💝 is a heart wrapped with a ribbon, or a gift-wrapped heart. It comes from Japanese carrier emoji and entered Unicode in 2010. Many people simply call it the gift heart. The point is not just feeling love, but handing it over, wrapped and offered. Where 💖 (sparkling heart) is an overflow of emotion, 💝 is care presented to someone.
How it’s used
- Gifts: “Happy birthday! Small something for you 💝”
- Thanks: “Thank you for always looking out for me 💝”
- Valentine’s Day: chocolates, cards and a note with them
- Weddings and congratulations: the closing line of an invitation or card
- Gratitude to supporters: thanking donors or a community for backing you
❤️ is the plain heart of love, and 💗 and 💖 raise the volume of the feeling. 💝 adds the idea of a present. 🎁 (wrapped gift) is the object itself, while 💝 packages feeling instead of a thing.
Korea, Japan and the English-speaking world
In English, “gift heart” brings to mind a heart-shaped box of chocolates. It appears on Valentine’s Day messages, anniversary and thank-you cards, and as a light “sending love” to a friend. It is much softer than 💘 (heart with arrow) and reads as warm thoughtfulness more than as a pursuit.
In Korea there is a culture of marking the 14th of many months, with Valentine’s Day on February 14 and White Day on March 14, and chocolates and candies being exchanged. 💝 turns up in those messages and again around Pepero Day on November 11. It is used between couples, but also for light thanks between friends and coworkers.
In Japan women traditionally give chocolate on Valentine’s Day and men return the gift a month later on White Day. The distinction between 本命チョコ (chocolate with real feelings) and 義理チョコ (obligation chocolate) means 💝 fits the sincere kind best. Its Japanese name, ハートにリボン, makes the image of a wrapped heart very direct.
Where it gets misread
- It can be sent outside romance, but the receiver may read it as romantic. With bosses and clients it is usually better to skip it.
- Some people confuse it with 🎁 and assume there is a real present. If you actually mean an object, say so in words.
- It looks similar to 💖 and 💗, but the ribbon adds the idea of giving. If you only want to convey the size of a feeling, 💖 is a better match.
- As a reply to sad news it can look too cheerful. 🤍 or 🙏 are more fitting.
Design differences by platform
All vendors combine a heart and a ribbon, but they differ in whether the ribbon wraps around the heart or sits on top as a bow, the color of the ribbon, and how red the heart is. Apple’s heart and ribbon are crisp, Google’s Noto is a simpler flat design, Microsoft’s Fluent adds depth, and Samsung uses a slightly different color combination. On some devices it can look like a gift box.
