émoji is the more standard and widely used term for digital icons in French. You may also use the English loanword smiley to refer specifically to a digital smiley face.
Which one should you use?
While smiley is an informal loanword used for digital icons, émoji is the more standard term for these digital symbols. If you are describing a person's actual facial expression rather than a digital icon, you would use the formal phrase visage souriant.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
The word smiley is an informal Anglicism. For a more standard term, use émoji and for a formal way to describe a literal smiling face, use visage souriant.
How do you pronounce it?
The word has two syllables: /smaj.lɛ/.
Did you know?
- While smiley is borrowed from English, the word émoji is a loanword from Japanese, meaning 'picture' and 'character'.
- In professional French email etiquette, using a smiley can be perceived as a lack of seriousness or a sign of excessive familiarity.
- The word émoji is so integrated into the language that the Académie Française, the official authority on French, has discussed how to properly categorize it.
Examples in context
- J'ai mis un smiley dans mon message.I put a smiley in my message.
- Il y a un petit smiley sur l'écran.There is a little smiley on the screen.
- Tu as oublié de mettre un smiley.You forgot to put a smiley.
Example conversation
Two friends are looking at a text message on a phone.
- ChloéRegarde ce message, il y a un smiley.Look at this message, there is a smiley.
- LucasC'est un smiley très mignon.It is a very cute smiley.
- ChloéLucas, est-ce que tu l'as vu ?Lucas, did you see it?
- LucasOui, Chloé, je l'ai vu.Yes, Chloé, I saw it.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry smiley, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
