What the ๐ฅ emoji means
๐ฅ is officially just "fire" and was added in Unicode 6.0. Besides real flames, campfires and heat, it is the go-to reaction for anything great: a song that is "fire", a hot outfit, a "lit" party. In comment sections it works like applause. Fireworks ๐ and sparklers ๐ are popular for New Year and the Fourth of July, and a candle ๐ฏ๏ธ sets a calm, cozy mood.
On Snapchat, ๐ฅ next to a friend's name marks a Snapstreak: you have sent each other snaps for several days in a row, and the number shows how many. โค๏ธโ๐ฅ (heart on fire) is newer and means burning passion or intense love; it joins โค๏ธ and ๐ฅ, so older devices show the two side by side.
Fire symbols that are not emoji
There is no plain text flame in Unicode, so ๐ฅ is always in color. If you need fire in black and white, use a symbol that stands for it: โจ๏ธ (hot springs, the onsen sign on Japanese maps), ๐ (the alchemical sign for fire, an upward triangle), โฒ (the I Ching trigram for fire) or the kanji ็ซ.
In astrology, Aries โ๏ธ, Leo โ๏ธ and Sagittarius โ๏ธ are the fire signs, a handy trio for a bio built from zodiac sign symbols.
How to type ๐ฅ
On iPhone and Android, search the emoji keyboard for "fire". On Windows, press Windows + . and type "fire"; on a Mac, press Control + Command + Space. In HTML, use the numeric code from the table below.
Fire pairs naturally with the lightning bolt symbol for energy and with the heart symbol for passion. Three in a row, ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ, is the classic way to say something is amazing.