What the turtle emoji means
๐ข is the only turtle emoji, so it covers sea turtles, pond turtles and land tortoises alike. It usually means slow: a slow internet connection, a slow reply or taking your time. It also stands for patience, as in Aesop's fable of the tortoise and the hare, where slow and steady wins the race. In strategy games, "turtling" means playing slow and defensive behind strong walls, so gamers use ๐ข for that too.
Ocean lovers and conservation groups use ๐ข with ๐ and ๐ for sea turtle posts. Find more beach and water symbols on the ocean wave symbol and beach symbols pages.
Turtles in other scripts
๐ is the Egyptian hieroglyph of a turtle, sign I2 in Gardiner's list, among the reptile signs next to the crocodile and the snakes. If it shows as a box, your device needs a hieroglyph font. See more on the Egyptian symbols page.
In Japanese the turtle is ไบ (kame). Chinese writes it ้พ in traditional characters and ้พ in simplified ones (guฤซ). In East Asian tradition the turtle stands for long life, and the Black Tortoise is one of the Four Symbols of the Chinese constellations, guarding the north.
Turtles in programming
Coders know the turtle from turtle graphics, which started in the Logo language: you steer a little turtle that draws lines as it moves. Python still ships with a turtle module for teaching, so ๐ข is a fun icon for beginner coding posts.
To type the emoji, search for "turtle" in your phone's emoji keyboard, press Win + . on Windows or Control + Command + Space on a Mac.