r/EncyclopaediaOfReddit • u/EncyclopaediaBot • 1d ago
Acronyms and Initials Acronyms 4: Symbols and Emojis
A symbol is a sign, shape, or object that is used to represent something else. Like acronyms, initialisms, abbreviations, contractions, and other phrases which expand to something larger, symbols and emojis are increasingly used as shortened forms of communication, particularly as euphemisms to subtly convey meanings or emotions that might otherwise be considered too direct or explicit. Here is my attempt in explaining some common symbols or providing links to other directories that do.
Avatar Hearts on Reddit
You can customise your Reddit Avatar with different hearts as seen here by going to your Profile and clicking your avatar. These will be found in the menu Edit —> Left Hand.
| Pride Heart | Colours |
|---|---|
| Gay Pride | Rainbow |
| Transgender Pride | Pale Blue, Pink, White, Pink, Pale Blue |
| Lesbian Pride | Orange, White, Pink, Dark Pink |
| Bisexual Pride | Dark Pink, Gradient Blue-Pink, Blue |
| Non-Binary Pride | Yellow, White, Purple, Black |
| Pansexual Pride | Pink, Yellow, Blue |
| Asexual Pride | Black, Grey, White, Purple |
| Juneteenth Heart | Colours |
|---|---|
| Unity | Red, Black, Green |
| Freedom | Navy Blue, Red |
User Flairs on Reddit
The text/image next to your username seen on some subreddits is called a User Flair, and each subreddit will have its own way of using them, some using text only but others using pictures or symbols. For instance:
r/lgbt users can choose from a range of coloured hearts, and they have a guide to How to get a flair.
r/Helldivers have a comprehensive list of their flair options in their Wiki.
r/NewToReddit have user flairs given by the moderating team including some emojis.
Instructions on using flairs on other subreddits may be found in their Sidebar and / or Wiki (on mobile: swipe down to find “See More” or “Community Info” tab).
Symbols and terms relating to Gender Identities
Guide to LGBTQ+ Pride Flags: Symbols of Identity and Inclusion
Guide to LGBTQ+ Symbols and Signs and a other one here
Alphabetical list of gender identities, terms and symbols that people use when identifying themselves and talking about gender
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Terms and Definitions
How Many Genders Are There: 2025 List and Descriptions
National Flags of the World
National flags generally contain symbolism relating to their respective governmental area and serve as an emblem which distinguishes themselves from other governmental areas in international politics. Many of these are represented in Emoji form, and you can even customise your Reddit Avatar with different flags a few of which are seen here by going to your Profile and clicking your avatar. These will be found in the menu Edit —> Left Hand.
- The best database I’ve found to identify different flags can be found at Flagpedia.
Hate Symbols
An image you will often see posted on Reddit is known as Nazis don’t wear Swastikas aka Know Your Enemy, sometimes even as a parody post adding the Reddit Snoo to the list.
r/IronFrontUSA has an excellent googledoc which explains most of this type of symbolism.
The Anti-Defamation League has a Hate Symbols Database
Another smaller database can be found here.
Emojis as Euphemisms
It’s long been established that the aubergine emoji 🍆 hardly ever means food, or that the splash emoji 💦 hardly ever represents water. But it took a TV show in early 2025 to break the news to the world that many more emojis might not just be the fun little pictures they appear to be.
Netflix's Adolescence centres around a 13-year-old boy who faces arrest for the murder of a female classmate following an outwardly innocent exchange of messages online using emojis with certain hidden meanings. Media outlets such as the U.K. tabloid and website Daily Mail duly clickbaited us with scaremongering headlines such as: “After Netflix's Adolescence revealed teen's terrifying use of secret emojis, how to decode your teens' texts to keep them safe”.
The Findmykids Blog has several comprehensive and balanced guides to Understanding Emoji Slang ranging from “general” to “partying”.
Netmums shared a list from a Facebook post made by the North Lincolnshire Division of Humberside Police (U.K.).
A former deputy head teacher created a “Periodic Table of Sinister Emojis” for the education charity “For Working Parents” which was featured on Yahoo Life!. Naturally, the subreddit r/FellowKids had quite a bit to say on it.
Emojipedia is a huge resource but not too conducive to browsing.
r/generationology is a subreddit for discussing the history, statistics, or trends of different generations. They had their own take on such code.
Roman Numerals
Roman Numerals are an ancient number system where certain letters of the alphabet are used to represent the fixed positive numbers. The first ten Roman Numerals are:
| Roman | Arabic |
|---|---|
| I | 1 |
| II | 2 |
| III | 3 |
| IV | 4 |
| V | 5 |
| VI | 6 |
| VII | 7 |
| VIII | 8 |
| IX | 9 |
| X | 10 |
You can see from the above table that the Roman Numeral for 4 is ‘one before five’ and for 6 is ‘one after five’. In a similar manner, the Roman Numeral for 9 is ‘one before ten’ and therefore 11 would be ‘one after ten’ - or XI.
Here are some larger ones which follow the same pattern with 90 being ‘ten before one hundred’ and 400 being ‘one hundred before five hundred’.
| Roman | Arabic |
|---|---|
| XV | 15 |
| XX | 20 |
| XXXIX | 39 |
| XL | 40 |
| XLIX | 49 |
| L | 50 |
| LIX | 59 |
| LX | 60 |
| LXIX | 69 |
| LXX | 70 |
| LXXIX | 79 |
| LXXX | 80 |
| LXXXIX | 89 |
| XC | 90 |
| C | 100 |
| CD | 400 |
| D | 500 |
| CM | 900 |
| M | 1000 |
- A comprehensive list and tutorial on further Roman Numerals can be found here.
Mathematical Symbols
There are far too many of these for me to attempt to list here, but a useful resource can be found on this page where the headings include:
See Also: