The black heart emoji is one of the most popular and misunderstood emojis. It is often used to express negative emotions such as sadness, grief, anger, and hatred. However, it can also be used in a more positive way, to express dark humor, sarcasm, or irony.
In this article, we will explore the different meanings of the black heart emoji and how to use it appropriately.
What Exactly Does the Black Heart Emoji Mean?
The black heart emoji’s meaning may or may not refer to a dark or sad theme. In any case, it’s still a heart emoji. It’s sometimes useful to convey both a black colour and the traditional meaning of a heart. Here are some examples of how it could be put to use.
#1. Sadness or Grief
The most obvious situation in which you may want to show love while also acknowledging a bleak situation is when you are being supportive of someone during a difficult time. For example:
1. "Sorry to hear about your grandpa 🖤" "I know things don't look good right now, but I'm here for you 🖤"
#2. Dark Humour
Dark humour is risky because it is easily misinterpreted, especially through text messages. The black heart can be used to explain or recognize dark humour.
"I laughed at the way the bad guy died in that movie! 🖤"
"Lol! That's bleak, dude! 😂🖤"
#3. Support for a Team or Cause
People frequently use the heart colour that corresponds to the cause they are supporting. If it’s a sports team that wears black, for example, the black heart emoji is appropriate. It’s also been used to advocate for the Black Lives Matter movement.
#4. Love
There’s no reason not to express your feelings with the black heart emoji. It may be especially relevant if your partner prefers a gothic aesthetic.
"I love you this much 👉🏼❤️💚💛💙💜🤍🤎🖤" "You're the Morticia to my Gomez 🖤"
#5. Someone Is Feeling Misunderstood or Depressed
It can represent dark emotions that are difficult to describe. If someone believes they have a dark heart, they may text with a black heart to represent their dark attitude.
"I feel like no one's listening to me🖤" "I like the way I am😈🖤"
#6. Solidarity with the Black Lives Matter Movement
It has become a symbol for BLM in recent years. If you see this emoji alongside the hashtags #BLM or, it represents support for the movement.
How to Use the Emoji (Black Heart)
#1. Show Some Affection
Send a to your partner, best friend, or relative to say “I love you.” It can be sent alone or at the end of a sweet message.
"You're too nice to me🖤" "Missing you today🖤"
#2. Make a Dark Joke
To spice up your dark humour, use the black emoji. This emoji will let your friends know you’re just joking.
"I 🖤 how he smiled in the death scene.""How come the man missed the funeral?" He wasn't the type to weep."
#3. Say you’re Down
Maybe you’re in mourning or had a bad day. You can use it to tell your friends that you’re feeling down.
"Many thanks for your help. Today was a bad day. 🖤😔"
#4. Show Your Support for All Forms of Love
Add a rainbow heart stream to your social media bios to show your support for LGBTQ+ movements. By captioning a post with this, you are also indicating to your followers that you support the cause.
Is the Black Heart Emoji Positive or Negative?
As with any emoji, it is entirely dependent on context. The black heart emoji can be used in the ways described above, but if someone uses it to accuse you of having a black heart, you may want to clarify why.
Is the Black Heart Emoji Inappropriate?
The black heart emoji isn’t inherently offensive, but it could be used in conjunction with an offensive or insensitive message.
What Is the Origin of the Black Heart?
For years, a variety of heart colors have been included in the standard emoji library.
It is sometimes more difficult to understand how they came to have certain associations than others.
But there isn’t much mystery surrounding the black heart and its specific associations.
Its strongest associations are with specific subcultures such as goth.
Because they are both black, the association was unavoidable and arose almost immediately.
This quickly came to mean that a person was expressing a dark side of humor or telling a “twisted” joke of some sort.
Beyond that, meanings have evolved over time but are not absolutely and clearly defined, even in slang circles.
Its meanings are simply too diverse to be traced back to a single source.
Consider it in context once more!
What Does It Mean if Someone Sends You a Black Heart?
Naturally, it varies.
You’ll need to consider the person who is sending you the black heart, as well as your relationship with them.
You may believe that them sending you a black heart is a romantic gesture. It very well could be!
Consider whether you believe that person would express themselves in that manner.
Also, consider whether that is truly what they are saying in the given context.
You do not have to suffer in silence if you are unsure.
Ask them, be honest, and express your feelings if you have any.
But don’t get too far ahead of yourself and assume that a heart emoji always means a romantic expression.
For many, the question of how to respond to it is equally important.
How Do You React to a Dark Heart?
Again, it is dependent.
Most of the time, a specific response is not required.
When someone sends you a black heart, there isn’t much you can say.
Many people only use emojis in all or most of their messages.
Again, if you think there might be something else going on, you’ll never know for sure if you just think about it!
If you suspect a romantic undercurrent, be honest about it, but be prepared to get the short end of the stick.
What Else Could a Black Heart Signify?
Black hearts can be used in certain situations.
As earlier mentioned, they have been used as the emoji for various movements and campaigns.
They can also be used to actively express emotional coldness, implying that someone is being deliberately distant.
Many people interpret it as the inverse of the red heart.
The red heart is warm, inviting, and loving, whereas the black heart is dark, empty, and devours joy.
So, while it does have very specific associations in some circles, there’s no guarantee that there’s anything to interpret from someone sending you a black heart emoji.
It’s possible that they just like the look of black hearts and use them for everyone.
